All the Sun For You

A mom, two boys, a husband, and a whole lot of adventure!

Monthly Archives: November 2014


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Lessons Learned 5 Months In

I’ve learned a lot about myself these last 5 months that I’ve been getting back to my old fit self. Truth be told, I’m fitter than I’ve ever been, even long before our IF troubles got us off course. I went into this knowing what had to be done, but I’ve learned some very important things along the way this time as well, and things that are more important than what I learned years ago, simply because I, and my life, have changed.

  • myfitnesspal is just that… My pal. I would not be where I am today without it. I credit that site for probably 50% of my success! Tracking all of my food and exercise is power for me.
  • I found my heartrate monitor (finally) the other day and man alive, it shows different calorie burns than the treadmill and websites that use pace, age, and weight. I was shocked to see that two of my workouts didn’t come close to what MFP or other apps said, and let’s face it… The HR monitor always wins. I work harder with it. I won’t work without it! (By my calculations, I was off around 600 calories a week in burn… that explains a lot!)
  • We have a lot to be proud of in regards to how we eat. We eat no processed foods (like NONE) and live pretty Paleo, which works well for us. I cook 5 meals a week (and usually 6) from scratch which makes it easy to enter things into MFP. Our dinners are rich and delicious and WHOLE. We miss out on nothing living this way.
  • Free days are for special times (date night) and breakfasts out! Use them!
  • I fit a workout in any time possible, which is necessary when you’re a SAHM with two active kids. Double naps are the best, but if only Bryson naps, I’ll do an INSAN.ITY workout with Matthew there to cheer me on. If they only double nap for 40 minutes, that’s run time. Once they’re in bed and we’re watching TV together, I’ll do resistance bands. There is always time to make it work, I just have to be flexible and creative!
  • Fitness is a hobby for me. I love finding new things to do and I get grumpy if I don’t workout. I’m lucky that this is the case.
  • Truth be told, I can run a lot faster than I was pushing myself to do. Thank you, HR monitor.
  • I am so lucky to have such a supportive spouse, and I need to keep telling him that I recognize that!
  • I have a drive that does not quit if I put my mind to something. I’m looking forward to even more fitness these next 5 weeks and then into the new year. I’m anxious to see what I can accomplish!
  • My kids are watching me. They’re mimicking what I do. They want to workout too, and that’s awesome! That, alone, could keep me going!

That’s about it! Good stuff for me to remember, especially going into the calorie-rich holidays! 

 


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A Second 10 Weeks in Review

Here I am, another 10 weeks later (actually 12 weeks later because of vacations), and I’m happy with my final statistics.  I didn’t hit my weight goal, but I did exceed my body fat goal, which is awesome!

Here are my 10-week stats (I didn’t test with push-ups, sit-ups, or the mile run… sorry!):

second 10 a

 

  • I lost a total of 4.25 inches over my entire body
  • I lost 10.4 pounds (goal was 12 pounds)
  • I lost 2.3% body fat (goal was 2.1%)
  • I lost 1.7 points in BMI

I had a goal of working out 6 days a week, and when this was all said and done, I ended up at 104% of that goal, which is something I’m super proud of.  Many days included double workouts, and I spent at least 5 hours a week, every week, exercising.  I also added a lot of strength training to this 10 weeks, which was really needed.

 

Here is my weight tracking over the 10 week period:

weight 10

 

And here are my before and after photos.  Please remember that the before photos from June are just hideous because I NEVER stand like that in real life.  The side view of the before photo still nauseates me, but it does show how far I’ve come in 23 weeks now!  There was no sucking it in in the after photos – just flexing those abs and arms!

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Top left 6/14/14; Top right 8/23/14; Bottom left 10/18/14; Bottom right  11/22/14

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Top left 6/14/14; Top right 8/23/14; Bottom left 10/18/14; Bottom right 11/22/14

 

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June 14th to November 22nd… oh the difference 5 months can make!

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5 Months of hard work!

 

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Today!

 

 

So there it is – not a lot to say because it’s late and I’m super tired, and I just did strength training for over an hour while we watched TV.  I start a new session TOMORROW and will post my starting stats (they may be different from these ending stats from Saturday).


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Fitness Stat-urday – Week 11 (FINAL WEEK)

Starting Statistics on 08/30/2014

  • Weight:  155 Pounds (took 0.6 pounds off during my stabilizing week)
  • Body Fat %:  25.1% (took 0.7% off during my stabilizing week)
  • BMI:  24.3
  • Predicted Weight from MyFit.nessP.al:  140 Pounds (targeting 1.5 pounds per week)

Goals for the Next 10 Weeks (Ending 11/22/2014)

  • Weight:  143 Pounds
  • Body Fat %:  23%
  • BMI:  22.4
  • Push-ups:  90
  • Sit-ups:  53
  • Mile Run Time:  7:26

Week Ending 11/22/2014

  • Week 11 Statistics
    • Weight:   144.6 Pounds
    • Pounds Lost or Gained:  0.8 Pounds lost since last week, but only 0.4 pounds since the low (145 pounds) two weeks ago
    • Body Fat %:  22.8%
    • Body Fat % Lost or Gained:  0.6% Lost
    • BMI: 22.6
    • Workout Days (goal is 6 days):  5 Days
    • Time Spent Being Active:   5 Hours 21 Minutes
    • Average Number of Steps Per Day:  13,600 Steps
    • Food: 
      • Sunday – Paleo meatballs
      • Monday – Beet soup (from our frozen stash) and 2 meatballs from last night
      • Tuesday – Butternut squash soup (from our frozen stash)
      • Wednesday – Chicken tortilla soup, shrimp and avocado skewers
      • Thursday – Curry bison burgers
      • Friday – Curry bison burgers and Brussels sprouts and mushrooms
      • Saturday – Free Night
    • Exercise/Activity:
      • Sunday – None – Rest Day – 12,300 Steps
      • Monday – Treadmill running (40 minutes), strength training (37 minutes) – 17,200 Steps
      • Tuesday – Treadmill running (52 minutes) – 17,100 Steps
      • Wednesday – Strength training (47 minutes), INSAN.ITY core (8 minutes) – 8,600 Steps
      • Thursday – INSA.NITY (57 minutes) – 13,400 Steps
      • Friday – Treadmill running (41 minutes), strength training (39 minutes) – 17,700 Steps
      • Saturday – None – Celebration Day – 8,900 Steps
    • Notes and findings: 
      • It’s going to be really hard to hit 143 pounds… at this point, I’m shooting for 144
      • I signed Hottie and myself up for an 8 mile run in the snow in 2.5 weeks.  Hell yes!  We actually ran it many, many years ago and it was one of the most memorable runs of my entire life – fresh crunchy snow under our feet, bald eagles flying above us, a high sun over a freezing day.  It was pure solitude, so I’m hoping for that again.
      • It’s only Tuesday morning and I am 145.4 pounds and 23.0% body fat. Here we go!
      • We’ve been watching “Under the D.ome” at night and I quickly realized that time was being wasted when I could be doing resistance bands while watching.  Two nights down, a season and a half of episodes to go!
      • I had 2 martinis to celebrate my friend’s birthday on Wednesday night.  I know the damage it may do, but it was worth it.
      • I took photos in case we don’t get them done this weekend.  I can see improvement since 5 weeks ago!
      • Final stats up tomorrow!

Previous Week


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The Plan – Going Into the Holidays

My second 10 weeks of fitness (10+2 weeks, actually) will be wrapping up on Saturday the 22nd.  This has been a long haul given all the travel and date nights we’ve been doing – it’s hard to eat sensibly when you’re having fun!  I also think that my body is getting pretty attached to the pounds that remain on it – it’s getting harder and harder to shed pounds and body fat, which is expected after you’ve lost 25 pounds already.

So people are asking, “what’s your end goal here?”  They want to know what my weight and body fat goals are for the long term, and that’s hard to answer.  I don’t really know what’s realistic or attainable.  I’d love to be 135 pounds (I was a soft 139 pounds at 14 years old) but that’s just a number.  I’d love to be a strong 135 pounds with a body fat percentage in the low 22%-iles, but I’m not 100% sure how to get there or how long it will take.  If I can end this current 10 weeks at 144-145 pounds, then that would leave 9-10 pounds to go.  This current 10 weeks shed only 10 pounds (I’m not complaining!), so I’m thinking it’s going to take some time – and a lot of work.

I’m a big fan of shorter-term goals, and the holidays are coming up, so I’m not going to even think about committing myself to another 10-week fitness period.  We may be out of town on the 22nd when this 10 week session wraps up, so I’m going to take my final stats and photos on Wednesday, 11/26, so that I’m not fretting about it if we’re out of town.  Doing it Wednesday gives me time to recover from a weekend away (I usually “correct” my weight and body fat by Tuesday/Wednesday after following a fun weekend) and it also sets me up for a 5-week stint until the new year.  This is PERFECT for setting a shorter goal over the holidays!

So what’s the goal for the 5 weeks between Thanksgiving and New Years day?

  • Whatever weight I end up at on 11/22, I’ll set a goal to drop 3.5 pounds from that number (no reason to get over-excited and shoot for a pound a week while I’m fighting the urge to eat holiday treats)
  • Whatever body fat % I end up at on 11/22, I’ll set a goal to drop 0.5% from that number
  • I will set a goal to exercise DAILY during those 5 weeks, but allow myself a pass on 3 of the 35 days (walking counts as exercise if it’s dedicated walking and not tooling around)
  • I will set a goal to do strength training two days a week instead of the one day I’m doing now
  • I will set a goal to get to the Y three days a week to ensure dedicated time without having to worry about the kids
  • I will set “final” goals for myself once this mini-session is complete

In typical fashion, I’ll be tracking my progress!


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Fitness Stat-urday – Week 10

Starting Statistics on 08/30/2014

  • Weight:  155 Pounds (took 0.6 pounds off during my stabilizing week)
  • Body Fat %:  25.1% (took 0.7% off during my stabilizing week)
  • BMI:  24.3
  • Predicted Weight from MyFit.nessP.al:  140 Pounds (targeting 1.5 pounds per week)

Goals for the Next 10 Weeks (Ending 11/22/2014)

  • Weight:  143 Pounds
  • Body Fat %:  23%
  • BMI:  22.4
  • Push-ups:  90
  • Sit-ups:  53
  • Mile Run Time:  7:26

Week Ending 11/15/2014

  • Week 10 Statistics
    • Weight:   146.4 Pound
    • Pounds Lost or Gained:  1.4 Pounds gained
    • Body Fat %:  23.4%
    • Body Fat % Lost or Gained:  0.1% gained
    • BMI: 22.9
    • Workout Days (goal is 6 days):  7 Days
    • Time Spent Being Active:   7 Hours 5 Minutes
    • Average Number of Steps Per Day:  15,314 Steps
  • Food: 
    • Sunday – Pork stuffed winter squash (leftovers)
    • Monday – Chi.ck Fil A grilled nuggets and fruit
    • Tuesday – Smoked meat and green beans
    • Wednesday – Panang shrimp (and brown rice…)
    • Thursday – Date night
    • Friday – Panang shrimp (again)
    • Saturday – Free Night
  • Exercise/Activity:
    • Sunday – INSAN.ITY (60 minutes)- 14,800 Steps
    • Monday – Mowed lawn (40 minutes) – 11,500 Steps
    • Tuesday – INSAN.ITY (51 minutes), treadmill walking (35 minutes) – 18,000 Steps
    • Wednesday – Treadmill running (47 minutes), treadmill walking (3 minutes) – 14,300 Steps
    • Thursday – Treadmill running (41 minutes), strength training (45 minutes), INSAN.ITY core (8 minutes) – 15,000 Steps
    • Friday – Treadmill running (60 minutes) – 18,500 Steps
    • Saturday – Ran a 5K (35 minutes) – 15,100 Steps
  • Notes and findings: 
    • I have two weeks left (I added a week so that there are 5 full weeks between taking mid-program and final measurements) – I think I’ll hit my goal, but you never know what can happen.  Hell, I just ate a cupcake (it was GOOD).  I will do double-workouts (40 minutes twice a day) for 2-3 days of this week to make sure I’ve got a jump start on those final two pounds
    • I’m starting to really think about my final weight and body fat goals – and those will take me beyond these 10+2 weeks.  I am thinking 135 pounds and 21.6% body fat would be good goals, but I’m just not sure.  What I do think I’ll do, though, is set a mini-goal for the timeframe between Thanksgiving and New Years (probably 3-4 pounds over those 4-5 weeks) to keep me focused (3 pounds would get me under 140 if I hit my 143 pound goal this week)
    • Not a good week to wrap up a challenge given that I had a birthday dinner and TWO date nights – all in a row.  It’s going to be hard to hit 144 NEXT week.
    • Great week in regards to exercise, terrible week in regards to eating.  Ugh.  I am up 1.4 pounds.  I won’t hit my 143 pound goal, but I’m OK with that because the three nights out were necessary.

Previous Week

Next Week


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First Family 5K

I signed our entire family up for a charity chocolate run this morning. It was a stroller-friendly 5k that wasn’t timed, and had chocolate afterwards. In other words, it was the perfect race for our family! We picked up our race packets yesterday and received loads of handmade chocolates and coupons for more chocolate. YES!

I borrowed a friend’s BOB for Matthew to ride with Hottie and we bundled the kids up (double everything) before hitting the start line. Bryson was asleep by the first mile and Matthew was shouting to get out of the stroller at about the same time. Ha!

Matthew had a kids race afterwards and his medal was solid chocolate. Oh boy! He’s already asking to do another race! He’ll be disappointed next time that there are no chocolate dipped bananas, fancy hot cocoa, biscoff cookies, and chocolate medals afterwards!  


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Two Dates

We’ve been using babysitters a lot more lately, which introduces teenage girl craziness into our all-boy lives. We have neighbors who have 3 girls (16, 13, and 10) who are wonderful with the boys, so we try to get one of the older girls once a month or more. Of the 4 times we’ve booked, they’ve cancelled twice and got confused on another time. Teenagers! So when the 13 year old and I were trying to figure out just when she could come, I was working another babysitting angle to ensure that Hottie and I could get out sans kids this weekend.

At right about the same moment, both sitters said they could come. One on Thursday, one on Friday. I booked them both!

Hottie and I went on a much-needed date last night and before the sitter arrived, Hottie kept asking, “is she here yet?” We both needed the break (and the boys were having a GREAT day… We just wanted to be alone together!).

We talked to each other, we listened, we laughed, and I cried. I cried over our embryos (I sometimes wonder late at night if they feel cold in the freezer) and our departed Lily Cat. We talked about the boys and how similar, and different, they are. We talked about where to vacation this winter, and we talked about where to go on our date the next night.

I’m not sure where we’re headed tonight, but I told Hottie there would be no tears. No embryo or Lily talk.

Just happy thoughts tonight!