The Power of One

The Power of One. It is the theme of the new challenge at the Sisterhood of the Shrinking Jeans.
I signed up for the new challenge as soon as it was posted. I was doing so well with the last one, and my team was amazing. We ranked each week! I knew I needed to sign up.
Right now, I'm feeling quite discouraged. I know I can get through it, but I have had a rough couple of days and right now am resting, not even ready to start a challenge. I have hurt my hip/lower back. I know the right thing to do is to keep it iced and rested, but it sucks starting a challenge with an issue like this. I am going to stop feeling sorry for myself though... I am going to look on the bright side and think, just a few more days and I can get back in the groove. If I do well eating and hydrating, I should be able to flush out all this extra gunk buildup I have from the holidays!!!
SO - On we go… The Power of One…
Here's what I think of when I reflect on this challenge:
"I may only be one person, but I can be one person who makes a difference." 
That is actually one of my favorite quotes. I took a photo of it at a museum many years ago and I used to keep it hanging in my office. 
I think I will look for the negative (that's how long ago it was taken) and get it blown up and framed. I think this will be a good theme for not only this challenge, but this year. 2011. The Power of Me!
The beginning day of our challenge we are to post our Healthy Living Goals, not only for this challenge, but for the new year. I have so many I just don't know where to start. I've heard that when making goals, it's best to break them into small achievable items and to make them very specific.
That means, me saying I am going to be healthy by the end of the year. well, that isn't going to cut it even though that is exactly what i want.
Goal 1. Be done with the first 6 weeks of the Couch to 5K training by the end of this challenge. (I will restart it in 2 weeks. - after I get to see the dr on Monday I will confirm this)
Goal 2. Finish the C25K training and then move on to train for the 10K Zooma I am signed up for in June.
Goal 3. Run the full 10K in June.
If I can do these three things, I will most definitely be able to accomplish things that I would normally put here. Like lose 5-10 pounds, eat healthier, fit into my old clothes. You get the picture.
I have more goals that are not fitness related, but challenging in other ways. Number one is to outline and prioritize that list. I have 4 hours to sit in a car on our route to visit the family in WV this weekend. Though I doubt it will be excellent for my achy back and hip, it will be a good time to work on the list!
Happy day one of the Power of One Challenge everyone. 
I can't wait to workout with everyone again and get back in the groove!

Photo Review

I am going through a lot of images and trying to clear out the clutter. I came across this photo I took earlier in the year and I think it's still one of my absolute favorites. Not too amazing that it has beat out many of the photos of my son!

I just love how she looks. Hope you do too!

Time to start up the next year's plethora of posts and photos. I am still wavering (yes, me) on doing the 365 Photo Challenge. Has anyone else done the challenge? If so, do you just post them on your blog? I think that's the right thing to do, but not sure. I'm not worried about taking the photos, I know I can do that, I am worried about posting it each day. I know it will be easy if I start to use my phone for some photos, but Hmmm ... I guess I have a few days to decide!

Hope everyone's Holiday was wonderful and you are ready to begin the next year!

Holiday Hoedown Wrap-up

Happy Weigh-in Wednesday!

Okay, it wasn't exactly a win. It wasn't a gain either. I stayed at the same weight. I'm not going to complain. There were holiday parties on Friday and Saturday and Sunday I spent the entire day in the kitchen baking.

I got in a good deal of workout minutes but it could have been better. I cannot wait until the holidays are wrapped up. Literally. I can't wait until all the packages are wrapped, and then Saturday will be a lot of fun and I can sit back and relax. And gear up for the next challenge.

This challenge was a great start for me. I needed it. Shrinkingjeans has been great with tworkouts and teams and different things to challenge us. I loved every minute of it and I especially loved that I met people I had or never would have known if it weren't for the team they created for us. I didn't just lose weight, I gained friends. I will even get to meet one of the ladies in June because we're signed up to run the Annapolis Zooma in June!

I am looking forward to even more challenges, friends to meet and weight to lose in the new year! I just signed up for The Power of One that begins December 29th. See you all back on shrinkingjeans for the first weigh-in!

Yes, this is a short and sweet note. I am editing photos as I type and looking forward to the actual wrapping of presents so I can get some sleep! I also need to start my 2011 goal list. I need to set some so I get a plan for my new year. I cannot do another year of "wish I'd done's"

Night all!

Something Old — Something New — Something Blue

Whew! Another week is over for Team Winter Wonders and our ShrinkingJeans challenge and another week closer to Christmas! Yikes! I have got to start wrapping presents.

Today was weigh-in day. Whew = relief! I am down 2.4. That is a huge accomplishment for me. I really hope it sticks! I guess it's more like - I need to make it stick. I also got in more minutes than in the past couple of weeks and that is great for me too.

OLD - I stuck to some old routines, walking and walking and more walking. Last night was another fabulous tworkout. I am sore in the abs and thighs from that. I walked more in between the exercises - when I had time.

NEW - The new class I took was right before this week's challenge - last Monday. It was a kickboxing class which was fun and hard all at the same time. I have not had time - but had planned to take another class. I'm meeting a friend tonight for it "a modern mix of yoga and pilates".  We'll see how flexible I can be - I fear lots of achy muscles tomorrow.

BLUE - I think the biggest challenge for me this past week (besides the normal fitting it all into the time I have free) was staying clear of the sweets surrounding me during the holidays. To make matters worse, I co-hosted an annual cookie party. It's always a lot of fun, but it also has lots to do with bad calories. We make 6 dozen cookies to exchange. I must say, I am quite proud of how I didn't taste test every single cookie. It was not easy. Look at these beautiful blue snowflake cookies and melted snowmen cookies one wonderful participant made. Really?!! and I haven't tasted them yet. I left them for sharing with my son and friends!!!

All in all, I think this was a very successful week. I am hoping that next week is another successful one. Now it's time to head off to this new class and stick to my guns, um, goals!

Getting Out of My Comfort Zone

It's week 3 weigh-in over at Shrinkingjeans and this one wasn't exactly my favorite. I was up a pound. Grrr!

There's been lots of holiday chaos and workout squeezing going on these days. Doing it all is not easy. What does that mean? It's the mad dash to get to the stores ahead of closing time or in the split second before those annoyingly enticing bonus bucks expire (only to find out that the store is not closing until 12am-holiday hours are in full effect!) Then the rush over to meet a friend for a new workout class. Which was definitely fun and burned quite a bit of calories. Can't wait to get back!

I can accept todays crappy weigh-in, but only because I have worked out and eaten well all week. I drank tons of water, more water than I have in the past two weeks. I know it's a salt intake issue. My body holds on to every little granule of salt that goes into it. That darn canned soup - I knew better! Time to get to cooking some home made grub again. It tastes better and is healthier!

This week's fitness challenge is to try a new class. I did it! I had joined Transformations with one of those Living Social deals. It was a really good price. $20 for 20 classes. A girlfriend bought the deal with me (and that was before this week's challenge was posted) and we were able to pick a day to go together. We went to their Kickboxing class. There were 3 instructors. I was impressed. I tried to keep up, but it was NOT easy. I forgot to start my HR watch when we began the class, and by the time I did, the heart was already kicking and then the darn thing beeped at me the rest of the class. No clue what that was about, maybe just to keep on my toes! It was a lot of fun, and I will be trying another class again soon. I had forgotten how much fun a group class can be. I also was reminded of how being with a friend in a class or at the gym can help energize me. It's one of the reasons I have enjoyed being part of Shrinkingjeans. They are great at helping you get out of your comfort zone, work off some calories, and meet a lot of wonderful, supportive people!

I am not comfortable squeezed into my skin right now.

What am am is, excited about getting out of my comfort zone and finding a new me I am comfortable with.

Visualizing

I cannot believe it's already December 1st! Does anyone have an explanation for why time is flying by so quickly these days? Is it because everything we do in life is done in a hurry hurry hurry mode? I know it seems like fast forward anymore myself.

My clients are always late getting me things, but I have to Hurry Up and finish it at the original agreed to time. I do meet these crazy deadlines, but it's always at a cost.

For me, the cost is that I lose out on ME time and FAMILY time. When it all adds up, it's an incredible loss because I miss workouts, relaxation, reading, and the fun I could be having with my family watching my son grow up. It also adds up physically in weight gain. My health has to do with part of it, I know that, but I also stress eat, which is horrible. If I could only figure out what I can eat continuously, all day, and not gain weight!

All that being said, this past week was not that way. I had just come off a crazy overtime schedule with work, and was able to sit and relax. Almost too much and I really was antsy because I wasn't used to it. I was supposed to get in as many exercise minutes as possible for the week with my Holiday Hoedown challenge, and unless I can track shopping from 5am until 2pm, I had a pretty low number to record this week. I did walk a 5K as part of my Winter Wonders team plans. Most of my team mates recorded theirs for a virtual Turkey Trot on Thursday, but I was traveling. I made mine up on Sunday finally. I did pretty well with eating on Thanksgiving despite unhealthy food options placed in front of me to tempt. Tasted small amounts vs eating big helpings and I think that made a world of difference. I didn't feel like the stuffed turkey at the end of the day.

I was really pleased when even though my workout minutes were low, my weight decreased again. I was down 1.6 pounds this week. YEAH!

As I have dressed for work this week, clothes are starting to feel a little less stretched to snap or fasten. It's such a good feeling!

The Holiday Hoedown challenge this week wants us to post three things I'm going to do to stay on track this month.

1. Prepping for Breakfast and Lunch.
2. Getting outside the house to workout
3. Continue to visualize a smaller ME.

Number 1 is very important. I am always running out the door to the office, and most of the time it's about 5 minutes late. It never fails that as I am leaving my son decides he is hungry and I am a sucker for getting him his breakfast. Instead of telling him to wait until his father is ready to make him food, I prep it. What that does is hold me up from leaving. (And as a mom it still is hard to leave him at the kitchen table eating solo.) If I get things together, even in my mind, the night before it makes it so much easier to just head out. It's still another late night thing for me to do, but I have always been more of a night owl than an early bird!

Number 2 will be easier to do since I got a great deal on some classes at a gym to use for a bit. It's a little more out of my way, but it's a 20 class deal, and I am going to try to get in there for 1-2 early morning classes to help me get back to a morning workout routine (long term goal!)

Number 3 is the most important. I have so many nicer clothes in my closet from just before I got married, and before my pregnancy. I have stopped shopping for lots of clothes, I buy only necessities. There are more than one item in my closet I am visualizing fitting back into. It's what helps me keep going.

I pass my wedding photos hanging on my wall and see a really different me. A ME without this extra weight that pulls down on me, and makes my clothes not fit, and say - I can get back to that ME. A ME that I was really proud of, and looked healthier.

A ME I visualize being again soon!