Well, it's a picture...

I survived the wedding, but there was a LOT of wine involved. Way more than I've had in a long time and boy did I pay for it yesterday...and still feeling ill today! And, in typical fashion, I didn't get a picture of me in my dress. But, I did get a picture after my 10 mile training run. Unfortunately I had to do this run on the treadmill. The distance really wasn't the challenge as much as it was mentally---man, was it boring! There was a little TV on the treadmill, but I couldn't figure out how to plug in my headset and didn't want to stop. So, I just kept the music going and gazed at the soundless screen. Fun, huh?

It took us forever to get home last night. Our flight home was late, but then there were a couple delays. Between the lack of sleep and just not feeling great from the drinking, I didn't make it to camp this morning.

Weekly Round Up

• 5 bootcamps
• 2 runs (10mi/3mi)
• Calories: 4638

Tolerance?

I'm starting to wonder if I'm just a b#%&?& and my expectations are unreasonable. This trip is getting on my last nerve.

We got here and there's no plan. Keep in mind, we travelled much less distance than most. So three quarters travelled all day. We then find out that the hotel that they chose for the guests is one hour from the "festivities" for the night. 

There's some event thing in town and rentals are scarce, but more importantly nobody should be drinking and driving. Keep in my, these are my husband's friends. So I have been trying to go with the flow and keep my mouth shut, but it's nearly impossible at times.

Back and forth about the first night--how we getting there, I don't know, etc. Finally, I was just fed up. I went and figured out transportation for all of us and gave them the time to be in the lobby.

To shorten my rant, we get there under the impression we are doing something. Um, no. Stayed at the house. Time to leave, back to hotel, and yep WE paid for the transportation to the tune of 300(!) bucks. I left him with his friends and went to bed which was perfect because I was irritated.

Next evening, no plan. Seeing a trend? I say to my husband with this many people we need to make reservations. There is no way to simply walk in with such a large party on a Friday night. I suggest some restaurants as we are familiar with the area. Said if we go to X, it's more expensive and he should make everyone aware. Whomever he spoke with wanted to go to this restaurant so my husband made the reservations.

Yep, then "how are we all getting there" starts up again. So yet again I take care of that and get taxis lined up.

On the way to the restaurant I expressed concern that we would end up paying a lot for dinner. He told me they aren't like that and not to worry. Fine. Not saying a word. What I had seen so far and my gut impression of most was not giving me a good feeling. 

While I watched bottles of wine, appetizers, steak and crab being ordered by people I tried to tell myself they would do the "right" thing. Well, I had the most expensive 1/2 spinach salad, baked potato, and iced tea ever (less than $15). To the tune of 70 bucks. So, $140 later dinner is over. I f#$%*&%$ hate that!

Luckily for me, another wife needed to go back to the hotel. I volunteered to go back with her while everyone else went out. Needless to say that was a blessing.

Today as I type this, my husband is now driving a guy an hour one way to pick up his car. My husband said something to the effect that's just what you do or something and how could he say no? (Uh, it's easy. I'll sound it out for you: sorry, we have plans) To which I replied that we have done enough and that I'm feeling taken advantage of. He responded that he should have just come by himself. Nice.

My fingers are now crossed that I can fake my way through the afternoon and the wedding.  Maybe I could use  more tolerance, but not so sure on this one that I don't have a right to feel the way I do.

Maintenance is Personal

As a bandster, I think everyone starts out with this hope and excitement to get going on this journey and motivation is 110%. Many people lose initially (some the entire time - lucky!) without a lot of effort. Then there are others that have to work hard to get every stinking pound off. Regardless of whether it is "easy" or "hard", changes have to be made. You can't (and shouldn't) eat the amount you used to, are encouraged to change your eating habits, and encouraged to exercise.

Along my journey, there were ups and downs. It's life after all, right? But man, those highs are awesome! Losing weight, fitting in clothes, looking better, and oh, the compliments. It's a real head rush. Then I got to goal weight. It was scary as I struggled with the "shoulda's", "can's", "what if's". Should I lose more weight? Is this it? Can I keep this off? What should I do now? What if I go back?

Over time, the compliments lessened. And, for me, the compliments were not so much an ego boost as when I thought about it I realized in hindsight that for me it was more pressure or accountability to those around me that I would NOT fail again. With less of the comments, this crutch wasn't there. I was just Fluffy as I am now. In fact, when I run into people that haven't seen me and I get a reaction now, it takes me by surprise because I have also gotten to where this is "just me".

It was a big adjustment to not freak out. And, rest assured, there were freak outs along the way, but I had to figure maintenance out. Having lived so focused on the scale, my weight, losing, etc. to now find myself "at goal" and that I had made it ---pretty much scared the crap out of me. What was the next step in my journey?

This is an over simplification of maintenance for me, but when I sat down to write this, it's what stuck out for me in the past 3 years of maintaining. So, I'm assuming that means it's the "important stuff". ; )

I looked at a lot of blogs of people that either had or never had weight problems and were now healthy (ate well, strong, physical, etc.). I read and read and looked for things that struck a cord with me. This led me to wanting to be "healthier". Sure, I had the number on the scale and I had smaller clothes, but was I really healthy? (see Skinny Fat post)

I treated myself like a project. Where did I have challenges or "opportunities for improvement"? What did I want? How was I going to get there? Here's what I came up with for me:

Portion size = bandster portions. Food/healthy bloggers - whatever you call them. Have you noticed their portion sizes? Bottom line for me eating the right band size portions had to be done. I had a dilated pouch at one point during my journey and wasn't going back there. Plus, I had also self-diagnosed myself with portion distortion. While there is hardly any fluid in my band, the band is still there and I am a firm believer that pouch can be stretched by eating too much regardless of how much or little fluid is in the band. I just refuse to do it. Period. I eat the amount I'm supposed to and if/when I get hungry again. I just eat more. So, portion control - check.

Eat healthier. People that are healthy eat a lot of fruits and vegetables. Neither my husband or I were eating enough. I now make sure that every meal includes a fruit or veggie as before unless I was in "diet" mode where I was making sure I had x of this and y of that, I was lax in this area.

And sure, I still eat crap. Remember the mini bundt cake? But it's not often and it HAS to be good. Because if it isn't worth the calories, I'm not eating it.

True story - my husband is in the military. He has physicals. This year when they took his cholesterol it was super low (it was good before, but now it's even better). The doc asked him what he's been doing in the past year and my husband said eating what my wife puts in front of me, she packs my lunch, etc. (and I'm sure something about me losing my mind and all that, but that's OK). The doc said to tell me good job and to keep up what I'm doing. THAT made me feel super good!

Exercise. I've exercised throughout my entire journey. But what I wasn't doing was strength training. I don't like going to the gym and using the weight machines. That's where bootcamp came in. Sure, I was scared at first, and boy was I sore! But I knew that if I hung in there that it would pay off and it has.

Find an exercise you enjoy. It's important because consistency is important. If you hate your exercise you aren't going to do it long term. But also remember, when you start something new, it will be hard. Don't think hard = hate. Give a new exercise a chance and ease into it.

Stop the diet mentality / step away from the scale. I am really not a fan of saying that I have stopped dieting, but I can't think of another way to describe it. Because regardless of what you eat, do, etc., you are "on a diet". It's just what is that diet. What I mean by stopping is not looking at things based on calories and can I or should I eat this. I look at the quality of the food and do I want it. Because if I really want to eat coconut M+M's for lunch, I'm better off having them for lunch than having something "healthy" and continuing to think about the stupid candy. And yep, I did do this one lunch and haven't done it since. Not because "I can't" or "shouldn't"....or "won't", but more so (I think) because I have told myself I can and find that I don't want to as a result. (Yes, I am weird that way!)

Also, I stepped away from the scale. I started weighing myself less and less. The number is only one measurement, yet it's one that consumes me from all my baggage. If my clothes are actually getting looser, does it matter that I weigh 2-3 more pounds than I did the week before? For me, the answer is no. This is a work in progress, but I have not weighed myself since December and frankly I can't say I miss it.

I should also say in regard to the scale that I think it's an evolution. I would never have considered not using the scale during the weight loss phase, but did not weigh daily. It's important to have the measurement. In fact, I think it's important to have your weight and your measurements.


Figure out what makes me feel good. What makes me feel good isn't going to necessarily make someone else feel good, but what I figured out is that I need to exercise during the week. It helps me manage a stressful job and just makes me feel good! And honestly, I eat better without even thinking about it on the days I have exercised. Go figure!

I found that having tools such as my Polar and Garmin while they may or may not be accurate on calories, they provide me with a sense of accomplishment to see the calories and time they display. It just works for me.

I figured out what made me feel good by getting into slumps and looking at what had changed recently and why I didn't I feel good. Two things for me surfaced pretty consistently: not eating generally well and not exercising.
 
Continue to assess and re-assess. I check in with myself periodically. It may sound stupid, but I find that if I don't consciously check in that I just keep going on auto pilot and then I project something is wrong some other way. For example, I realized a while back that I wasn't enjoying my bootcamp as much anymore. I was coming back from morning camp grumpy. Unfortunately, I was taking it out on my husband now and then (boo me). I sat myself down and had a talk with myself (funny picture, huh?). I realized that my trainer's style was no longer meeting my needs. So I started looking at other camps in the area and go to that camp as well.

In summary, this is a journey. One that will continue to evolve and I hope only get better! Just like the decision to get a band, all the other phases are also very personal and you have to figure out what works for you. Try not to compare yourself to others, but do try to learn from others or appreciate what they are doing as you might find little nuggets that also work for you!

Holy crap, I almost forgot my blogging! The intent of my blog has been to document my journey , but I had also hoped that it might be helpful to others as I had wanted to find long term successful people in the beginning and couldn't. This many years later my blog may not be specifically "all about the band", but I'd be a freak if at this point day in and day out it was about it, right?! I can't tell you how helpful it has been to be able to go back and look at past posts. I highly recommend blogging about your journey....and please don't blog and then disappear leaving everyone wondering! There are so many blogs I used to follow from over 5 years ago and *poof*.

Threat of Swimsuits Ahead!

Did you shudder? March 20 is the first day of Spring! Which means we are just that much closer to SWIMSUITS! (Uh, yippee?) And for anyone doing something for Spring Break it might mean getting in one sooner than later.

I'm using the first day of Spring for motivation to step it up a notch. I figure what the hell? Might as well pull out all the stops and start Spring off right.

My running training "coach" told me that I could sub in bootcamps for my training runs during the week since there is so much sprinting and running in them. The only deal was that I had to ensure to get my long runs in.

Weekly Recap:

• 7 bootcamps - replaced two training runs with bootcamps
• 9 mile training run
• Calories: 5274 - Do I think this is accurate? Who knows. It's just something that I like to see. I used to also track the time, but calories give me more of an idea of overall exertion.

Coming this week:

• A post with my thoughts on maintenance - I can just feel the excitement!!!

CAUGHT!

What is that? OVO! The other night I went to Cirque du Soleil - Ovo with hubby. I had to take one picture and it was when everyone was coming in and no flash. Yes, I'm rationalizing because pictures are not allowed, but I had to have one for here, right??? So, this is the star of the show---an egg. Sadly, I was caught taking the picture and was chastised for doing so. I bowed my head and said that I was oh so sorry that I thought it would be OK prior to the show as the sign seemed to indicate it was during the performance. OK, I know, ya right. But what was I supposed to say? Well, I need it for my blog post? HA!

When we got close to the arena, I was wondering why they directing us to a parking lot that was away from the arena. Then I saw it, a big huge tent! It was so unexpected that I didn't even think to get a LEGAL picture of it. Idiot.

The show was great and we were really close. I was concerned that I might be pulled up during the audience participation part, but thankfully some other poor girl was the victim chosen.

Wedding Outfit Nightmare Update

"Richard" - I'm not sure who you are since you put your comment under your husband's name, but I have to tell you when I read it I thought, "Wow, a dude took the time to put that?" - LOL - thanks.

I'm taking everybody's advice (and the hint on sales!) to see if I can find something this weekend. Turns out that I looked at what hubby has and....uh, um, no. And yep, I am one of "those wives" that I did give him a clothing makeover. I hated his jeans and a lot of his shirts. Just not the right fit for his body. And, please know that he didn't mind/care and got a ton of compliments from his friends, so it worked out all around. Here's how the wedding clothing review went...

Hubby: Why do I have to show you now?
Fluffy: Because I need to see what you have to make sure it is ready to go. (White lie.)
Hubby: Here are the three suits I have.
Fluffy: These are nice, but "vintage". (Ha ha - pretty good huh? Translation: No way jose. These are outta style. You aren't wearing any of the three.)
Hubby: So you don't like them?
Fluffy: It's not a matter of like really, I think we should just check the sales this weekend and get you a sport coat that you can wear with your work clothes if you ever need to.

Happy weekend!

Wedding @ 4pm???

I have a wedding to go to next weekend in Arizona. It *should* be warm there (the weather has been so whacko, who really knows!). The wedding ceremony is outside a country club at 4pm. And lucky me, nothing on the invite about what to wear. I had hubby ask the best man (his good buddy), but as far as I know there hasn't been a response.

The invitation is quite formal and the reception is at the country club (adults only). I'm assuming there must be some sort of sit down dinner or buffet as well. But I'm struggling. What I have dress wise, while nice, is not appropriate for the time of day. I have one dress that could work, but it's black. The neckline doesn't allow me to add a scarf for some color, so it would be the black dress with some jewelry and heels. I am on the fence about whether or not it's appropriate considering the time of the ceremony.

And normally I would just find something and go with it, but this wedding is a bit different. When I got married, it was me and hubby. That's it. His friends are spread all over the US and I have not met any of them. This IS the big meet and greet. Added bonuses:

1. My hubby was tagged as the one that would never get married and it came as a huge shock to them when he did. Some have even told him they don't really believe that I exist.
2. I'm 5 years older than his friends and even older than the wives.
3. Numerous emails, etc. stating how they are looking forward to meeting me.

Fun, huh? They're curious...I would be too, so I get that. But I keep hearing in my head these valley girl things:

• "OMG, can you believe she's like wearing THAT?"
• "OMG, she's like so OLD!"
• "OMG like he married HER?"

*SIGH*

So I need to be dressed appropriately and comfortably to settle my nerves and manage the stress of it all. Uh, is it over yet? ; )

What do you think of a black dress at a 4pm wedding? What would you wear?

List o' Food

• Chobani Pomegranate Yogurt - 140***
• Beef quesadilla thing - take two tortillas (160). Spray one side of both lightly with olive oil. Place one (oil side down) in a heated skillet. Layer on: two reduced fat provolone cheese (160) and thinly sliced beef lunch meat (70). Put on other tortilla - oil side up. Cook until nice and brown on both sides. Then I took it off and the non-cheese side I took off and added a ton of tomato, some thinly slided red onion, and then some lowfat mayo/horseradish sauce I made (25). --- I ate half and then the other half later. - 450ish?
• Salad - green leafy lettuce shredded, broccoli slaw, tomato, leftover steamed asparagus, cucumber, a few black olives, tablespoon of bleu cheese, and some sugar free balsalmic vinegrette. --- 150ish?
• Banana - 100ish?
• Clif Bar - 240
• Popcorn cheese puffs - 160
• Greek Yogurt - 140

***Pomegranate. I like your flavor and juice, but I do not like that seedy thing inside of you. I know that there is nothing wrong with eating the seedy thing and I don't have any issue with them with my band, but I just don't like you. So, I didn't really like my yogurt and I am holding a grudge! For now, you are persona non grata. Hmmm, not a person...you are fruta non grata!

What'd I eat?

I see a lot of people that track what they eat, etc. For grins and giggles I did that yesterday. If I ate it, I made a little note. When I was in weight loss phase, I tracked and paid way more attention to overall intake. In maintenance, that has changed. I have more thoughts on that after...

List o' food

• Chobani Greek Yogurt with Peaches - 140
• Egg sandwich: 1 slice toast, slice cheddar cheese, 1 egg, lettuce, and lots of tomato - 250ish?
• Hot & Spicy V-8 juice - 30
• Leftover Mexican chicken packet - chicken breast, black beans, corn, rice with sour cream & salsa - 300ish?
• Steak, asparagus & 1/2 baked potato - 175?+30?+100? - 305?
• Gummy Vitamins - 50
• 6 peanuts in shell - 30?
• I drink a lot of hot tea with skim milk - 40?
• Reduced Fat Cheez-its - 130 (this was kinda weird, but I had put some in hubby's lunch because he loves them and then just couldn't get them off my mind!)
• A mini bundt cake - Hey, Valentine's day treat! 9,234,545 cals? And, worth every single one!

Excluding the cake, it was roughly 1300 cals. There would likely would have been 250-300 more cals in there somewhere without it. A mini meal, snack, or a Clif bar if pressed for time. This is a pretty average day.I don't count calories or protein intake, some days I eat more and others probably a bit less. I eat bandster size portions, but I stop eating when I'm full even if it is not the entire portion. If I get hungry later, I eat again. I eat whatever I want, but I do generally try to make healthy choices and make sure that I

am getting in fruits and veggies.

Most importantly: What's life without some really good cake now and then? : )

Awww, Valentine's Day

When I came home from bootcamp this morning, I found this waiting for me:

To me, there's nothing better than a handwritten note! It definitely made my morning and look at the cute little correction for the missing "r". BTW - Unrelated to a run, I did have some tummy issues (crampish) related to fake time of the month. Feeling much better this morning though.

We aren't really exchanging gifts with the holidays and our birthdays not too long ago. We are exchanging cards though, but he wasn't home all weekend and I missed him. I ended up getting him a few things that I would have anyway, but left them in a pile for when he got home last night.

The strings are to a dozen red heart balloons, 6-pack of 60-min IPA beer (treat), coffee, pistachios in single serve packs, trail mix in single serve packs, Reese's Pieces (treat - mmmmm), and yep - that really is a box of copy paper (hey, he really wanted some!).

Tonight I'm making ribeyes that I put on some coffee rub (sounds weird? seriously good!), steamed asparagus, and a baked potato. We had talked about going out to eat for a fancy meal, but decided that not too long ago we had his birthday dinner. It was good, but it was expensive and full of calories. Strangely enough, we tend to love our home cooked meals just as much!

Wishing everyone a happy Valentine's day!

Success!

Glad to know I'm not the only whiner out there! ;) I did knock out my training run. It was a super beautiful day and, as usual, once I got going it went well. Bullets from the run:

• My tummy held out. There's definitely something in my diet during the day that is whacking it out when I run in the evenings.
• My socks are still a bit of an issue.
• It was a challenging run! A lot of elevation, but I am focusing on it will make me more prepared for the race.
• I still have room for improvement on "pace not race".
• New music makes a big difference!

Wrap up from last week:

• 5 bootcamps
• 2 of 3 training runs (3 mile didn't happen, 6 mile & 8 mile completed!)
• 4248 calories

Don't waaaannnaaaa!

Feeling like I have a case of the terrible two's. Although my mommy friends have said two is nothing, it's three that's horrible. Regardless, I am in my running gear thinking, "I don't wanna and you can't make me." And, nobody can, but me. But I don't waaaannnaaaa.

My husband said to me last night if I hate the training so much, then this should be the only one (half) I do. But blog truth (kinda like pink swear), it's fear. Stupid stuff like will the route I choose be too hard, will my stomach hang in there, should I take water, will my stupid sock issue surface...can I do it?

Some of these things may come up, but so what, right? I'm not 2, I'll deal with it when/if it comes up. I can do it. I just need to get out there and get it over with. (Hey, I never said I am perfect!)

So, I will give my breakfast a bit more time to digest, put on my shoes, and suck it up and head out. I can do this. What about you? What will or are you doing that's taking you out of your comfort zone to get you to the next level---exercise or something else?

(BTW, I told hubby that I don't hate the training, I just need to whine out my fear and he gets to be the lucky one to hear it!)

Gym Gripe

I am not a treadmill fan for more that a quick 3-mile knock it out sort of run, but I am a klutz. The ice has not fully melted and I didn't want to risk running outside and getting injured. I have been doing my last few runs at the gym. I'm not a gym snob or whatever is the description, but there are some things that drive me NUTSO.

When I encounter them, I do what I can to block it out, move, or whatever. Well, the last time, it didn't matter what I did, it still bugged me. So I figured I'd go at a different time yesterday. O-M-G, he was there. GRRRRRR

So what's the deal? He's like a heard of elephants. Even if I'm on the far end away from him, he's so loud that I can still hear him. Impossible? NOPE. I had meant to take a picture of the sticker on the treadmills, but it essentially says on the console: "Hey, idiot DO NOT hold on to me" --- OK, maybe not quite that, but you get the idea. And why? Cause if you are holding on to this part of the treadmill, not only is it bad for it, but most likely you are like this dude and you are holding on for dear life because you have the treadmill going TOO FAST! So he is POUNDING on the platform to try and keep up. GOOD GRIEF, I cannot tell you how much I wanted to go over there and just slow his treadmill down.

And, please do NOT read this as me trying to get in his business or show him "how's it's done". I really did think it was me, but last night I overheard two ladies next to me say essentially the same thing. Man, he's loud. The other one replied with, ya he needs to slow down. And just saying that to make me feel better, but GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!

OK - end of rant. : o)

Anyone else have any gym pet peeves? Please share to help me feel like less of a B)(*#$)#($*%!!!!!

The results are in...

So I had my body fat percentage taken at the gym. I asked for the most experienced guy and asked him about his error rate. Turns out he's a former body builder (and looks it too) so he's pretty adept as he used to measure his own. Anyway, he said that if he's off, it's 1% max and that he measures multiple times and stuff like that. Honestly, once I heard he was +/- 1% I was good. So the pinching began and he said he could tell I was lean---flatterer! Well he said, I'm 19%! He asked about my exercise and eating and said he wouldn't be surprised if it went lower.

I checked here to get some "recommended" fat info for women:

• The recommended amount of body fat is 20 - 21%.
• The average American woman has approximately 22 - 25% body fat.
• A woman with more than 30% body fat is considered obese.

I'll take it!

And a little more on the gummy yummy vitamins---yes, I'm cheating...Justaflower - exactly -  it's the chalk taste! Nella - Sam's and Fitby40 (hi!) says they are at Walmart. Something about Kellie - Maybe online? Tracy - I'm surprised having vitamins before bed hasn't given you heartburn! But at my age, it's getting to where a lot of things do (*sigh* margaritas!). Thanks for reading and commenting!

Mmmm, gummy bears...

My general doc said to me last year (or longer), you should consider adding a daily multi-vitamin, it can't hurt. I did ask if it wouldn't hurt, would it help because I HATE pills of any sort. Always have and always will - even pre-band. She said that she thought I could get benefit from it and whatever I didn't need my body would flush out. (Doc translation to normal person speak: You're getting old. Take a multi-vitamin. *sigh*)

I did think about it various times. Thought about chewables, but when I asked about the yummy kid kind she said she preferred me taking an adult one intended for woman. Grrrrrr. She said there are multiple liquid ones out there. Uh, have you tried those? They make me want to barf. And yes, I am a whiner, but reality is if I can't stand it or it's going to make me feel like I'm going to barf, I'm going to take it all of 3-5 times max.

The other week I was at Sam's and what did I spy? Gummy vitamins---bear shaped vitamin yumminess for kids. But wait! There next to them FOR ADULTS. Well, what made these different then other ones? Let's just say they are D-LISH!!!!!

And while some people may be deterred by the 50 cals per daily pack, not me. I have faithfully eaten my pack every day and it even gives me a candy fix as an added bonus, which works for me somehow. I might not be the best barometer for these in regard to the band since I don't have much if any fluid in my band (.2 whenever the heck I was last in), but I have zero problems with them.

All hail the gummy bear vitamin!

Skinny Fat

My journey has evolved over time. Making the decision to get banded, weight loss, maintenance, to focusing on improving my overall health and strength. After hitting my first weight goal, I switched to focusing more on health---not only the number on the scale. When I got the band I wanted to be thin again, but I also wanted to be strong and healthy.

Most of us, including myself, are a bit obsessed with being thin. But the body is a funny thing. You can look thin, but still be fat even though your BMI is within the healthy range for your weight and height. It's one of the weaknesses of both the scale and BMI---there is no body composition component. So while I have always believed exercise was critical and was doing a decent amount, I started wondering am I skinny fat? Did I have a high body fat percentage to my lean body mass? Had I lost lean body mass along the way vs. maintaining or ideally increasing it?

I don't know where I started body fat wise, but I know I was fat both scale wise and plain ol' fat wise when I started out (just look at that pic!). Unfortunately, I never got my body fat percentage taken along the way either. I've mentioned in the past year that while I have lost a few pounds, I have seen more changes in body shape / size since I made the shift to focusing on strength/health. I'm also definitely much stronger. So, I've decided to get my body fat percentage taken this week.

In the meantine, I thought I'd look at my own comparison from my final goal weight of 138-142 lbs.

• I could jog five miles in under an hour.
• I could finish a 5K in about 30 mins.
• I could run a mile in about 9:30 mins comfortably.
• I was wearing a size 6.
• My arms were squishy---no real definition. My legs were better from the running.
• I could not do a full man push up.
• I was scale dependent. I weighed in once a week and, if I am completely honest, it either made me feel good or bad about myself.
• I think I was at least a bit skinny fat. I looked thin, but not lean.

At my current weight range 132-136lbs:

• I can jog five miles in under 45 mins and still have plenty of gas left in the tank.
• I can finish a 5K in about 28 mins.
• I can run a mile in about 8:30 mins comfortably.
• I am wearing a size 4 (solid designer 4 - in other brands I wear a 2 or 3 juniors)
• My arms and legs are solid with definition.
• I can do at least 10 full man push ups (I haven't tried to do more than that in a row, but have done multiple sets of 10!)
• I am not scale dependent. I have not weighed since before Christmas. My clothes were a bit tight right after the start of the new year, but are no longer tight. Last time I weighed 129lbs. I'll weigh again eventually, but not sure when.
• I believe I am no longer skinny fat.

I see plenty of women that are not what is commonly defined as "thin" in camp, at races, the gym, but damn are they fit! And, I am a firm believer that they will outlive those women that have a small number on the scale, but aren't fit. So my point is that it's more than a number on a scale---a low number does not automatically equate to healthy. How fit are you? What are your fitness goals? Are your goals more than a number on the scale? And most importantly, do you believe? (Wish is a 4-letter word!)

Super Bowl Sunday

**Ice, snow, maybe a frozen pipe here or there, it isn't that bad when put it in the context of the torrential rains hitting Australia. As a child, I lived in a flood zone. Other than fire, I don't think there is anything as destructive. I hope the rains stop soon.**

How did you start off Super Bowl Sunday? We went and fed the ducks and geese. There were lots of them and we even saw some goose butts? geese butts? goose butt?

Then my hubby made a friend. Um, no we can't take the goose home. They're kinda mean and poop a lot!

The weather disrupted my training schedule. I'll be honest though, I could have done some home workouts, but didn't. So, 1 bootcamp and 2 training runs.

• Bad news: Missed 4 bootcamps and 1 training run
• Good news: The missed training run was a short one (3 miles) and I still got in my long run (7 miles).
• Calories burned: 1992

Deja SNOW?

Have you heard the slogan everything's bigger in Texas? Well, I guess that also applies to the weather. The forecast was for a "dusting" of snow. Well, 6-7 inches later the "dusting" has stopped, but another inch is expected. Good grief! Originally we were supposed to be out of this by today, but another front developed. I can't remember a streak of below freezing days (teens actually) in the entire time I've lived here. They are saying it will get above freezing tomorrow at 11am.

There is no way to drive on the residential roads by my house and the highways are a mess. All the snow is on them because nothing melted (and don't forget the ice from a couples days ago that wasn't cleared). So, I'm pretty much housebound again today. There's just not the equipment to deal with snow here and the last thing to be dealt with are the side streets. Ironically, before this storm hit I actually went to the store. Normally I just figure there's no way it's going to be that bad. I'm glad I didn't this time.

It sucks big time for the SuperBowl though. Flights have been cancelled all over the place and there were and continue to be huge events planned throughout the metroplex, but I'm not sure how people will get there. Definitely not what people expected for a SuperBowl here.

Oh, and did I forget to tell you that we had rolling blackouts the other day? Fun, huh?!

Oh look, it's snowing again! *sigh*

Slow Cooker Chicken Posole-ish Recipe

When it's cold, I like to make soups. Heck, I like to make them cause they are simple and nutritious. That's even kicked up a notch when I can make it in my slow cooker. Here's one I whipped up after reading various Posole recipes and making it easier and healthier. The amounts are approximate.

• 1 rotisserie chicken (you can substitute canned chicken, but I find it salty and kinda tough. I buy a rotisserie chicken that doesn't have hormones, etc. and take all the chicken off and chop it up)
• 1 can R0tel (the tomatoes with chilies) - I use hot, but it makes it really spicy, so you might want to stick with regular.
• 2-3 cans chicken broth
• 1 tablespoon garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• A half bag of frozen chopped onion, pepper, and celery mix (uh, yep I'm lazy)
• A bag of frozen mixed veggies
• 1 can hominy (don't drain---white or yellow whichever you prefer)

Put it all in your slow cooker. Depending on how quickly you need it and either cook it on low or high. Since the chicken is already cooked, you are really just trying to get everything hot and the flavors mixed together. Enjoy!

Thanks for all the supportive comments on the half. I'm falling a bit behind on my training with this whack-o weather, but I'm not stressing about it. I'll pick it back up when I can.

Lap Band Gal asked that I do a post on maintenance. I'll try to do one in the coming weeks after I get my thoughts together. I have made a few brief references to it in some posts in the meantime: Five Years Out , My Most Important Rules , WOOT , Maintaining

GULP!

It's Ice Day 2 here. Most companies are closed for a 2nd day - including mine. Oh, but the fun has increased, now we are in rolling brown outs of 10-45 mins! I have yet to experience one, but friends are getting them and they are lasting more like an hour. The temp is in the teens and with the wind chill is sub zero. They aren't expecting it to get above freezing until Friday. And yep, this isn't "bad" for a lot of people, but for Texas this is very extreme weather.

Unfortunately this has also meant that bootcamp was cancelled yesterday and today. I'm thinking it's possible that it might be for the rest of the week. I have a bootcamp and a run in for the week, but I better consider a video or something.

What better way to spend my time, then to suck it up and register for the half in March????

GULP!!!!!

Rat Boots

I looooovvveeeee shoes. Right now boots are on clearance. Well, who am I to pass up a bargain??? So, I got myself a new pair of boots. Now that my legs are thinner, I'm really liking the tall boots. Plus this skinny jean trend works out well too.

Even if this fashion trend changes next year, I figure these boots will look cute with a skirt. I am more curious about where the trend on jeans is going? I am not a fan of jeggings. I wasn't ever a fan of leggings the first time around when they were all the rage and I think it might be carry over. Eh, I'm sure there are plenty of people that love them.

It's always good to find more purposes for shoes though. It makes it much easier to rationalize to hubby that there is just no way that I have enough.

A friend of mine has put live traps in her garage (yah, I'm not sure either - I said to her that I thought she was actually encouraging them to come in). Anyway, there was a rat in the trap and she was freaking out because she was going to have to deal with it because her hubby is out of town all week.

So off I went in my "rat boots". And just cause EVERYONE loves a picture of a rat, here ya go:

S/he was actually pretty cute. OK, maybe I'm sick, but I can take dealing with a live one any day over a dead one. And hell, she's lucky to have me as a friend, right? Loaded the cage in the car and off we went. The hardest part was figuring out how to get the cage to open and I wish I had a pic of his release, but here's a pic of his new home:

Go rat go!