My First Half Marathon

Wow. I did it. I can't believe it. Saturday, November 2nd, I completed my first half marathon.

 

Leading up to the race, I was so nervous. Did I prepare enough? Would I feel good while running? Would it start raining? Would I really be able to run all of it?

The race was held at a local brewery in the small town I used to live in. The weather was not the best. Temps in the low 40sF and cloudy. A bit of rain on the drive up, but thankfully it did not rain the entire time we were there. It would have been nice for the sun to make an appearance, but I was comfortable while running.

The race started at 11:30am. At the start, I felt good. I ran at an easy pace.

There were 4 water/Gatorade/bathroom stations around miles 2, 5, 8 and 10. The course was beautiful- it moved from city roads to country roads, around the lake, to a trail, back into town again.

At mile 2 I grabbed a water. There were some killer hills at this point. I wasn't training for hills, but I ran through them as best as I could- no walking!! At mile 5, the water station was not well managed and there were only two people trying their hardest to pour Gatorade and water as fast as they could. I grabbed a Gatorade and went on my way. I should have grabbed more.

Miles 7 and 8 were the hardest, although it was the prettiest part of the course- on the trail right by the lake. But I got hit hard with dehydration pains. Sharp, stabbing, twisting pain under my right rib. I had to stop. I tried so hard to run through it but I had to stop twice. I wanted to cry, I was so upset. I walked for maybe a minute or two, the pain eased a little and I said to myself- Walking won't get you to the water station any faster!

So I ran as well as I could and once I saw the water station ahead around mile 8 I was relieved! I doubled up on water and Gatorade there- two of each- took a second to drink as much as I could- and went on my way.

I got my second wind then and I felt amazing!! I thought-Wow, there's less than 5 miles left! Around the mile 10 water station, we were back in town. By then, there was only the length of a 5K left and the course was winding around town in a way that brought me to my old apartment building. The last part of the course went down a road where I started running last year. Ah, familiar territory. I was happy. My legs definitely were feeling crampy but I pushed through.

Even though I was a bit slower than I had hoped, I crossed the finish line just under my goal time of 2 hours and 15 min. In this photo, I'm in the purple, behind that lady who was just walking across the track in front of me... excuse me, I'm trying to finish a race here!
(photo credit to Teresa Hafemeister)




I finished 13.1 miles in an official time of 2 hours 14 minutes and 28 seconds. Yes, I had hoped to be faster but I am in no way disappointed. My real goal was to run the whole thing, and I still call that goal met. Even though I walked a very short portion, it wasn't because I was too tired or just couldn't continue on.

Immediately after finishing, my legs were SCREAMING at me! Ouch! I hobbled over to my friends and my husband- who were cheering me on at the finish line!! I sat right down after I got my free lasagna meal and free beer.
.

Yum...



Before I completed this race, I wasn't sure if I would do another half marathon.

Now, I am sure that I will enter this race again next year, and I've been looking around for another to do in the spring :)

I feel so accomplished!

Can you believe that this girl used to hate running and said she couldn't run??

Hah!

Brazilian Soup

You want this recipe!! Its amazingly delicious and super easy to make.


But before we get to that, I'll ramble on for a little bit. Don't worry, its worth it to get to the recipe.

Its the final countdown to my half marathon! Saturday is approaching quickly and I'm excited about it. I only hope I haven't been taking it too easy this last week. Yes, the week of the race should be a restful one- I have 2 short runs planned. I also took it somewhat easy last week too, since I had completed my 12 mile run the Saturday before last.

Speaking of my 12 mile run, it went smoothly! I decided to test out drinking Gatorade, since they will be handing it out along with water on the race course Saturday. I broke the 12 miles up into 4- 3 mile loops so I could swing by my house a couple of times.

I'm so glad that run went well, because up until then I wasn't sure if I could finish the half marathon in the time I have as my goal. I was able to finish 12 miles in about 1 hour and 57 minutes, although to be honest that does not include water breaks. They are quick water breaks, but I do stop my watch when I stop for water/Gatorade, because I'm stopped in my driveway. Its my thought that it probably evens out with the amount of time I spend stopped at intersections- you know, trying not to get hit by cars. I definitely want to finish the 13.1 miles in less than 2 hours and 15 minutes. I'm really hoping to finish closer to 2 hours and 10 minutes, or less. It will be hard but I will be trying my best!!


Ok ok-- On to the recipe! 

I came across this recipe on Pinterest, and here is the direct link, thanks to foodandwine.com.

Its light yet filling at the same time. Full of flavor and a little bit of heat. And its healthy!

Brazilian Soup with Chicken or Shrimp

 Serves 4

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
3/4 cup long-grain rice
1/4 teaspoon red-pepper flakes
1 3/4 teaspoons salt
1 3/4 cups canned crushed tomatoes in thick puree (from one 15-ounce can)
5 cups water
1 cup unsweetened coconut milk
1 1/2 pounds medium shrimp, shelled and cut in half horizontally
1/4 teaspoon fresh-ground black pepper
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley or cilantro

Variation Instead of the shrimp, use one pound of boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about three), cut crosswise into quarter-inch strips. Cook for the same amount of time.  

1. In a large pot, heat the oil over moderately low heat. Add the onion, bell pepper, and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables start to soften, about 10 minutes.
2. Add the rice, red-pepper flakes, salt, tomatoes, and water to the pot. Bring to a boil and cook until the rice is almost tender, about 10 minutes.
3. Stir the coconut milk into the soup. Bring back to a simmer and then stir in the shrimp or chicken. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until the shrimp are just done, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in the black pepper, lemon juice, and parsley or cilantro.

I chose chicken instead of shrimp because its cheaper. I also used cilantro instead of parsley because I absolutely LOVE cilantro and I think it adds a lot more flavor.


I also love a touch of acidity in my food. Throw a squeeze of fresh lemon juice just before you eat this soup. Trust me!




I divided this soup into 4 servings and ate it for lunch all week.

Nutrition information:

Calories- 320

Carbs- 34

Fat-10

Protein- 26

Calcium- 5

Fiber- 4

9 miles, 10 miles, 10K!

Well kiddos, if you keep up with me on Facebook (I figure most people who read this blog do), you know what I've been up to.



Last week was 9 miles. I ran 3- 3 mile loops. I took the advice given to me, which was to drink more water, and that helped tremendously! As much as I don't like to run circles over and over, I'd much rather do that and be able to stop at my house to grab a drink of water. I just stick a water bottle out in my driveway. Pretty easy.



And let me tell you... running loops around my own neighborhood was the best idea I had, considering what happened today. Today I ran 1- 4 mile loop and 2- 3 mile loops. I wish I could say that 10 miles went as smoothly as 9 miles did. I won't go into detail, but I ended up needing to make a pit stop. I was still about a mile away from my house. Needless to say, mile 7 ended up being my fastest mile :P





After that, I still had 3 miles to go. Those 3 miles were rough, and the slowest, but I still completed them. And no side pain!


My feet, after running today <---------
They feel pretty good right now!









Backing up, Sunday I participated in a 10K run. My training schedule suggested running a 5K, 10K or both during training. I signed up sort of last minute for a zoo run and I loved it! Maybe my favorite race so far. Very well organized, sweet t-shirt, nice race course, good after race refreshments (including one free beer per runner!), plus it was at a zoo so you could take time after to look at
animals.


Its probably the best I felt during a race too. I beat my previous 10K time by almost 2 whole minutes
and I still had enough juice left to sprint to the finish line.






I only have 2 more long training runs to complete before my half marathon... Only a month away now! 

I did it!

Training for a half marathon is hard!


Duh, Michelle. That's what you're probably thinking.

Each week I have to run more and more and I find myself almost dreading it, wondering what I got myself into. Doubt sets in. Can I really finish a half marathon? Not just finish, but finish with very very minimal walking. I'm talking no walking unless I absolutely HAVE to. I hate having to take walk breaks.



Today I ran 8.1 miles in 1 hour and 21 min. I'm pretty proud of that. Never ran that far before. Never ran for that amount of time before.

The thing I'm mad about is the walk break I had to take when I had less than a mile left. LESS THAN A MILE! What the hell happened? I got this twisting pinching in my lower right abdomen at around 7.15 miles. It turned into a stabbing pain and I had to walk. It hurt to breathe and I almost panicked. I got upset which made it worse! It felt a little better with walking but once I tried to run it immediately came back.

At about 7.45 miles I decided to suck it up and run. At 7.7ish miles it got better and I was feeling great again. SO mad though! That messed up my time! That stabbing pain hits me once in a while and I really wish I knew why. Sometimes it hits me at 2 miles, sometimes at 5. Thankfully, it doesn't happen during ever run.



Anyway, I ran a nice 4 mile loop so that I was able to stop at my house for a drink of water halfway through. My legs felt great, which is why I was so mad about the pain in my side.

I had mixed feelings about this run. I was excited to try out my new shoes, but I was worried about running longer than I ever had before.

Yes, its a pretty much a no-no to just go out and run that far in brand new shoes. BUT I realized that my other shoes were a big mistake. Looking at them, I'm not even sure what type of shoes they are, but they are definitely NOT made for running. They kill my feet. On runs longer than 3 or 4 miles, they leave giant blisters on my pinkie toes, and they rub the backs of my ankles raw. My feet just don't feel good at all after running in them.


My new shoes are definitely for RUNNING. I made sure of it. And I got them on sale! And they're so pretty! And I felt like I was running on clouds!


Well, not really. But my feet feel great right now!

Here's a link if you're interested in the shoes. I bought mine at Shopko yesterday.



Until next time everyone! I'll let you know how 9 miles goes next week.... Yikes...

Back on Track

I'm back!


I've been fairly busy lately and that's my only excuse for not writing lately. Finding a routine with my new job has been tricky, but I think I've gotten it figured out.

Having a job where I work during mealtimes has been an adjustment. I can't very well take a lunch break in the middle of the lunch shift. Coming home at 9pm and trying to cook dinner at that time doesn't work very well either. I've adjusted to eating just before work in the morning and trying not to order food after my shift more than once a week. If I work the dinner shift, I've entrusted the cooking of dinner to my crock pot.

Going out to eat is such a treat for me, its hard to say no, but I feel a million times better when I cook something healthy. So hopefully now that I'm back to eating like normal and not eating out all the time, these few lbs I've gained back will fall off...

In other news, I finally got a bike! I live so close to places like the gym, my work, and the bank that it seems silly to drive sometimes. I took it for a test run to the gym the other day and it works just fine. Haven't been able to take it to work just yet- too hot yesterday and it's going to be rainy today. Only problem with it so far is the kickstand is broken off.







I've been busy training for an upcoming race. I signed up for my first half marathon coming up on November 2nd. A race like this requires a good training plan. I've heard good things about Hal Higdon Training plans, so I've been following this plan.

This is the first race I'm nervous about. I've only run at most 7 miles at a time, and a half marathon is almost twice that length. Sometimes while I'm running I wonder what I was thinking, signing up for this race?!?! But I'm signed up and I'm going to do it.


That's it for me! Time to get ready for work :)

Falling Off The Wagon

It happens to everyone. Thankfully, I did not fall far!


I believe it all started when I started my new job. I have a new routine that I'm still getting used to. I've been at my job for over a month now so I really don't have any excuses now. The struggles I've been having come down to the fact that I'm not home during the day anymore so just like everyone else in the world, I have to re-work my personal life around my work schedule. Unfortunately, my work schedule is not set like I was used to, so its harder to plan ahead when I don't know until the week before what days I'm working!


As I said, my routine has been thrown off. As a result, I have been eating out more and not working out quite as much as I was before. Not a huge deal, but the eating out is something I really try to keep under control. I love love love eating at restaurants. Since my schedule is only put out weekly, I can't plan my menus bi-weekly like I used to. Since I wasn't planning meals, it was easier for my husband and I to go out. Plus, my new job is at a restaurant, so double temptation for me! My strength training has not been up to what it was either. I gave myself a little slack because I just started a new job...


Add all that together over the course of a month and a half, and you get a 4-5 lb weight gain. Boo!! If I had been keeping up with my normal routine, I would tell myself to take my measurements because it could have been muscle gain. Gain muscle= lose inches. But I knew that wasn't it.
I was hoping that being on my feet at work would offset some of those extra calories, but its easier to eat more than you burn when you eat out more. Restaurants add all kinds of sneaky calories that you might not realize. Most things are cooked in butter or oil. Even something that sounds healthy might not be what you think. That's why the food tastes so good ;)



Sad story! But the obvious plan for me moving forward is to menu plan weekly. I'd rather not shop every week, but looks looks like I'll have to. I'm lucky that my work schedule allows me to get up at a reasonable hour and have time to get to the gym or go for a run before work. I don't have to get up before the sun so I really can't complain!!



The moral of the story is: Recognize that little setbacks such as a small weight gain are not the end of the world. And life will change! Try to get ahead of the game if you can and put together a plan before the change sets in so that you don't fall back into bad habits. Hopefully I will take my own advice next time.

My First 10K

Well I did it! I finished my first 10K race on July 4th. My first official 6.2 miles.


My main goal was just to finish in under an hour. That means I'd have to run just a little faster than 10 min per mile, or 6 mph. Which was completely in line with how my training was going but ultimately, I really wanted to finish closer to 55 minutes.

I did meet my main goal. The time they called as I was crossing the finish line was 59:07. Yes!!!!












The run was not easy at all. I got up early enough to eat something and let it settle, to use the bathroom, and get up to the run in time to get my goody bag- bib, t-shirt (most important!), flyers for other upcoming runs, and free water bottle!

I think my downfall was grabbing a banana that morning. I wanted something quick and easy, but it was not easy on my stomach. Eating it an hour before running I figured would give it time to digest. But about a half mile into the run I could feel that stupid banana sitting in my stomach.


Ugh.


It was a pretty warm morning, the run started at 8:30am. My GPS watch did not catch a signal in time for the race to start, so it was about .15 miles off the entire time.

Despite the banana, I did pretty well until about mile 4-5.The course went out on country roads, then turned around and came back. The turn around was not good. The sun was in front of you at that point. There were no clouds in the sky, so I felt the sun sapping my energy. There were a couple rolling hills too, and so by mile 4 my legs felt like they were trudging through molasses.


I wanted to walk SO bad but I felt like I had my husband on one shoulder and Jillian Michaels on the other. He was saying- Don't you dare start walking, keep running!! And she was saying- Unless you faint, puke, or die, keep moving!!



In the end, I made it without walking. According to my GPS watch, my mile times were as follows:

Mile 1- 9:19
Mile 2- 9:28
Mile 3- 9:37
Mile 4- 9:43
Mile 5- 10:12
Mile 6- 9:33


You can see I got slower and slower. I definitely felt drained of energy, and for that I blame the banana. I gotta remember- stick with what you know works! Usually I eat a bowl of cereal or an english muffin with peanut butter in the morning before running or working out.







At the end of the day, I'm pretty proud of myself. I want to give a shout out to my mom and husband for being there at the race to support me. They got up early and hung out in the heat for an hour waiting for me to finish.

I have my sights set on completing a couple more 10Ks this year, and moving on up to a half marathon. I also want to complete a mud run soon too!!

Run Run Run

Hello friends!


I realize I've been MIA for a couple of weeks now. Just a bit of writer's block I guess.
I would like this blog to be primarily about fitness and health, but since I'm an expert in neither, I wasn't sure what to write! Who am I to give advice and tips to anyone? I'm just a regular person, not a personal trainer or nutritionist or physical therapist.

From now on, you'll find me writing more about my day to day experiences when it comes to fitness and health. I'll post about my successes and failures, any good recipes I come across, any good articles I've read...



Let's begin!



Sometimes, running just feels amazing. Like, better than usual. It was that way for me on Saturday. My training schedule said 6 miles. I haven't run that far in a long time, so I was nervous that it wouldn't go well. I've struggled the past few weeks because I've been switching my focus from weight lifting back to running. My body needed some time to re-adjust. As a result, some runs just felt draining. I had to take walk breaks and my legs just felt like they didn't want to keep going. I may have been pushing too hard though.

I'm pretty competitive with myself and don't like to back-track. If I was able to run at a certain pace, the next time I better a least run that fast or faster. It doesn't work like that when you take a break! You have to build back up.

By the time Saturday rolled around, though, I had finally been back in the swing of things long enough and I was able to enjoy my 6 miles, for the most part. My legs and lungs kept up with each other and I felt like I could run all day. Unfortunately, I've been struggling with a piercing side pain that tends to show up toward the end of some of my runs. Saturday around 4.25 miles AND 5 miles I had to stop and walk because of this pain. It isn't just a side cramp. Its a screaming pain just under my right side rib cage. If I try to run through it, I just can't because even shallow breathing makes it feel like I'm being stabbed!

BUT I walked for maybe 10-20 seconds, tried to take some deep breaths, started back up, and I was able to finish within my time goal of an hour. Six miles in 59:55 to be exact. Which is right around a 10 minute mile. Slower than I like, but for a long run that I'm not quite used to yet, I felt like a million bucks and I was pretty dern proud of myself.

Today though, was a little more typical. I ran 4.5 miles in 42:51, but my body was just saying- Heeey... why are you doing this... I wanna lay down!!
I wasn't in pain and I wasn't too tired to go on, but my body just wasn't really into it. I said- Shut up, we're doing this. 
No terrible side pain today so no walking breaks, which I'm thankful for!

If you're interested here are my times for today's run:

Mile 1- 9:31
Mile 2- 9:23
Mile 3- 9:32
Mile 4- 9:40
Mile 4.5- 4:44

This is more like what I'd like my mile times to be right now. I'm hoping to get down under 9 minutes by the end of the summer.

New shoes. Its best to go to an actual shoe store and get fitted properly, but I found these on clearance, and I'm hoping they work out for running shoes. I bought my last pair off the shelf too and haven't had any issues. I haven't had any foot/knee/back problems when it comes to running, except for a couple little blisters on my pinkie toes. So we'll see!

I'm training for my first 10K run which is next week on July 4th. I made up my own training schedule, based off another schedule I found on a running website. I used the schedule last fall. I'll talk about that another day though.

My goal is to finish the race in under an hour. Since I was able to run my 6 miles in just under an hour, I think I will be able to finish the 10K (6.2 miles) in under an hour as well. Those last .2 miles are the tricky part, but I usually run a bit faster on race day due to adrenaline and excitement :)


That's all for today! Thanks for stopping by!


-Emerald Eye

Mandarin Crunch Salad

I have a recipe for you today! A quick, delicious salad. I've eaten it twice in the past week. Monday night I was looking for something for dinner to go with my salmon fillet and I realized I had the ingredients to make up a yummy Asian style salad. I've decided to call it Mandarin Crunch Salad.

Mandarin Crunch Salad

Romaine leaf lettuce, about 5-6 large leaves

1/2 cup mandarin oranges in 100% juice, drained

1/2 cup shelled edemame, thawed

14 whole natural almonds, chopped (I used a food processor, or you could just use slivered almonds)

2 Tbsp Newman's Own Lite Sesame Ginger Dressing

Dash salt and pepper

Chop the lettuce and fill your bowl. Top with oranges, edemame, almonds, dressing, salt and pepper. EAT!!

Makes one serving. 

Nutrition: 301 calories, 37g carbs, 12g fat, 11g protein, 7g fiber.

You can add cooked cubed chicken or salmon to make the salad into a full meal.

If you're not familiar with edemame, its just soybeans. Don't be fooled by its look, it does not taste like lima beans! Its yummy and is a source of protein. I like to add it to Asian meals like stir fry, or roast it in the oven with a little olive oil and parmesan cheese for a snack.

To thaw the edemame, you can either run it under cold water in a strainer for a few minutes. Or microwave it with a little water for 30 seconds. For this salad, you don't want it to be hot, just thawed. 

Last time I left you I said my husband and I were participating in a 5K on Sunday. We did it! We ran together and finished the 3.1 miles in 28:40. Pretty good time, especially for my husband since he hasn't run much in awhile. 

Here we are, nearing the finish!

Back home, feeling accomplished :)

Everyone got a door prize after the race. This bandana was in one of our prizes... We decided to give it to Oscar.

I've decided its time to kick it up a notch with my running. After four 5K's I decided I'm ready to take on a 10K. Sending in my registration today for a 10K on July 4th!! I have about four weeks to get myself back up to running more than 5 miles at a time. A 10K is 6.2 miles... but I know I can do it. 

Have a great weekend!

Appliance Mania!

Just a personal, home style blog update today.


Isn't it sad the things you get excited for as an adult?


I was excited on Tuesday night to get our new....






Washer and Dryer!!


The past few Mondays since we've moved I've had to schlep down to the local laundromat and hang out for about an hour and a half. Now I don't have to!

Thank goodness.


I forgot how nice it is to have a washer and dryer in your house. We had one in our last apartment. It was right in our walk in closet, so that's about as convenient as it gets.

 

Ours are in the basement now, but at least they're in the same building! We enlisted the help of our neighbor to pick them up, transport them, and get them into our house. Surprisingly, they were not as hard to get down the stairs as I thought they would be. Well, I guess I can't be one to speak about that because I was not involved in the lifting process. But I supervised and neither neighbor nor husband hurt themselves so its all good! 

The only problems that came up were: Leaky water hook ups. The cold water hose needed a seal and our land lord came and tightened the hot water nozzle. I don't know the technical term but just behind the blue handle there it was leaking. The cold water one is leaking just a tad so we will be keeping our eye on that.

Only other problem was: No silver exhaust hose thing for the dryer. There was a piece coming out the ceiling but it wasn't long enough to attach to the bottom of the dryer. We had this top piece and the white box thing, which apparently you can leave open in the winter to blow hot air and help heat your basement if you want. Our land lord helped us out with this as well, but as you can see, we didn't have the proper clamps so we used good old duct tape! I had to duct tape it to the back of the dryer as well because as soon as I turned the dryer on it popped off.

But now I know these things, and if I ever need any of these parts I know they can be found at the hardware store. My land lord also gave me a bit of a scare. We hadn't plugged in the dryer yet so as I went to do it he said- Now that's the right size plug right? 

I didn't know they came in different sizes! Apparently there are at least three different ones attached to dryers. Thankfully ours fit the outlet.

*relief!*

So that's the new excitement here in our house. Yesterday I did some laundry, then went to yoga class :)

Hope you all had a good week! Tomorrow's Friday. I'll be crafting with my best friend on Saturday, then Sunday my husband and I are running a 5K. My fourth 5K of 2013. His first one in years. Stay tuned for that update. Have a great weekend!

Weight Loss: You're Probably Doing it Wrong

One thing that frustrates me is all the bad weight loss advice out there. Why is it so hard to get the truth? So many companies are trying to get your money by selling you a quick fix, when all you need is the right knowledge. Food companies are selling you low fat/low cal food that tastes bad and has less nutrition than a pencil! Fitness people put out videos claiming you can target your problem areas in just minutes a day! Other companies put out countless products such as pills, shakes, and snack bars claiming the fat will just melt off if you use their products!


In the past, I tried some of those quick fixes. One thing I almost tried were these patches that said they'd help you lose weight. What?! I tried taking pills that said they would help me burn fat. I tried eating too little. And guess what? I lost weight, BUT I gained it all back, and then some.


If you're looking to get healthy for life, take a step back and think logically. Do you want to lose weight quickly? Or are you more interested in creating a healthier lifestyle that will enable you to lose weight AND keep it off? If you think about it... what is sustainable? Are you really going to continue drinking those shakes for the rest of your life? Are you really going to say NO to ice cream and pizza forever?


My number one point would be:

Start Slow!

If you don't exercise, START NOW. Go for walks, try to jog, get on your bike, do some pushups and squats with just your body weight, get a DVD.

Take a look at your diet. Do you eat any fruits and veggies? When I was just starting out last Spring and looked at my diet I was sad when I realized I hardly ate any fresh fruits and veggies at all. Get rid of the chips and crackers and have some carrots and sugar snap peas for a snack! Make yourself a smoothie.




 
Swap a couple of your regular items for healthier choices. And I don't necessarily mean low fat/low calorie items. Read nutrition labels. Some diet foods have artificial additives and less nutrients than the full fat/full calorie alternative. There is some merit to eating full fat foods. Your body needs healthy fats. Regular butter, mayo, and healthy oils like olive and coconut are OK to eat every day in moderation! Stay away from trans fat completely.


When looking at your diet, also consider your portion sizes. That was a big problem for me. A suggestion that I hope everyone takes is to start measuring your food! Bust out those measuring cups, and get yourself a food scale. You can buy this one at Walmart, its that easy. Many food labels give you a portion size in ounces. If you don't measure, how will you know if you're eating a proper serving of chicken? I've been measuring my food for months now. Once you start measuring, you will be surprised at how many portions you are actually eating.


Also, realize that any food is ok, IN MODERATION. As I said before, are you going to say no to your favorite foods for the rest of your life? Not realistic. I used to beat myself up for eating certain things. Now, I'm much happier eating my nightly bowl of ice cream or chocolate, or enjoying dinner and drinks out with friends because I take care to watch what I'm eating on the whole. One meal or snack is not going to derail you. It is what it is. Carry on!



Which brings me to my all important next point:

Know How Your Body Works!

Do you know how many calories you should be eating? Many people have no idea. You can probably tell me that 3,500 calories equals a pound though.
Most people approach weight loss with the mentality that if they eat less, they will lose weight. Sure, that's true. But you could end up starving your poor body, leaving you weak and unhappy. Your body will start to store up fat and you will lose muscle. Here's a great article: Read especially the part that says: Staci in Early 2010. Prime example of what many people do.

When you're first starting out, I think its important to track what you're eating and track your exercise. If you don't know where you are to start, how will you get to where you want to go? You may think calorie counting is lame or too meticulous, but trust me it helps.

I am a member of a site called MyFitnessPal. When I started up in the fall of 2012, my calorie goal was set to 1300. Its a sad little amount of calories. I stuck to it well, but lost no weight. I was exercising and doing everything I was supposed to but no results. I browsed the forums and learned a lot from other people. Just regular people who lost weight, but did it the smart way. I ended up changing my calorie goals, ate MORE and lost weight.



I learned a little something about how the body works. Everyone forgets that your body burns calories ALL THE TIME. While you're sitting down, eating, digesting, breathing, sleeping. Your body is always burning calories.

How many calories does your body burn while at rest? You can get a rough estimate of your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) by plugging your stats into a calculator. I will list several at the bottom of the page. It's been explained to me that your BMR is the amount of calories a doctor would feed you if you were in a coma-- just enough to keep you alive.

That's great. Now you know how many calories you need to stay alive and not starve your body. But, we all move around during the day. Even if you sit at a desk all day, you still get up every so often, you walk to and from your car, etc. Now you need to know your Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE). Great thing is, you can also get a rough estimate of this with a calculator. Your body needs calories to fuel you and your workouts. Guess what? The more you move around and work out, the more you get to eat!! Its a lovely thing. 

I'll give you my numbers as an example. I plugged my stats into several online calculators and averaged them out.

The BMR for a 5'4" female weighing 135 averages out to around 1416 calories per day. Just to exist, my body burns more than 1400 calories!

The TDEE for a moderately active (3-5 workouts a week) 5'4" female weighing 135 averages to 2166!!

In order to maintain my current weight, I can eat around 2100 calories. This makes me happy! Happy happy dance! Because I love food! I just readjusted my calorie goals on MyFitnessPal a couple weeks ago. I had hit a plateau and realized that I was probably done losing weight, but not done losing fat. I really really wanted to hit 130, but more importantly, I wanted to continue to build muscle. In order to build muscle, the body needs calories. I bumped my calories up by 400 and am still holding steady.



In order to lose weight, try eating your TDEE minus 20%. This will give you a calorie deficit, which will result in weight loss while still fueling your body properly. So for me, that comes to 1680, or 1700 as I had rounded up :) Still, probably more calories than you thought right? You can cut more calories, but still be sure you are eating above your BMR. And reassess every so often. When your weight changes, your BMR and TDEE change.

Try it for a couple weeks. If something isn't right, reassess and add or subtract a couple hundred calories. I went from 1300 to 1500 to 1700 all the way up to 2100 now. But be realistic with your goals. One to two pounds a week is good for most people. More or less depending on how large or small you are.

Make sure your workouts don't become stale. Mix it up!! Take a week off of your regular workouts and try something new. The body adjusts after awhile. It becomes more efficient at whatever it is you're doing. That is, after all, what you're trying to do right? Make your body more efficient in everything it does, including burning fat.



My last point is:

Don't Get Discouraged By The Scale

You should take measurements in addition to weighing in. The scale is a tricky thing. Its a great tool to use at first, but the closer you get to your goal, the less indicative of progress it is.

And please please please stop saying "A pound of muscle weighs more than a pound of fat."

Do you hear what you're saying? "A pound weighs more than a pound." 

 No it doesn't. What you mean to say is that muscle is more dense than fat. Which means, the more fat you lose, the more INCHES you will lose. And the closer you get to your goal, if you are strength training (which you should be, everyone should but I'll save that for another post) you will be more likely to see a stall or even a gain on the scale. You are losing inches, but putting on muscle. This is why taking measurements is so important. You can also supplement this by judging how well your clothes fit. Are your old clothes still too big on you? Good. You're fine. Are your new jeans still making your butt look sexy? Even better!

You might not lose those last 5 lbs. Don't judge yourself by what the scale says. Tuck it away for awhile and focus on how you feel.  




There are many many myths out there, more than I have time to tackle today. But the main advice I can give you is be smart and keep a log of everything. I definitely recommend MyFitnessPal, especially if you enjoy social media and connecting with other people who have similar goals.

Losing weight is not easy, it takes dedication and commitment. If it were as easy as taking a pill or drinking some special shakes, no one would have a weight issue!!

BMR/TDEE Calculators:
http://www.fitnessfrog.com/calculators/tdee-calculator.html
http://www.quickbmr.com/
http://thefitgirls.com/tdee-calculator.aspx
http://iifym.com/tdee-calculator/
http://www.weight-loss-for-women-over-40.com/bmr-calorie-needs-calculator.htm

Body Weight Challenge and Summer Slaw Recipe

I have a challenge for you! The strength training program I'm following right now has my workout ending with a Body Weight Matrix. Do the following with no weights, just your own body, and time yourself:

24 squats
12 lunges each leg (24 total)
12 lunge jumps each leg (24 total)
24 squat jumps

Rest twice as long as it took you to complete the matrix, and repeat-- try to beat your time.

When I tried this the first time a couple weeks ago, my time was 2:38. My final time today was 1:43! And if you think you're in shape... try it anyway. I've been doing different variations of squats and lunges for a loooooong time now so I thought this would be no problemo for me. Wrong! My legs still burn when I do this!

What was your time??





Today I have a recipe for you as well. I came across this recipe on Pinterest. Pineapple Apple Zucchini Slaw with Mustard Dressing.


Delicious. I love slaw of any kind and this one is awesome because it is full of fruit as well as veggies. Its low in calories and packs a good punch of fiber. It would be a yummy side dish at a cookout, or a larger portion makes for a delicious lunch or dinner.

The thing is, my husband would never eat this! So I've made it for myself the past two Monday nights because he's not here. Since it was just for me, I cut it down to about a quarter of the recipe but still made about a half portion of the dressing because otherwise it didn't seem like it would be enough.

One big change I made which I think made it better, is I swapped out the basil for cilantro. I absolutely LOVE cilantro and I think it tastes great in slaws, especially this one.

Also, the great thing about dressings like this is that you can substitute rather easily. The original recipe calls for hot mustard and white balsamic vinegar- neither of which I had or wanted to buy just for this recipe. I substituted dijon mustard and rice vinegar. I would say you could easily substitute other mustard (except yellow) or any light vinegar here.

I'll post here a single large portion (probably equivalent to two side portions) which almost enough to fill me up at dinner last night- all for around 250 calories, 10 g fat, 38 g carbs, and 8 g fiber.

I'm calling it Summer Slaw because I think the fruit really brightens it up and makes it summery :)

SUMMER SLAW

5-8 Baby Carrots, sliced lengthwise

1/2 Zucchini, thinly sliced

1/2 Granny Smith Apple, thinly sliced

3/4 Cup Fresh Pineapple, thinly sliced

3/4 Cup Dole Coleslaw Mix

1 Green Onion, chopped

Fresh Cilantro to taste- about 1/8 cup.

Salt and Pepper to taste

Dressing:

1 Tbsp Real Mayo

1/2 tsp Dijon Mustard

1 Tbsp Rice Vinegar

1/2 tsp White Sugar

Combine dressing ingredients, whisk together. Pour over all other ingredients, toss and eat!!

Enjoy!

Coming soon: Crafts!! Stay tuned...

You Should Yoga

I went to yoga last night.

Best decision ever!!

The athletic club we belong to offers several different classes (for free!) and I finally got myself to one of those classes.

Yoga is something that I've been interested in and I've always wanted to attend regular classes. I don't have a great reason as to why I haven't gone until now, other than I didn't want to go all by myself to a place that I haven't been to before. Since I've been going to the athletic club regularly now, I'm already comfortable going there alone.

I'm not sure why I love yoga so much. I do have a special love for anything that has Asian roots- things from India, China, Japan. Maybe there's a certain mysticism about it. Whatever it is, I want to learn more.

My experience with yoga is sporadic. My first yoga experience was in college. I took a theater class and the professor liked to begin the class with a little bit of yoga.
For a while after that, I was using my Wii Fit, which has some yoga poses on it, but its definitely not a full representation of all that yoga is.

I own the P90X DVDs which include a yoga section. That is a really great yoga workout- definitely challenging!






Lastly, a year or two ago for a very short period of time my work offered yoga classes. I really enjoyed that and was disappointed that the participation was too low for them to continue.

Anyway, the point is that I think yoga is great and you should do it! Its a great supplement to any workout plan. It works your body and mind. It will help your mental focus, help you de-stress, help with flexibility and physical performance in anything you do.
 




If you'd like to go to a class, but you've never done any yoga, I'd recommend getting a DVD or book, or looking youtube for free videos. That way you can familiarize yourself with the basics. Or if you're brave, just jump right into a class and figure it out as you go!

Yoga is great for unwinding after a tough day or meditating to begin your day!

Here are a couple quick articles to get you started.
6 Yoga Basics for Beginners
Basics of Yoga
Basic Yoga Sequences (links to videos)



I'd just like to point out again, as it says on my 'about me' section, that I'm not an expert. I'm just passing along information. I definitely don't know a ton about the different types of yoga, but I'm hoping to learn more!

What's on the Menu?

It's 3pm and I'm sipping coffee. I don't normally drink coffee this late in the day, but I'm hoping it warms me up. It's a little chilly, dreary and raining again today :( Yesterday was amazingly warm and sunny, just the way spring should be!

This past Sunday would have been pretty good for a cookout but we were feeling lazy. I cooked turkey burgers on the stove. 

My new favorite thing is to sautee up some sweet onions and peppers and put them on things. Heat the frying pan up on medium/med-high heat, add a dash of olive oil, let that heat up for a min, then add sliced onion, pepper and seasoning. Gotta make sure you keep an eye on it though, and stir it, because I burned it on my first attempt!








 


Sunday, the yummy peppers and onions went on my burger.

 I've never been a big fan of peppers and onions until recently. I just went for it and ordered fajitas at our favorite Mexican restaurant a couple weeks ago and since then, I've been dying for more fajitas full of peppers and onions. They're on the menu for this Saturday!





Yes... I menu plan! I've been doing it for probably almost a year by now. I did it for a couple reasons.

First-- it eliminates the 'what should we have for dinner, we don't have anything to eat' problem.
Second-- it makes grocery shopping a million times easier.
Third-- it's easier to try new recipes if you've planned ahead.


I had this problem a lot: so many recipes on Pinterest that I wanted to try, but never had the supplies to make them.
Or: we feel like having tacos but have no ingredients for tacos.

And how many times am I going to run to the store in a week, just to buy a couple things?


That's not smart.

Here's a fairly typical menu:

I do two weeks at a time. Mondays and Wednesdays (and every third Friday) my husband works late so I don't plan anything. I eat much differently than he does :) The 'options' on the bottom of the menu are for me. I tried planning my breakfast/lunch, but I didn't really follow it. I graze throughout the day and basically eat what I feel like. So instead of wasting time trying to plan for myself, I just make sure I have a couple different ideas so I can be sure I have the ingredients.

While I'm filling out the menu, I fill out my grocery list. I divide it into categories- meats, dairy, toiletries, etc... to make it easier while shopping. Simultaneously, if I'm trying a new recipe, I print it out and clip it to the back of the menu (which goes onto the fridge) so its handy.








When I'm done with the recipe, it goes into my binder.

Divided into categories, of course.









This has been working out so well for us. It can be a little hard at first, but now that I have some good go-to recipes, it's been pretty easy. I honestly used to be so lost. It was a lot of meat and potatoes, Italian food, pizza, tacos... I got so bored!

If you love to cook and like trying new recipes, menu-planning might help you out :)

I don't have to scramble to figure out what my husband will eat for lunch at work anymore either. He almost always has leftovers he can take, and I always have sandwich supplies in case there's no leftovers.

Last two weeks' menu had mostly new recipes, so this two weeks' menu is easy- things I don't need a recipe for, like burgers, meatloaf, fajitas...




What's on the menu tonight?


Lasagna!

Change of Scenery

Happy Friday! Its not a great day... cold, windy, snowy. Blech. Started the day at work. Drove home and napped with Oscar, then met my mom at the gym to log some miles on the treadmill. 3.2 miles today.

This summer I plan on following this running schedule. I used it last fall, just to challenge myself. It'll help get my speed and endurance back up, which is important if I want to run a 10K in the fall and participate in the Warrior Dash!





Let's brighten up the day with some pictures!


My husband and I moved at the end of March. We moved from an upstairs one bedroom apartment to a two bedroom duplex. We are pretty settled by now. There's just some boxes and bins that I need to organize yet. I'll get around to that... sometime :)

When we first looked at the place, I thought it was ugly. Haha. The main problem was the way you were hit over the head by bright pink once you walked in the front door.







Thankfully, the landlord painted for us. He is very nice and let me choose paint colors. So I gave him three paint samples. I found out that he only really meant for me to pick one color for the living room and bedrooms. Whoops! Communication error. But apparently he's too nice to tell me 'no,' so when I handed him three different colors, he just went along with it.


I may as well give you a quick tour. These are panorama shots from my phone so they're a bit blurry and a little wonky but you get the idea.

When you walk in the front door:

If you come in through the garage:

The bedrooms were a dingy off white color. Here they are now:

Probably the best part of the house is the fenced in backyard. We were really lucky to find a place with such a nice backyard. Oscar can run around out there to his heart's content.

We're going to have to learn how to take care of a yard... starting with buying a lawn mower. But there are also random plants growing in very random places. Apparently a previous owner had severely over planted the yard and our landlord spent years clearing out hedges and other plants.

We are happy to get the benefits of living in a house, but also the perks of having a landlord to call when things like this happen. Water in the basement, running in through a window!







Luckily it was an easy fix (gutters were clogged which led to water building up in the window well) and there's been no problems since. Which is good with all the rain we've been getting.


So my projects for the house include finishing up unpacking and organizing, getting some stuff to hang on the walls, and cleaning up the yard- there's dead plants and sticks and stuff like that.


Well, the snow seems to have stopped for now and the sun is peeking out!! I hope everyone has a great weekend! Not much on my schedule this weekend except a hair appointment and grocery shopping tomorrow, and a gym date with my husband on Sunday. Maybe the weather will cooperate enough for a cookout? We'll see!

Adios~

About me and my blog

Hello and welcome to my blog!

I've been meaning to start a blog for some time now. Finally got around to it. I started this blog for a few reasons:
1. Keep friends and family updated on my life.
2. Help people by sharing my experiences with health, fitness, weight loss, and whatever else I end up sharing. I intend to be as open and honest as possible.
3. Share recipes and DIY projects, whether of my own creation or something I've found on Pinterest.
4. And, if all else fails, I at least hope to entertain you a little :)


Basic stuff about me:
I am Michelle. Married to my wonderful husband, Patrick, since October 2008. No kiddos yet... This is us this past Thanksgiving.

 

We are pet parents to a sassy, lovable Dachshund, Oscar. His face will most likely be plastered all over this blog, cuz he's just so cute :)

And a cat, who came with the name Tarah, but we just call her Kitty.













Background on me...
Last year I decided to take steps to live a healthier life. I was overweight and very unhappy with myself. I am proud to say that I have lost 30 lbs since then, and I am down 40 lbs overall from my highest weight about 4.5 years ago when I got married.

I gained what I like to call 'happy relationship weight.' You go out to eat a lot, eat what he eats, sit around watching movies, and before you know it, you've gained 30 lbs. I was not an overweight child or teenager. I was actually a very involved kid, participating in pretty much every sport and activity I could- softball, track, cheerleading, basketball, volleyball...

But as an adult, I never stuck to anything. My husband and I joined a gym. After about 2 months I stopped going. I got 'bored.' We started P90X and didn't even make it through the first month. I also got 'bored' with that too.

I say I got 'bored' but the truth is that I just got lazy and whiny and quit. As soon as I didn't feel like it, or it got hard, I quit. If it didn't come easy to me, then I thought I shouldn't be doing it. This was true with weight loss and everything else in my life.

Somehow I managed to lose about 10 lbs and keep it off without really trying too hard.

The last straw for me was last year when my brother got married. I was in the wedding and had wanted to lose weight beforehand. As a bridesmaid (actually I was a groomsmaid!), I obviously knew I would be in those pictures forever.

The wedding itself was wonderful!!

As soon as the pictures came out though, I was wildly disappointed in myself.

Its not just the physical aspect, either. I was a quitter. I complained about how I looked without actually doing anything about it. And that carried over to other parts of my life. I finally came to the realization that if I wanted my life to be different, I had to be the one to step up and do something about it.

February 2012 my husband and I joined a gym. I took a look at my diet. Typical American diet- lots and lots of carbs and hardly any fruits or vegetables. That was where I started. I just tried to eat more fruits and veggies, and get to the gym about 3 days a week.


At the time I was working a job that stressed me out to no end. I still work for the company-- working with adults with developmental disabilities. The job I had then was Mon-Fri full time PLUS lots of unexpected overtime and being on-call and eventually I just couldn't do it anymore. I stepped down, dropped to part time, and never looked back.






Fast forward to today. Right now I work full time overnight 10-12 hour shifts, BUT 8 of those hours I am paid to be asleep. SO... I have the majority of my days free. I have the time to work out 5-6 days a week. I cook a lot from scratch as well. You won't find many 'meals in a box' in my kitchen.



Last summer I saw a show called Extreme Makeover Weight Loss Edition. I highly recommend the show. The trainer helps individuals for a year at a time- each episode is dedicated to a particular person and their year long journey. There was an episode about a man that inspired me. He wanted to participate in a triathlon. His goal was to do it at the 6 month mark. He still weighed over 300 lbs, I believe, but he still did it and FINISHED it. The best part was the last part of the race- the 10K. He didn't even stop to walk. He kept on and he finished it.

Wow!

I always made the excuse that I can't run. I just can't! I tried cross country in 5th grade and HATED it. In track, the most I did was 400m hurdles, but I didn't like it. This guy inspired me though. If he can do it, I can do it.









Now... I participate in 5Ks.
Turns out, I can do it!
I plan on running more 5Ks and maybe a 10K this year. 
















I'm now at a healthy weight for my height, according to the BMI scale and I am a happier, more productive person.
It took me awhile to get here because I struggled along the way. But instead of giving up, I carried on and pushed through.


And that, my friends, is key.