Monday's Workout: 1hr 2min bike ride

36min swim

Tuesday's Workout: 21min run

Wednesday's Workout: 1hr 17min bike ride

22 min swim

Thursday's Workout: 28min run

Friday's Workout: 29min swim

Today's Workout: 35min run / 9:28 pace

Today's Weigh-in: 152.8

Week 3 Loss/Gain: - 2.2

Total Loss: -18.6lbs

Wow- another amazing week. I want to apologize in advance for not writing this week- I kept on meaning to get on and then, apparently, I never did. Both kids have been battling nasty colds all week and then we started house hunting, so that took some time.

I've started to make an extra effort to work out at a higher intensity- I figure, I have this time away from the kids to do with what I want- why half-ass it? So, my swimming is a little more intensive- I drive myself a bit harder on the bike- and I try to keep a faster pace on my runs. So far, I think I'm doing better and the scale continues to drop, so that's also a good indicator.

You know- a year or so ago, I thought that running was truly the only (and best) way to lose weight at a good rate. When I was pregnant with Ladon, I had to stop running since my heart rate would go above a certain level that wasn't recommended for women in my position. :) So, I went back to swimming- which I really enjoy (and the waterproof mp3 player doesn't hurt one bit!) As for biking, I never really considered it while I was pregnant- of course it would have been tougher once my belly got really big, but it didn't even occur to me before I started to show. Anyways, I'm really amazed at how I'm now running less than I've ever ran before (maybe 5-7miles a week?!) and I'm losing weight at a great pace. So, apparently, mixing your workouts up can make a big difference- I just had to try it myself to really believe it.

On another note, I just received the best e-mail EVER from a mom in my mom's group. I just met her for the first time and she wrote me to tell me how she really admired all the hard work I had put into this and (this one really touched my heart) how strong I looked. I have to tell you, that e-mail made my whole year. When I walk into a room of people I don't know, I immediately start comparing myself- "her hair is prettier than mine", "she's skinnier than me", or "she's better dressed than me." I never consider the fact that someone looks at me and thinks "she looks strong." It brings tears to my eyes just thinking about it. While this journey is my own- it's also something I want to use to inspire other people. To know that, even if you've gained and lost weight before, if you gained some, all, or more of it back, you can lose it again. And, you WILL feel better losing the weight- like I read somewhere "No one gets to the top of a mountain and says "I should have just stayed at the bottom."

Now, you may say, "well, Jenny, I can't live on salads and grilled chicken my whole life! That's a mountain I do not want to climb!!" And, I totally agree. I think anyone who tells you never to eat fried food, candy, cookies, or carbs ever again is nuts. You absolutely can eat those foods- just in moderation and not every day either. For instance, we made a casserole last night that had ground beef, tomato sauce, sour cream, cream cheese, cheddar cheese, and spaghetti squash (instead of noodles.) Nothing was low-fat (although it was lower carb) and it was delicious!! And, I was still down from yesterday morning. Now, I'm not a fan of low-fat diets (check out Tom Naughton's "Fat Head" to see the movie that completely changed the way I view carbs), but I know what we ate last night is good for me and I didn't eat a ton of it. I wanted to eat about twice the amount I did, but I restrained myself and ate at a normal pace and didn't go back for seconds.

Also, today is free day. I won't go into what I ate today, but let's just say it involved Girl Scout cookies and McDonald's. Again- not healthy, BUT, after a week with sick kids, it was really nice to just sit down and eat a few Thin Mints. And, because I allow myself a free day, I have even more of a reason not to dive into the pantry on Wednesday night when I'm hitting Hump Day Hunger! :)

So, I hope that I can inspire more and more people to eat better, exercise, but not to give up the foods they love. To know that they can go out to eat once a while and pig out and STILL lose weight (or maintain). It really is possible- I promise.

Wednesday's Workout: 1hr 9min bike ride

20 min swim

Thursday's Workout: 25min run

Friday's Workout: 27min swim

Saturday's Workout: 31min run / 10:48 pace

Today's Weigh-in: 155.0

Week 3 Loss/Gain: - 2.4

Total Loss: -16.4lbs

Another great week- I was really nervous about this week weight-wise thanks to our super-delish fondue dinner on Sunday, but all is well! I actually saw 154.8 flutter on the scale for a second, but it settled on 155. Who am I kidding though- I'll take it! :)

I went out last night to a 31 bags party- they had lots of yummy food (including Girl Scout cookies?!) but I kept it low-carb and only had a few mini slices of turkey, cheese, and lots of water. I was having a great time talking to the other moms too, so running my mouth, probably helped prevent me from shoving food into it. :)

Workouts are still going well- I forgot my pace time on Thursday, but I think it was pretty good. Today's time stunk a big one, but I fed Ladon twice before I even went out and only had a cheesestick for breakfast, so I'm thinking I should have fueled up a bit more.

Sleep has also been tough this week- Ladon has been getting up around 6:45 (one morning it was 5am?!), so I'm trying to get to bed early. Both of the boys are in bed by 8pm now, but it's still hard to get myself in bed by 10pm. I'm trying though.

I'm most impressed though with how Phoenix is doing with the earlier bed time. He's going to sleep by 9pm (although in bed by 8) and he's waking up b/t 7-8am. He's happy in the morning though, which is a stark contrast to "old Phoenix" who was a cranky-weepy mess in the morning when he was getting up at 10-11am. So, I think letting him stay up late was actually a bad thing- go figure?! Even I'm doing better with the earlier wake-up time (once I get over the fact that I reallllllly want to go back to sleep.)

Hope everyone is having a great Saturday! I got hooked up with Girl Scout cookies today, so I'm already in 7th heaven. Also, Mizu sushi train tonight, which is always fun.

Monday's Workout: 56min spin bike / 80-100rpm

34min swim

Today's Workout: 19min run / 8:54 pace

Workouts are still going well- really felt good after my short run today. :) Weight is still up from free day, but that should go down now that I'm caught up on sleep (took an awesome nap today!)

We had an awesome dinner Sunday night at The Melting Pot fondue restaurant. My mom and step-dad watched the boys, so it was nice to have a little Valentine's dinner just to the two of us (last year we ate at IHOP with Phoenix- Ladon was 2 months away from his arrival.) The food was pretty good and I actually felt confident with my calorie intake until they brought out the dessert fondue- dark chocolate, marshmallow cream, and oreo cookie crumbles. Oh, and you get to dip brownie, cheesecake, marshmallows, and fruit in it. I mean, come on?!! Needless to say, dessert was my favorite part!! :)

I had a nice little NSV on Sunday though- I realized that I wanted to dress up a little bit, so I went in the closet to find one of two cheap outfits I had bought last year for special occasions. I saw the skirt and top sets and then came across a top I had worn when I was this weight in 2008-2009. 10 seconds later I was so thrilled to see that it fit- and I was even able to squeeze my butt into a size 10P black pants- granted they were snug, but they fit (which was good, since I didn't have any bigger sizes in pants.) So, it felt nice to FINALLY be able to wear something that's hanging in my closet. It's the little things sometimes.

Oh- and I discovered a new device today!! It was a deal on Mamapedia and it's called S2H Relay (Switch2Health.) It notes physical activity (anything that uses your arms and doesn't require water, since the watch isn't waterproof) and gives you 60 points for every 60 minutes. You can then redeem those points for things like gift cards from Toys R Us, Home Depot, or even a Nintendo Wii system. Anyways, it was 50% ($10), so I snagged one and I'm looking forward to testing it out. Unfortunately, I'm biking and swimming more than I'm running right now, but I'm sure I can come up with other fun things to do to rack up points! :)

Hope your Tuesday is and was fantastic!

Today's Workout: run 28 min / 10:14 pace

Today's Weigh-in: 157.4

Week 3 Loss/Gain: - 4.2

Total Loss: -14.0lbs

Well, hello Saturday!! My run kind of stunk, but it was 21 degrees outside and 7:45am- not a good combo for me. I did it though and that's good enough for me, 'cause I had a super-duper weight loss today!!!

Every Saturday, I run before my weigh-in. Am I cheating the system...no, because I do it every Saturday. I like to get as much water weight loss as possible before I have a fantastic free day. :) Now, if I wore jeans every weigh-in and then decided to wear shorts one day, that would cheat the system a little bit (at least for that single weigh-in). Now, if I continued to wear shorts every weigh-in after that, I would be right back on track. It's all about doing the same thing before every weigh-in...if it means removing every stitch of clothing and jewelry you have on, then as long as you're consistent with it, that's all that matters.

Anyways, long story short, I didn't get to run before my weigh-in last Saturday, 'cause I had to run a 4.7mile race and attempt to eat 12 donuts (only managed 5.) I figured weighing in after eating donuts, might not be the best idea. Plus, I ended up being down 4lbs, so I wasn't complaining. I figured this week would have a bit of a bump because of that (and it did). I also thought that our sushi dinner on Sunday might screw up my weight loss a little bit (which it didn't.) So, when I woke up this morning, I was down 3lbs and after my run I was down another 1.2lbs for a total of 4.2lbs!!! Based on my current weight, I'm pulling Biggest Loser numbers right now- 8.2lbs in only 2 weeks (14lbs in 4 weeks). Even I'm surprised.

Since I've done well the past 2 weeks (and the first week when I lost 7.2lbs), I've started looking at what I'm doing. Here's my checklist of changes:

• Working out 6 days a week (usually did 5)
• Making sure not to eat too many "extras" a day (if I eat a shrimp soup, I don't have a greek yogurt)
• Doing Wii Fit on lighter triathlon training days (ex. 17 min run day)
• Going to bed before midnight- preferably by 11pm
• Doing my workouts in the morning when possible

Just to review what I'm doing diet-wise, I'm still guesstimating my calories every day. I don't measure anything- I don't write down what I eat- and I don't follow a set plan. I'm not doing Weight Watchers, Nutrisystem, or Jenny Craig. What I'm doing is eating what I want- just in smaller portions. I'm also doing a lower-carb diet, but again, I'm not counting carbs- just make common sense judgements on what makes up a good meal. Oh, and one day a week, I throw all the rules out the window and eat whatever I want.

It's really amazing to me that this works- I did this the first week of our Texas RV trip last year and I lost 3lbs (and my workouts were pretty puney since we were on the road so much.) But, it does work. Eat what you want- try to make the best choices possible- and eat less. Like I told Richard in an e-mail last year, it's amazing to me that it's taken me 31 years to figure this out?!

Oh, a special shout-out to our friend Beth- she turned 30 today!! Happy Birthday to you Beth- looking forward to celebrating with you tonight!!

Tuesday's Workout: 17 min run

Wednesday's Workout: 1hr 5min stationary bike; 20min swim

Thursday's Workout: 22 min run

Today's Workout: 26 min swim

Triathlon training is going great. The short runs are weird for me right now, but the long bike rides help quite a bit. :) I didn't have an opportunity to look at bikes yet, but I'm hoping to do that next week. The stationary bike is OK, but I pretty much read all of my magazines during Wednesday's ride, so I think it might be time for some fresh air.

Swimming is coming along, but I can't seem to get my speed up. I'm fairly slow- around a 1:05-1:15min lap. I could have sworn that I could do a 45sec lap when I swimming about 6yrs ago, but maybe I just made that part up. I still have 26lbs to lose, but I can't imagine my weight affects it that much...or maybe it does. Maybe I should google "why the hell am I a slow swimmer?"

Also, since I'm doing short workouts right now, I've started doing Wii Fit Plus again. Well, I should say, I'm now playing it for the first time. I bought the game when it came out, but our Wii messed up and I eventually forgot about it. So, while it's not a hardcore workout, I think it gives me an extra boost on days when I'm working out less than 30 minutes.

Tomorrow, is my longest run of the week (28 min- good lord, will I be able to make it?! LOL) Then, it is free day, which I'm REALLY looking forward to. Lunch is going to be a chinese buffet and dinner will be tacos at our friend, Beth's, 30th birthday party. Woohoo!

Today's Workout: 32min spin bike

20min swim

Well, today was my first triathlon training workout. I didn't get out of the house in time to complete the prescribed time (supposed to be 50min bike and 32min swim), but I managed to get a good workout in nonetheless. And, I learned that I have to add in time for my "transition", which is kind of long when I'm having to go between 2 separate floors of the YMCA, plus deal with lockers. :)

I'm enjoying it so far though- I created a workout at Beginner Triathlete and was able to plug in my emphasis (running) and even which workouts I wanted to do on which days. Since I almost always run outside, I have that set up on days where I'm not doing anything else. Then, I group the bike and swim together, since I'll be doing some of my bike training at the gym. Anyways, it's only day 1, but I'm liking the results so far.

I also had the pleasure of talking to my friend, Russ, for an hour or so on Saturday about...bikes!! He is the bike expert, so when I realized my mountain bike was probably not the best option for the triathlon, I knew exactly who to turn to. He's given me a TON of information to digest and I'm pretty much going to go into the bike shop with a checklist. Watch out bike salesmen- I'm not messing around!

I'm looking forward to tomorrow's run- only 17 minutes?! The mileage does go up later in the training, but the fact that I'm running less than 2 miles tomorrow is a bit scary. I know that I'll make it up later in the week though with swimming and biking, so no worries. :)

Thursday's Workout: run 3 miles/ 9:18 pace

Friday's Workout: 30min swim

Today's Workout: run 4.7 miles / eat 5 donuts! :)

Today's Weigh-in: 161.6

Week 3 Loss/Gain: - 4.0

Total Loss: 9.8lbs

Today was a great day! First off, I weighed in at 4lbs less than last week. So, there goes that pesky 1.4lb gain that came out of nowhere and with it went another 2.6lbs. So, an average of 1.3lbs for the past 2 weeks- not great, but not terrible by any means. I'm almost in the 150s again which feels GGGGGRRREAT!

Also, today's workout was a bit different. Josh, my SIL Claudia, my BIL Jonny, and myself all ran in the Krispy Kreme Challenge. Basically you run 2.3miles, attempt to eat 12 KK donuts, and then run back to the start line.

The day started off early for us and the weather was pretty crappy- around 36 degrees and constant rain. When the rain let up, it got colder, so there really wasn't a good moment to be had in the weather department. So, after standing around in our now cold and wet clothes for an hour, we got started on the run. My time was really good going into the run- pretty much under a 9 minute pace all the way to the KK store. Unfortunately, once I started eating donuts, my plan fell apart. :)

After watching some videos on-line, I decided to mash up 4 donuts at a time and attempt to eat them as fast as possible. About 3/4's of the way through that first stack, I realized that this challenge was not going to go over very well with my stomach. I still managed to finish the first stack though and mashed up another 3 donuts. A few bites in I felt like throwing up- like another bite would result in instant vomit. So, in a last ditch effort to save my spot as a challenger, I went in search of the rest of my team. I figured a pep talk might get me through the next 7 donuts- unlikely, but I was hopeful!

I caught up with Claudia and she had eaten 1.5 donuts and was throwing in the towel. With that, I decided to join her and call it at 5 donuts for myself. After walking around for a few minutes, we still couldn't find Josh or Jonny, so we took off to run back to the start. Not through the challenger shute as planned, but still wanting to finish strong.

I managed to finish the race in 1:01, which didn't meet my 2nd goal of finishing under an hour, but it was close. I was just thrilled to have suffered through crappy weather and the attempt to eat 12 donuts. :)

The one shining moment for me was shortly after I crossed the finish line and I saw Josh standing to the left. I yelled at him "You finished before I did?!" He nodded and then I asked him "Did you eat all 12 donuts?!!!" He nodded again. And, come to find out, he even managed to finish the race in under an hour- 55minutes to be exact. So, a special kudos to my husband for a spectacular finish.

BTW, Claudia and Jonny also did great- Jonny wasn't able to finish the donuts either, but he won 2nd place with 7 donuts down. :) Overall, a fun morning and something I plan to do again next year- this time I'm going to finish it right though.

After the race, we came back here to chill and then back to Jonny and Claudia's house to celebrate my niece, JuJu's, 3rd birthday. And, I must say, this little girl had the best cake (made for her by Claudia and her friend Katie.) JuJu is a big fan of "Tangled", so it's only appropriate that her cake looked like this....

Pretty awesome- huh?!

So, now we're chilling at the house and looking forward to a chill day tomorrow. The boys are going to watch some UFC and then I foresee some Mizu sushi train in our future. :) Can't go too crazy, but I'm really getting used to my usual Saturday sushi, so we decided to just move it to tomorrow.

On that note- hope you're weekend is going wonderful and see you on here tomorrow or Monday!

Tuesday's Workout: 3.5 miles (5.5mph on the treadmill)

Today's Workout: 6x400m splits

I waited too late to run outside yesterday, so I decided to tough it out on the treadmill. It's amazing to me that I can consistently run under a 9:30min mile outside, but put me on a treadmill and I can't stand to be on there at a 10min mile pace (6.0mph) for too long. The one good thing that came out of it was I started to watch "Something Wicked This Way Comes"- a movie that Josh was shocked to find out that I cannot recall ever watching. It's good and I plan on finishing it tonight. :)

Today's workout was good- I had to run in the neighborhood again and the hills and wind slowed me down. I wavered around 7:30-8:45min miles. I have to do splits again in 2 weeks and I plan on getting over to the middle school and using its track at 7am. I think that's the only way I'm going to get an accurate time on these things.

On a personal note, I'm really looking forward to being able to wear my engagement/wedding rings again. I can get them on, but they are still a little too tight. It's so frustrating to feel good, but I still can't keep my rings on. On the other hand, I guess it's a good thing they don't feel good- I found out last year that I'm very susceptible to getting lazy at this weight and I need all of the motivation I can get sometimes! :)