Big Wins Today

Big Win #1 - Geneen Roth commented on my blog! THE Geneen Roth. Author of many books which I have owned and read and at least incorporated some of it into my life. I have NO idea how or what led her to it, but it was just amazing. And, yes, I am reading her latest book "Women, Food and God" at bedtime. I am just getting into the Part 2 - in which I think there are going to be some mental exercises described.

In case you are not familiar with Geneen Roth, in a nutshell she is all about understanding all the non-nutritional roles that food fills (When Food is Love). She was all about intuitive and mindful eating before it became trendy. :)

This leads me to Big Win #2 - saying "no, thank you" when offered the most yummy looking dessert pizza I have ever seen in my life. Why? Because after reading all the buzz generated by that CNN.com article about the addictive powers of junk food I have decided that it is probably in my best interest to try to avoid it.

Big Win #3 - I packed lots of healthy foods to take to school and remembered to eat when I was just starting to feel hungry instead of waiting till I was starving.

Big Win #4 - I have actually eaten 4 real servings of fruits and vegetables today. I was going to make some sort of comment about how it really should be better, but compared to 0, it's a big win.

And for the record, the Biggest Loser auditioning thing, it isn't so much about losing the weight as it is about having Jillian kick my a-- in the gym and me finally learning the tools I need to kick my compulsive eating to the curb. Now, the fact that major weight loss will happen at the same time? I'll take it. But, it's not the #1 thing I'm looking for.

Week 1 Galloway Training Program

It is the first week on the training schedule. I only got in one of my 30 minute walks instead of the 2 due to crazy after-school schedules this week. I discovered that with my hip thing (still ongoing) that running on the treadmill is not very comfortable. Today I am going to do my 3 mile "long" walk/run outside. The sun is out, it's cold (30's), it should be very nice. :)

I have to admit to freaking out a little and doing some self-sabotaging this week on the food/workout front. It's so silly because I KNOW I can do this. I KNOW this is my time. And yet, I still get that part of me that rebels.

Bedtime reading: Women, Food and God by Geneen Roth.

AND, I made a Facebook fan page to promote myself for Biggest Loser 10. If you would be so kind as to run to run over there and post a comment about why you think I would make a great contestant, I would sure appreciate it! The page is called "Help JEN get on Biggest Loser 10!" in case the link doesn't work. :)

EDIT: Just back from my 3 miles. My average pace was 18:03/mile. I was hoping for a negative split - which I got. But, I don't think my usual route over by the Trax station is doing my hip any favors, too much of a grade on the trail so my left hip is above my right hip for most of the walk. So, I may need to find a new "by my house" route.... I feel like I have a long way to go - literally and figuratively - but I'm optimistic.

Plan B - in which I embrace my inner superstar without the help of Biggest Loser

So, some of you have been following me on Twitter and/or Facebook and/or Spark and realize that yesterday I went to the Biggest Loser casting call here in SLC and did not get a call back. They still have my video and stuff, so it's not the end of the road, but it doesn't look like my lottery ticket has the winning number.

Instead of wallowing and pouting and whatever else, it is definitely time to commit to a Plan B.

My birthday is just barely less than 6 months away. (My half-birthday, a very important elementary school concept, was on Thursday.)

Time to visualize who I will be when I get to the starting line of the Top of Utah Marathon.

I will still be the person who LOVES her boys, her job, her house and her friends. But I would definitely LOVE for there to be less BAGGAGE on my BODY.

What do I need to do to get there?

Well, the number one thing I need to do is stop eating for the wrong reasons. To that end I am reading some Geneen Roth and doing some meditation and allowing myself to feel my feelings. (My family may not love that as I have already felt some frustration aimed AT them today.)

The next thing I need to do is settle into an eating routine which is nourishing. So, I gotta get back into my breakfast routine and planning/packing snacks for the school day. Another thing that is a must is avoiding sweets and soda - the more I avoid them, the more energy I have, the more energy I have, the healthier the choices I make. I will definitely pick up some Luna bars and the like to serve as my sweet tooth fix.

Finally, I need to remember that my first exercise commitment is to training for the race. And that means slogging the time, although most of the time I end up enjoying it. I need to do some soul searching tonight about what time of day I see working the best for this, and how that plays into being the best mom I can be in the afternoons as well. Thankfully with the Galloway training program I'm going to follow (see links list on the right) I know that my long walk/run will be on the weekend. Then I only need to do two other 30 minute workouts during the week. Where will this leave boxing? I'm not completely sure.

So, I realize it's not some big dramatic thing, but I really do want to rock this thing and I also know it's really just a matter of a few simple - although not easy - changes.

Thanks for all the love and support!

t-188 days

The past couple of weeks have been kinda weird. I have felt so "on again/off again" with my mindset. I think I have worked out what a lot of that was about and have let it go. There is a bit of work stress and the regular home stress and then the dumb issue with my left leg. But there is progress and a plan on all the fronts, so I'll take it.

Speaking of the leg, it has been a weird experience in PT. In the past when I have done therapy on an injury it has been pretty straightforward. By that I mean that my presenting symptoms have followed a very predictable pattern of healing. This leg thing? Not at all. At first it was presenting like bursitis in my hip. All the pain in that area is gone and then the hip flexor/psoas seemed to be the problem. But then when we try to isolate the hip, it turns out to be more about my really deep abs and my inner thigh (aductor?). Crazy. Through all of this, my right leg feels great. Thank God for that!

My workouts haven't been as consistent, nor have I pushed as hard for the past 2 weeks. This week I had PT on Tuesday and Friday, I was sick on Monday, I worked out Wednesday and will work out today. I am having a hard time deciding if I count the PT as a workout...

Anyway, I hope that over the next week or so that we get the pain to resolve in my leg so I can get back to normal.

On the nutrition front it is still a bit disasterous. I am still in the "head examining" portion of coming up with a plan.

Oh yeah, the really big news? (Ok, it's all relative!) I will be registering for Top of Utah on payday (Mar 25). That also marks the first weekend (a few days later) of the training schedule.....

Here I come!

week in review 3/7

The past couple of weeks have been a little on the rough side. My knee/quad/hip has been getting me down and I've just been feeling more tired than usual. In my brain (warped as it is) when I start to see my week not going as "ideal" I stop writing stuff down! This is a lame thing and I need to get over it!

Anyway, this week was also PTC. (For those of you in the non-teaching world that is "Parent Teacher Conferences".) This is always a big mess up of the regular routine.

So, Monday I was able to work out at Bressler's. Had a decent workout. I have been dragging in the morning so I think I am going to have to scrap the whole 6am thing and change around my schedule a bit because Tuesday morning didn't happen and then I had to take M to the dr in the afternoon. Wednesday and Thursday were PTC so no workout. So I went to Bressler's again on Friday and Saturday. I also had PT for said knee/quad/hip on Friday afternoon. Saturday was nice because the sun was out so I walked over to the gym. I really like doing that! It makes me hungry for the warmer weather!

Overall it was a good week. 3 hours of workout plus 1 hour of PT.

I also got my Biggest Loser audition video submitted. If I haven't heard anything from them by the casting call on March 20, I will also go to that. Of course I realize that BL is a total long shot. And while I am visualizing and trying to actualize myself there, I also am aware that I need to come up with a backup plan. So I'm working on that in my head, too.

Oh yeah, a final note, I got my labwork back from my physical. My anemia: kicked to the curb. My A1C: down to 6.3 from 7.3 a year ago AND I haven't taken Actos for 8 weeks, so this is with just one med. If I can get it below 6.0 I can start weaning off that drug as well. Bad news, triglycerides are WAY WAY up. This just points to the fact that I really need to start taking some control of what goes in my mouth.

Be!

ode to my week

oh bursitis you make me sound so old
the rock you have made of my hip hurts no matter how I try to sleep
the stretches and foam roller are like torture devices

and now, with parent teacher conferences I am missing 2 workout days

the warmer weather makes me long for the yard and garden

my biggest loser audition video has 21 views on youtube - have any of them been from casting? I may never know............

and those are the things on my mind