It's so quiet here ...

There is rarely a quiet moment at my house.  Four boys will do that to you.

This blog has been quiet a lot this summer.  I like to think that is because we are all out doing and being and enjoying.  I know I have done and been and enjoyed a lot this summer.  Our school system starts tomorrow and it feels like a good time to get back into the blog world.

Summertime means lots of relaxing and, sadly, I relaxed my meal planning.  I thought I was saving myself stress or work by not planning.  I don't know why.  I know better.  Dinner time has been so much more stressful because I didn't plan.  We've eaten way more fast food and take-out than normal.  We've had fewer well balanced meals and I've been more grudging about meal prep. 

Summertime also means late nights with lots of movies and late night chats.  Staying up late makes it really hard to get up early to exercise.  As a result, I wasn't nearly as faithful at working on my fitness goals as I should have been.  I didn't do a single 5k this season.  My family did do a charity walk, but, that's the thing, we did the walk part, not the 5k run. 

My summer wasn't a complete waste fitness-wise.  I ran a PE camp for kids ages 3-12 and absolutely LOVED it.  I had from 5 to 9 kids in each camp and we ran and played and laughed and learned about being healthy and strong.  I did an 18 mile hike over the course of 3 days pulling a handcart in the rain/wind/heat of Wyoming ... and at the end of each day, I felt like I could keep going.  And, I'm down a few pounds today from what I weighed at the beginning of summer.

Somehow, I stumbled on a group on Facebook a couple of weeks ago called "Project GET HEALTHY."  A challenge started last week with the goal to spend 28 days focusing on 3 health and/or fitness goals.  I signed right up.  I needed some more motivation to get me back on track from my enjoyable, yet routine-less summer.  I set my three goals ... very basic goals, but things I'd let slide a lot:

1.  Drink a minimum of 64 ounces of water each days.
2.  Exercise at least 5 days a week for at least 30 minutes.
3.  Track my food and keep my caloric intake within the guidelines on LoseIt.com (for me to reach my weight goal, it suggests 1400 calories daily, plus calories for exercise)

It's been pretty easy to focus on just these three things.  I have loftier goals ... longer work-outs, cutting out processed foods, eating more vegetables, making my meal plans again, etc ... but I'm just focusing on these three for now.  I don't feel overwhelmed.  I don't feel discouraged.  I know these things will get make me healthier.  Will they help me lose weight?  Possibly.  Will they make me more conscience of my health?  Definitely.

What are you working on?  What small goals do you have to become more healthy?  What changes are you making as you send your kids back to school and embrace the routine that comes with that? 

Oh, and I will have my menu posted here again next Monday.  I'm ready for it!

The Slow 5k

I ran my fifth 5k race yesterday.  My first was a year ago.  Yesterday.

I'm slow.  I don't have a prayer of winning overall or even coming close in my age group in these races.  Some of them have made me want to barf.  Some have made me cry.  But I've never come in dead last.  I really don't train.  I've been walking 5 mornings a week consistently but I haven't done any jogging in over a month.

But I do 5ks.

It is funny to tell people about my races.  Okay, it is embarrassing to tell real runners about them because most of them could finish twice before I get to the finish line.  But telling people who don't do 5ks or any races, that I do is fun.  They assume all sorts of stuff about me from that one sentence, "I did the 5k this morning."

Most of their assumptions are wrong.  Totally and completely wrong.  Even when I try to explain that an old lady with a walker could beat me in these races, their assumptions won't allow them to believe that.

So why do I run?  Why do I keep it up even though I am so incredibly slow?

I prefer walking.  I love a nice brisk walk.  I can swing my elbows and my hips with the best power walkers.  I LIKE that.  Running?  Not so much.  So why do I do it?

Pride.  I'll admit it.  Most of these 5ks I've done have had an accompanying 2 mile walk.  I used to do those 10 or 15 years ago.  I liked them.  I was good at them.  I often finished in the top 3 or at least the top 5.  But when you tell someone that you just did a 2 mile walking race, do you know what they do?  They say, "Oh" and never give it a second thought.

I'm awful in a way.  But this pride is a good thing.  My husband likes being able to say that he does 5ks with me (it is WAY more manly to say that than to say he walked a 2 mile race).  So we do it together.  We wear our race shirts and humbly accept our slow pace.

I am doing a sixth race in a couple of weeks.  I'm sure I will finish behind the pack as usual.   I'm also sure that my husband and I will have a good time, will support a good cause, and get another conversational tee shirt to wear ... proudly.

-Cindy

A Reset

Have you ever had your computer freezer or wig out on you and the only real fix is to reboot it?

Have you ever had all the lights on your dash flicker at you but when you restarted the engine, the car runs fine?

Have you ever turned a flashlight off and given it a good shake and when you switch it back on, it works?

A reset.  All those instances are just versions of resetting something.  You return to the beginning and try again with the basics.
 

I was motivated by this article at Simple Marriage.  The author is talking about a reset in our parenting, but for me it resonated much more with my weight loss journey and especially my family's eating.

I need a reset.

I didn't do a Meal Plan Monday this week.  I'm kind of winging it because of the mass amounts of fresh produce our neighbors and friends have given us.  But the real reason is that I WANT to reset the way I do them.  I WANT to do our meals a bit differently.  My desire has not yet motivated me to action, though. 

I will get it in gear and get myself organized and return to plotting out our meals.  Hopefully sooner than later. 

Perfection

Is there something in your life that you don't do because you can't do it perfectly? 

My sister had a rodent problem in her pantry a few years ago.  The rodent was gone but the food was still being piled outside the pantry.  She knew she needed to thoroughly clean the shelves and everything but since she didn't have time to do it perfectly, it just never got done.  (It did eventually and I'm sure her pantry is lovely now and that she is so thankful I shared this with you all.)

Is this something that plagues you?  It does me.  Daily I have to remind myself that good enough is usually good enough.  My kitchen isn't spic and span, but the dishwasher is running.  My laundry isn't all done, but the linens are folded and put away.  I didn't exercise for an hour, but I did go for a 45 minute walk. 

In college, I had a quote that I repeated often as motivation.  It came from Calvin and Hobbes (you know, the literary greats of the 1990s).


I've quit trying to be perfect.  I'm just trying to be good.

I'm pretty sure I've mentioned all of this on here before.  It is something I struggle with and that is hard to face in a weight loss journey.  It is hard to not get the perfect number on the scale.  It is easy to get down on yourself because your calorie intake wasn't perfect.  The reflection in the mirror does NOT look perfect!

I've brought this subject up in social circles and it, generally, isn't received well.  We've been conditioned to think of "good enough" to be settling.  If we aren't striving for more, we are failing to thrive.  This constant battle for perfection isn't healthy.  It isn't satisfying.  It doesn't make us joyful people. 

There comes a time when doing our best is really good enough.  If we can only clean one shelf in our pantry today, that is good enough.  We'll get to the rest later.  No time for an hour at the gym, but you can squeeze in a 20 minute walk - great!!  Remember, doing a little something right is better than doing nothing right at all.

I've recently had an experience in my life where being perfect caused a lot of needless pain and grief and my willingness to admit my imperfection brought a lot of joy to another.   This article by Single Dad Laughing expresses my feelings much more beautifully than I ever could. 

I pray that each of us can know that being ourselves is good enough.  That the good we do is good enough.  That the baby steps we take each day to be good people is pretty darn great. 

Hey!  Did you know someone thinks you're cool?  Well, I do.

Keep On Keepin' On

An old phrase that I sing in my head is "keep on keepin' on." 

Some days that is all I can do.  Just keep on going.

Sometimes life is sticky and stinks and hard and we are left with two choices:

Lay down like a rock or keep on keepin' on.

My weight loss journey has taught me a lot about myself and my life.  It has taught me about moderation and avoiding extremes.  It has taught me that hard work does pay off, just maybe not immediately.  It has taught me that no matter how much we want or think we deserve something, if it isn't in the cards for us ... it won't happen.

This morning's weigh-in was a turning point.  I only lost half a pound this week, but that half a pound put me closer to my goal weight than my starting weight.  I'm more than half-way to where I want to be.  It has taken me six and a half months to get here and I would love for the next half to come off faster, but I'm getting closer.  I just need to keep on keepin' on.

I do need to decide on my next race though.  It is hard for me to get out and run and train unless I have something to run and train for.  My last race was fabulous.  My time wasn't the best (although not bad considering the circumstances) but I had fun.  It was the most fun race I've done.

And since I shared my not-as-good-as-I-would-have-liked prom pictures with you, I'll share my favorite race picture.  Taken just after the finish line, it doesn't do justice to how muddy I really was.  Next mud race, I go in all white!

My Next Race

I need motivation.

If I want my house to really get clean, having a dinner party will give me the motivation to do it.

If I want to really learn about something, having to teach a class will motivate me to learn better.

If I want to run for exercise, I need a race to make me get out of bed.

I realized this last summer when I first started running again.  I had tried running the previous summer and wimped out.  I was doing it to "get fit and lose weight."  Yeah, that wasn't motivation enough.  But last summer, I had a race in mind.  I was going to run in our city's heritage day 5k.

After finishing that race, I didn't have another one planned.  I ran once after that first 5k and then my heart wasn't into it.  There was no motivation, nothing to challenge me, nothing to dare me to do better and keep going.  I did end up running another 5k for charity a few months later, but it was cold by then and I wasn't motivated enough to run outside in the cold!

Now it is warm-ish and light enough in the mornings for me to get back out to run.  And I have at least two races in mind.  They are what keep me going.  They are what drag me out of bed and make me sweat even when I really, really, really hate sweating.  They are my motivation right now.

The first one is in less than two weeks.  It is The Dirty Dash in Midway, Utah.  To sum up this race, it is a 5k along Olympic cross-country skiing trails that have been transformed into mud with the occasional obstacle in the path to add to the fun.

I don't expect a personal best in this race.  I signed up for this race because it sounded different and fun.  My husband is doing it with me, the good sport.  I haven't played in the mud since I was in high school but I'm totally looking forward to it.

The other race I am set to do is, again, the one for our city's heritage days.  I am looking for a personal best there.  Last time I was slower than cold tar ... this time I want to have a much more respectable time.

Anybody want to recommend a 5k for a good cause?  Oh, but there has to be a t-shirt involved ... I'm all about the shirt.

The Prom - 15 Years Later

The end date of my goal was Saturday.

I'm terribly critical of myself.  It is really bad actually.  So, I am going to try to reign in some of that criticism when it comes to these after pictures.  But let me get this off my chest first ... I was horribly bloated and it was that time, it isn't my good side, and I wasn't standing up straight because I didn't want to look taller than my husband.  Whew.  I feel better.  

The result ... I wore my dress.  I still really like that dress.  I did have to have some alterations done to the chest area.  Apparently the girls are significantly larger than they were 15 years ago.  Other than that, the dress zipped up nicely and I could sit down easily.  Shoot, I even did the Boot, Scoot, and Boogie line dance wearing the dress.  My husband thought I looked beautiful.  I felt beautiful.

 The dance was fun.  Kevin and I danced.  We enjoyed each other.  We only bickered a little.   I didn't spend a single minute in the bathroom.  I call this goal completed and a success!

It just felt good to be in something I wore in high school.  It didn't fit anything like it did then ... four babies in the last few years will do that do a body.  I didn't get all the 10 pounds off that I wanted to, either, so maybe that would have made a difference.  I guess I'll just have to find an excuse to wear it again at that point!

Satisfaction

The scale reported no loss this week.  Eh.  Yesterday I was down a pound, but today that pound was back.

My weight tracker with Weight Watchers had this to say to me:

"If you’re satisfied with your weight this week, keep doing what you’ve been doing." 

It also said that if I wasn't to read some articles about plateaus.

I'm not at a plateau.  I'm just changing.  Two people in the last couple of days have commented on my looking-thinner-ness.  My husband keeps mentioning changes.  It is all good.  The number just didn't change this week.

But I had to think about those words,

"If you’re satisfied with your weight this week, keep doing what you’ve been doing."

Am I satisfied?  Am I satisfied with my weight loss efforts?  Am I satisfied in other areas of my life?

For me, the answer is yes.  Yes, I am satisfied with my weight loss.  I am making small, sustainable changes in my life that will naturally lead to a healthier me.  I'm satisfied with that number this week.

There are areas of my life where I'm not satisfied.  The reason I'm not satisfied, in most cases, is because I'm not giving those areas my all.  I'm not putting forth enough effort.  I'm not doing my best.

In my weight loss journey, I'm giving my best.  My best is different than your best.  It is mine.  And because I'm doing that, I can be satisfied with the scale and the physical changes I'm making.  My numbers may seem puny to what others can do, but it is MY best.  I'm satisfied.

In my parenting journey, I sometimes wonder if I'm giving my best.  I'm a religious person, but am I using that to help my parenting?  Am I praying enough for my children, for patience, for understanding, for an open-mind?  Am I spending enough time just being with my children and knowing them?  I had a form to fill out about my 4 year old a few weeks ago.  It asked me what his talents were.  I couldn't come up with one.  I felt like an awful mom.   I could have put "ability to charm the pants off anyone" but that didn't seem appropriate.  Do I really know my kids?  I know I could be doing better, therefore, I'm not satisfied.

As I look at the other areas of my life where I don't feel satisfied, I find the same thing ... I'm not giving those areas my best effort.  I'm coasting.  Coasting does not bring me satisfaction.

How about you?  Are you doing your best?  Have you learned to be satisfied with that?

Questions of the Day

I'm wondering.....

What made you take the first step to begin getting healthier?

Like, the literal first step?  What made you pull that workout DVD out of its dusty case?  What made you begin trying to keep track of what you eat everyday?  What caused you to decide that you have a goal, a plan, and a desire?

My first step came about with a conglomeration of fresh starts.

Me.  About 40 lbs ago.

Josh and I graduated from college and decided to move away from Colorado.  The little college town we lived in stifled us.  We weren't happy and we wanted to escape.  We weren't opposed to staying in Colorado, but we thought we'd take an even bigger risk and move to Montana. 

And we did.

We moved the week between Christmas 2007 and New Years 2008.  A new lifestyle (no more college living), a new job, a new state, a new year.  I'd known I needed to lose weight.  With both of my parents Type II diabetics, I knew I was heading down the same path.  I had already had to be mindful of my high cholesterol.  It was time to let that first step finally happen.  And then the second.  And then the third.

So that leads me to my next question.

What keeps you motivated to keep going?

If you don't have a bad day, then you're not paying attention to your own life.  Sorry.  That there's reality.  What has kept you going during those bad times?

My latest bad time was from about January to July of this year.  Major plateau.  And I quit my consistent exercise or even caring about what I ate.

I had to remember...

What keeps me going is the need to be healthy.  I'll never forget the first time I saw my dad after he had been diagnosed with diabetes.  He discovered it when he lost a lot of weight.  I had never seen my dad so thin.  My dad.  The man I considered Superman.  The man I thought would always be the big, strong beacon of stability in my life.  Hugging him freaked me out.  I could nearly touch my elbows. 

I want my health for myself, but also for my family.  If I can prevent my children from crying about how unhealthy their mother is, then I'll be happy.  I don't want to lessen my time with my husband or kids because I was lazy or didn't want to say no to the bag of cookies.  I really don't know how preventable my parents' health issues are.  I have a feeling they're more preventable than not.  But their health scares me and I want to break the cycle before it becomes unbreakable.

So leave a comment with your story.  Or blog it and let me know so I can read it. 

What made you take the first step to get healthy?

What keeps you going?