Not dead yet...

Forgive me.  There was Monty Python contest in Halifax this week.  Many many quotes accompanying my drive home.

But the intent is there.  The blog is not dead yet.  I'm just a little distracted.  I'm co-instructor for a Running Room clinic, working full time, part time masters student, full-time Mum and over committed volunteer.

What can you learn from that?  Exactly what I'm offering.  Make priorities.  Make sacrifices.  But keep running!

Running Gear

What I love:
Nike+
Sneakers
Running shirts, shorts, pants

What I wish was better:
Timex Ironman Triathlon
Garmin

What I haven't gotten the hang of yet:
GymBoss

What I'd like to try:
Nike+ bracelet

What's your favorite gear?

Then & Now

There's a change in perspective in my life. Because I've come to realize it's an amazing life. One filled with privilege and wonder. A life that is fortunate.

Don't get me wrong.  Complaining is an art I've perfected.  A career I treasured has been changed completely by new personnel.  My kids make me yell at my kids far too often.  There are days when cleaning poop off of two children and pee off the floor happens.  There isn't a car I can't curse into being a lemon.

But but but... I can run.  My body works reasonable well for all the extra weight.  When I'm running, I think about the other amazing things in my life.  Some of the highlights are:

• My wonderful husband who really couldn't be any better suited to me.
• An amazing family of 3 healthy little girls who each have their own personalities.
• The leave-it-to-beaver home life I had as a kid and the sisters and parents that continue to be part of our lives.
• Friendship offered by many of the same people who have been my friends forever, for half my life or even just a little less.
• The opportunity to learn, read, speak, write and argue without fear.
• Never knowing the fear of poverty, or questioning whether there was enough to feed, clothe and keep ourselves comfortable.

@Jen_Saunders said the other day, "there is no before & after, only then & now".  I think that defines a shift I am beginning.  There will be no after to weight loss.  No after for running.  There will just be what was then and what is now.

It's time to stop thinking about before as the day I ran 10km or the day I realized 300lbs was inevitable with my lifestyle.  It's time to stop thinking about after as a picture in a WW magazine with my size 24 jeans held in front of me.

There is just what was then and what I am now.

I define the now every day, every hour and every moment with the choices and decisions I make.

Gingerbread man

The rhyme goes: Run, run as fast as you can.
You can't catch me I'm the gingerbread man.


So how come I don't get faster when I eat the gingerbread man?

Sometimes it's not a great run

Despite some excellent company, tonights run was a slog.  I'm sore and achy.
But I did finish up 4 sets of 5&1 minute.

Things I have learned and can share:

1. Diet matters
2. Drinking water helps
3. Stretching is important
4. Pain killers are a very good friend.

Off to bed.

Logging a walk

Was sitting at my desk being inappropriately annoyed at something or someone when I remembered I'd dragged my sneakers to work.  So 10 minutes later my iPod, my sneakers and a t-shirt were off for an energetic walk in the hot-hot-heat.

Felt great!  Wonderful pace.  Nice music.  A little shade.  A little sun.  Almost had my smile back when I returned to work.

It's all about time

When to run...

Joined the Running Room Sunday morning Run Club for a lovely little jaunt.  The group did 3 & 1 x 5.  So glad to be out in the morning, because it's getting hot by 9am.  So an 8:30am start is way better than the 6:00pm start on Wednesdays.

The run was good. Helped to loosen up stiff muscles from my Saturday morning treadmill run.  The boot camp left me pleasantly tired and sore.  My muscles are feeling like I had a nice workout.

Was hoping to get out for another run on Monday morning, but it's almost 11:30pm and I'm still awake.  My guess is that I'll be running out the door feeling rushed to work with no run done.

Ran

Made it to the gym for a run today. Managed to get a full 10 min set in. A small 1 minute recovery. A final 8 minute run to finish it off.

Solid pace, but was a bit too much before boot camp.

What are you doing this weekend?

Recipe: Homemade Fudgesicle

My girls have been eating too much junk.  The end result is they're begging for more.  To beat the requests for freezies, I decided to try making my own fudgie ice cream snacks.  

Banana Fudgesicle

Ingredients

• 3 VERY ripe bananas
• 1/4 c chocolate chips
• 2 T low fat peanut butter

Instructions

1. Barely melt chocolate chips
2. Stir peanut butter into melted chocolate
3. Use food processor, Magic Bullet or blender to mix all 3 ingredients.
4. Use cooking spray on popsicle forms
5. Pour mix into popsicle forms
6. Freeze for 4+ hours
7. Eat!

This treat was very rich.  Next time I'll make it with less peanut butter and chocolate.  Might try replacing chocolate with cocoa.  I'm sure you could make it without the peanut butter for those who need to avoid nuts.

Really enjoyed the one I tried tonight.  Way more than this guy enjoyed his Nonfat Milk, Sugar, Corn Syrup Solids, Cocoa (Processed With Alkali) (Adds A Trivial Amount Of Fat), Modified Food Starch, Soy Protein Isolate, Microcrystalline Cellulose, Mono and Diglycerides (Adds A Trivial Amount Of Fat), Cellulose Gum, Guar Gum, Polysorbate 65 & Polysorbate 80, Carrageenan, Salt, Natural Flavor and Artificial Flavor treat.

But it's worth noting that it was probably a shortage of water that has me craving the sweets. These seem like a much better choice then the chocolate chip cookies I wanted to make!

Photo courtesy of Ian Hoar

Run, run, as fast as you can

I don't run very fast. So it was an easy decision to offer to be a 'sweeper' for the Learn to Run clinic. My role as one of the group leaders is to make sure:

• No one gets left behind.
  
• No one is lost.
  
• No one gets left on the road.

After my clinic, I wasn't expecting this to be a very challenging job. My speed will keep me close to the back middle, so I would slow a little and have some company. The Running Room's clinic is Thursday nights this term and I assumed a small group (20?).

Well, what my parents told me regularly as a teen - assume makes an ASS out of U and ME. This group is pushing 35. Being 1 of 3 group leaders is hard. No one is running the pace they want. It's like the beginning of a race - but for the whole run.

People don't want to slow down. And really? Who am I to tell them they should?

But if you're doing 1 & 2s for 7 sets, and you're in the front of the pack for the first 3 and walking the last 3? You're going out too fast.

When the group moves to 1 & 1s for 10 sets and you're still in the front for the first 3 and walking the last 3? You're going out too fast.

If you're trying to learn to run and you can't breath at the end of a minute? You're going out too fast.

It's not about being fast. It's about getting it done.

It's Legs and Lungs

It's true to say that my first attempt at learn to run was a failure. My second was difficult, but successful.

Throughout my second Learn to Run clinic I experienced difficulty at every level. Every week we increased the consecutive minutes running was harder. My legs were sore. My lungs hurt from the effort. My trip home was just thinking about the stretching, the waffle, the shower and the nap. Really? Once I'd done my run for a day I was done for the day.

This time around was a little different. Running came back slowly post-baby #3. But effort was made to get in shape with classes, gym routine, walking, ellipticals, etc. It's worked. Getting my run in for the day is just part of the day. Unless I got up at the crack-of-stupid for my run, I can get through a run day without a nap.

Maybe it's thrown my balance off a little, too.

My legs are ready for more - longer strides, further distance, faster pace. My lungs? Are dying. I feel like a smoker struggling for my last breath.

Any advice on how to get back in sync? (Besides not working out and letting my legs weaken to my lungs pace.)

Great run

No blogging.
Little twitter.
Less activity.
Almost no running.

That describes my last 3 weeks. Alternating between sadness for the end of my year long maternity leave and happiness at the enormously privilege it is to have my life there hasn't been much healthy going on.

But last nights run was great. Surprisingly great. I did my 1 & 1s x 10 with the Learn to Run clinic. (Walked the last few to make sure everyone made it back). Finished that up with some socializing. Then hit the road again for 10 & 1 x 2. It was hard. I wanted to give up at 3 minutes, and 5 minutes and 8 minutes on each 10 minute set. But I didn't. And it felt so good to make it. To be done. To complete. Even a few minutes on the run felt great!

Pretty sure it wouldn't have happened without the massage from Breathe in Bedford. My flexibility is amped way past normal. Massages will become a regular part of my live better, take on the world, challenge myself way of living.

Running. Oh yeah. Running was the goal.

So I finished the Learn to Run program at the Running Room. It was great fun once again. I'm proud and pleased I can run 10 minutes at a time and cover about 3km in 22 minutes or so.

I didn't pick up my pace the way I hoped I might. So I'm going to do the program again. There will be challenges this time. My work life resumes. The girls start their sports. Our schedule gets out of control. But I think I can make it work. And I'm sure I can KILL a 30 second run right now. Especially since I can kill it at the end of a 10 minute run.

The other part of success will be introducing some cross training. Last month it was a "Biggest Loser" workout. This month a Beach Body Workout. But what and when is still up in the air.

Are you running? How's it going?

Fight to the Finish Week 4

My Weigh In Results

Last week I forgot to weigh in. Two weeks ago I weighed in at 216.4lbs. Today… 215lbs.
My attempt at math:
216.4 - 215 = -1.4lbs

Goal 1 is to get below 200lbs, my first goal was 20.3lbs away.
Goal 2 is to get to my goal weight of 180lbs, my second goal is 40.3lbs away.
The % for these:
26% of the way to goal 1
13% of the way to to goal 2

Music for Running Fat & Large

The CRTC may have ruined me. My music taste is questionable at best. The preference is pretty strictly Canadian music, musicals and pop targeting teens - in that order.

My running "On the Run" playlist on my early generation iPod nano is heavily influenced by my preferences. That latest song that seems to get me moving is Girlfriend by Avril Lavigne. It fits the category of Canadian & pop.



It's replaced Sum 41's Fat Lip from the All Killer, No Filler album.



These are making it pretty clear to me I may have some inner teen angst haunting me despite approaching my 37th birthday! Especially since I'm pretty comfortable declaring myself a "casualty of society" and "victim of... conformity".

What do you listen to while running?
What would you recommend I add to my play list?

Fight to the Finish Week 2

My Weigh In Results

Last week I weighed in at 216.0lbs. Today… 216.4lbs.
Oh no! That's not the right direction.
My attempt at math:
216 - 216.4 = +.4lbs

Then I used the calculator at fitwatch to figure out that is .19% of my bodyweight.

That
Goal 1 is to get below 200lbs, my first goal was 20.3lbs away.
Goal 2 is to get to my goal weight of 180lbs, my second goal is 40.2lbs away.
The % for these:
21% of the way to goal 1
10% of the way to to goal 2

As I sit here eating a spinach salad and getting ready for a run? I have nothing but a heavy sigh.

Run run run run! Running Large, Running Fat but running.

Oh yeah, this blog started to talk about my return to running. But this whole healthy living, healthy eating thing seems to be taking priority.

Well, it is - and it isn't. My return to running is underway. The Running Room's Learn to Run clinic is a great way to keep me motivated. We've moved up to 4 minute runs and 1 minute walks. Total time out is about 20 minutes and my iPod Nike+ claims we're covering about 2.5km. The good is the motivation to keep going. Enjoying the Wednesday night and (sometimes) the Sunday morning run clubs. Barry is a solid leader. Encouraging and not annoying. The bad? Speed dating was a failure. I have no new running partner. A key part of my first success was finding the perfect partner, so it's disappointing not to have found 'the one'.

I've consistently gotten out for 3 runs a week since the class started 5 weeks ago. This week I'll be short an outdoor run, but I did get one in on the treadmill.

Canada's Food Guide - I'm lovin' it!

I am in love with eating Canada's Food Guide. It might not be helping me drop huge pounds. It's been a great behaviour modification tool. It's family friendly.

This week we setup our family Wall Pops white board with a simple grid. Our names across the top and the food groups down the side. Each block has the recommended number of that food group and enough room to check off the number of servings eaten.

It's a bit much for the 3 year old. Especially since she over eats for her 'age' but is probably bang on considering she's about a 4-year-olds size. The 6-year-old is learning it at school at the same time. She's getting it.

Maybe it's time for McDonalds to give up there "I'm lovin' it" theme and hand it over to something my family really all can love. The simplicity and healthy eating of the Canada Food Guide.

Fight to the Finish: First week results

My Weigh In Results

Last week I weighed in at 220.2lbs. Today… 216.0lbs.
That's down! The right direction.
My attempt at math:
220.2 - 216 = 4.2lbs lost.

Then I used the calculator at fitwatch to figure out that is 1.91% of my bodyweight.

Goal 1 is to get below 200lbs, my first goal was 20.3lbs away.
Goal 2 is to get to my goal weight of 180lbs, my second goal is 40.2lbs away.
The % for these:
21% of the way to goal 1
10% of the way to to goal 2

This makes it sound achievable!

Fight to the Finish: Blogger Battle Royale

Hanging around with the cool kids was really never my goal. But beating them? And beating them at their own 'game'? That's something I can get behind.

So when popular healthy living blogger Mische challenged No More Bacon's Ryan to a Fight to the Finish, I just knew I had to jump in. Especially with the trash talk. Love the trash talk.

So I am in, even though I can no longer find where I threw my hat in the ring. My starting weight was 220.2lbs. My goal is to smash through to 210lbs and try on a weight that starts with one hundred for the first time in my adult life.



With @jeninRL and @MrsFatass in on it, it can't help but be a fun way to inspire us all.

Fiber 1 Chocolate Peanut Butter Haystacks recipe

Craving a snack tonight and it had to be sweet. It's been a day of heavy exposure to sweets and goodies, but no eating. Tomorrow there's going to be cake, but today was just the torture of baking.

Fiber 1 Chocolate Peanut Butter Haystacks
Ingredients

• 1/2 c chocolate chips
  
• 1/2 c low fat peanut butter
  
• 1 T cocoa powder
  
• 1 c Fiber 1 original cereal
  
• 1/4 c coconut
  

Instructions

1. Mix Fiber 1 and coconut. In larger bowl.
   
2. In a microwave safe bowl, warm chocolate chips in microwave (about 1 minute).
   
3. Add peanut butter to soft chocolate chips and microwave (about 1 minute).
   
4. Stir in cocoa.
   
5. Add chocolate and peanut butter to cereal mix. Stir until coated. If the mix is a bit wet, add more cereal.
   
6. Place on cookie sheet or similar in 12 small piles.
   
7. Refrigerate about 2 hours.
   
8. Eat!
   

Really enjoyed the one I tried tonight. But it's worth noting that it was probably a shortage of water that has me craving the sweets. These seem like a much better choice then the chocolate chip cookies I wanted to make!

Eating right instead of eating wrong

Eating right is a struggle for me.

Mary tweeted about grocery shopping everyday. She reminded me how far I've come. Not that many years ago I walked through a grocery store to get home everyday. My habit was to pick up supper and my 'snack' for the night. Usually large chips & dip, cookies, Smartfood, chocolate, or my favorite - cheesies. I often ate a large bag of cheesies in one night. Or two. But never three.

When Mary tweeted? My first thought was - wouldn't that be great - fresh fish every night. Quick access to fruit when you run out. Salads just waiting to be picked up. That was a great reminder of how far I've come.

But within a few minutes I knew that today I'd still much rather open a giant bag of cheesies then make a salad. It's hard to understand. The cheesies taste yucky. I feel yucky when I eat them. There's even an eating hangover where my body is dragging for eating them.

So I do the easiest thing possible. I don't buy cheesies. If they get left at my house after a party? They've been known to be opened and DUMPED IN THE GARBAGE. (Or dropped in a food bank box).

But removing the nasty food from the house is just creating a new bad behaviour. Lynn at Life Health Fitness called it Disordered Eating. Mine is less severe. I don't purge. But I do binge. There's a need to keep eating when I'm:

• tired
  
• bored
  
• angry
  
• alone or
  
• with others
  

Sometimes I eat til I feel ill. I eat past the food tasting good. I eat when it makes me uncomfortable.

This behaviour? With the food hangovers, the yuck-factor? Gets in the way of my return to running. Slows me down. Makes me feel bad.

I'm going to beat it.

Eight years later, I can say that even if I lived IN a grocery store there will be no return to the daily intake of chips, chocolate or pop. That's a lifestyle change I've made.

And I'm keeping it.

Veggies gone wild!

The challenge for April was about upping the veggie intake, but now the challenge got bigger. I've signed up for a program at the gym. It was supposed to be just a workout program, or so I thought.

But it's everything. And I'm now eating the Canadian Food Guide. For me that means:

• Vegetables & Fruit - 7 to 8 servings
  
• Grain Products - 6 to 7 servings
  
• Milk & Alternatives - 2 servings
  
• Meat & Alternatives - 2 servings
  

7 to 8 servings seems crazy. But I've mostly gotten it in since Saturday. Pretty proud of that. A little heavy on the fruit, but still, much better then my usual day. I'm ready for something to work for me. The trainer I'm working with lost 100lbs using the Canada Food Guide and exercise. This is the something to help me smash though the 220lb range down to below 210lbs. Think how much easier running will be when there's 10lbs gone!

Next I need to fill you in on how much water he has me drinking.

OK2010A! Challenge #4 - Increasing veggies

Operation Kick 2010's Ass is commencing part IV.
Another month, another challenge. Are you ready?

This time we're back to a nutritional challenge. For the month of April your task is to eat two full servings of vegetables.

This is less than half of the recommended servings of vegetables each day. Two is better than none Two is nearly halfway to where you need to be.

Examples of one serving of vegetables:
five broccoli florets
ten baby carrots
one roma tomato
3/4 cup tomato juice
half of a baked sweet potato
one ear of corn
four slices of an onion
1 cup leafy greens

Potato does not count!

Here's a list of some interesting veggies. They can be canned, fresh or frozen.
http://cookery.newarchaeology.com/vegetables.php

Some suggestions for working your veggies in:
1. Soup with cabbage, spinach, carrots & celery something like the one I made but didn't eat
2. Spinach salad topped with strawberries, oranges & nuts
3. Roast cauliflower mashed half & half with boiled potato
4. Baked sweet potato done french fry style
5. Bake salmon with fennel and tomato.
6. Frozen stir fry veg with some soya sauce, oil, garlic, brown sugar or honey
7. Veggie fajitas
8. Roast root veggies and use on salad, quesadilla with feta, or on pasta with cream sauce
9. Caesar salad
10. Ants on a log

Hope you're in! Don't forget you're still working on
1. 30 min of activity a day
2. tracking food
3. squats challenge

Running - Slow, Fat and (sometimes) in Pain

As promised in the bio this is a blog about a return to running. This month I made good on an early part of my plan. If I can't do it on my own, I need to get help.

So I've returned to the Running Room's Learn to Run program. It's what got me running outside last time. It's also where I met my running partner. My first night back I called speed dating. Only if there was someone as slow as me was I going to stick around. It was successful. And I was relatively fast!

We're three weeks in now and I'm not fast. At all. Not sure why I did so well the first night. Waiting for the magic to happen again.
The program to date is:

March 27th - Run 1 minute, Walk 2 minutes
April 3rd - Run 1 minute, Walk 1 minute x 10
April 10th - Run 2 minutes, Walk 1 minute x 7

You do your first at the time with the group on Saturday. Two more runs during the week on your own or with the Running Club at the Running Room. I've made it out to most Wednesday night runs at 6pm. Even made a Sunday morning.

This morning we tackle 3 min runs and 1 min walks. Wish me luck! I follow that up with a weigh and measure appointment for the Biggest Loser contest I've entered. It's going to be a big day.

OK2010A! Challenge #3 - Squat Challenge

Let's skip to #4. Since March is now over, it's official, the squat challenge was a failure. But here's the blog post I SHOULD have put up.


Operation Kick 2010's Ass is commencing part III. Every month gives you another chance to start fresh.

For the third challenge I want you to sit your way to success. We'll be taking on the 200 Squat Challenge. It's well documented at http://www.twohundredsquats.com. There's even an iPhone & iPod Touch app.

Your commitment to the Squat challenge will count toward the 30 minutes of activity a day you're doing for the January challenge. The recommend time for you to a lot to the program is 30 min week over 3 days/week.

Why squats?

1. They're a functional exercise. They develop muscles and motions that we use ever day.
   
2. You can attempt the challenge to suit yourself. If 200 is too easy you can ramp it up with bicep curls. Too hard and you can repeat a week.
   
3. Squats don't require a special place. You can do them anywhere. No need to find a piece of floor to lay on. If need be you can lock yourself in a bathroom to get your squats done!
   
4. Low cost. The only costs for the squat challenge is your time. No need to buy equipment or join a gym.
   
5. Long-term commitment to health and fitness. The challenge will take as long as 6 weeks, taking us into the middle or April.
   
6. Long-term success. Next time you take a core class, stability ball class or other fitness class you'll be laughing at the request for two sets of 12 squats. That's just over 10% of what you can do!
   

To recap:
January was about doing 30 minutes of activity everyday. You're still committed to getting'er done.
February created the habit of writing down your food each day. Keep it up!
March is about adding a functional exercise to make us all stronger at everyday tasks.

On your mark, get set, SQUAT!

Singapore Noodles Recipe

A go-to meal for me and the husband. Add in wonton soup and dumplings and sauce for the kids and it's a take-out cooked at home.

Singapore Noodles
Ingredients

• 1 T sesame oil
  
• 1 T peanut or canola or vegetable oil
  
• 4-6 tsp minced garlic
  
• 2 T slivered fresh ginger
  
  
• 1 cup cooked match stick sliced protein of choice (chicken, pork, egg white)
  
• 1 slivered onion
  
• 1 slivered green pepper
  
• 1 slivered red pepper
  
• 2-3 carrots turned into strips with peeler
  
• 1 sm zucchini turned into strips with peeler
  
• add other veggies as desired peas, beans, green onions, etc
  
  
• 1/4 cup oyster sauce
  
• 3 T curry powder
  
• 2 tsp soy sauce
  
  
• package of rice vermicelli
  
• boiling water
  

Instructions

1. Heat cooking oil in wok. Cook garlic, ginger and onion until tender.
   
2. Start water boiling.
   
3. Stir fry protein until hot. Add veggies as desired and cooked to desired tenderness.
   
4. Make sauce with oyster sauce, curry powder, soy sauce. Add to veggies and protein.
   
5. Follow directions for rice vermicelli. Add cooked vermicelli to wok with sauce and protein. Stir.
   
6. Sit back and enjoy!
   

Would spaghetti squash noodles work instead of rice noodles? Let me know if you try it.

Slow Cooker Challenge

Taking on more than reasonable seems to be my regular plan. School, sick kids, running and the gym keep me pretty busy. But a desire to be a real 'blogger' had me jumping up yelling, "Pick me! Pick me!" when Ali of Fat to Fit was looking for volunteers for the Health Slow Cooker Challenge. (She even has a pretty image that I don't know how to include.)

I did it! I did! My day was Sunday and I cranked up the crockpot just after midnight with my oatmeal for breakfast. But my excuses are almost as good for exercise as they are for blogging. It's almost the end of Wednesday and I'm just writing it up now.

So breakfast was a grand success. Inspired by Steve Dinn's success at losing 101 lbs in less than a year I have followed his breakfast habit of steel cut oats.




Guess what? Steel cut oats are even better in the crockpot. I threw in a cup of PC steel cut oats and 3 1/2 cups of water and let it go all night. In the morning I dressed it up with a bit of sweetened cocoa and milk. Delicious!

Following that success I tackled an evening meal. I made my famous refrigerator soup. The recipe has many steps. Enough to write them in a loop.

if fridge is not empty:
---remove item from fridge
---if item is a soup ingredient
------put item in pot
---else place item on counter


Sundays soup was the result of a full fridge. It was full of wonderful health goodness. The ingredients included:
8 cup turkey stock
1 cup diced turkey
1/2 bag of frozen thai veggies
thinly cut spinach
onion
celery
salt
pepper
roasted herbs
OXO beef package
prosciutto
left over roast veggies (onion, carrots, celery potato & sweet potato)
summer savory
bay leaves

It was delicious. From the one spoonful I ate I can tell you that.

But I'm tired. And stupid. And I make mistakes. So I tasted it. We went out for supper. I came back and FORGOT TO PUT IT IN THE FRIDGE. Found it the next morning. So it's deliciousness is now hanging out in my compost. So sad.


Thank you to Ali for letting me take part in the Slow Cooker Challenge. You can find more great Slow Cooker Challenge recipes at:
One Day at a Time
Fat to Fit
La Fuji Mama
Happiness is a Journey for Janna
Shari Rocks a Lot
Embracing Balance

OK2010A! Challenge #2 - Bite it and write it!

Operation Kick 2010's Ass is commencing part II. It's time for you to jump onboard.

If you BITE IT, WRITE IT. For the month of February you are challenged to WRITE IT DOWN. You'll be recording your food everyday. Good days and bad days don't have anything to do with your calories, fat or choices. The only choice that is a bad choice is not writing it down (or lying to yourself about writing it all down).

It's pretty easy to do. You can make your own log book. Use a notebook. Log on to a site like SparkPeople. I'm planning to use an iPod Touch app called "Lose it!". Weight Watchers online or in person requires that you write it down (for some plans). As someone who has done this task before, here are my tips.

1. Have a back up plan. If you forget your iPod, you're not on your computer, or your notebook was left behind find someplace to write it down. It's easy to forget what you've eaten. I used to keep notepads in my bag, my diaper bag, and on the counter. At the end of the day I'd enter them all on the computer.
   
2. Be conscience of serving sizes and note that you had 3 servings of X or 1/2 a serving of Y.
   
3. Looking ahead to future challenges it's worth noting your water intake, fibre and a count of fruits & veggie servings.
   

Don't forget your 30 minutes a day of exercise is still expected. That was the new habit for January. This is the new habit for February.

The midway: 30 for 30

Just a quick update on the 30 for 30 challenge. I challenged a few friends to 30 minutes of activity everyday for 30 days. It's been enough to get us all moving more. Some are more successful than others. It's a reminder that life does get in the way. For me, that life is a reminder of why I want to get healthy.

So what does 30 for 30 look like when you're 225lbs+? It looks really inconsistent! Here's a glimpse at my log.

---

Day 30 - I did 31 minutes of Wii games. Not the best workout, but something.
Also dragged the baby around in the carrier at the mall & grocery store for over an hour. Slow pace but holding an extra 15lbs.

Day 29 - I did my 30 minutes. Mostly stretching and the other exercises I'm supposed to do everyday for physio. Unfortunately I was too sore to do much else. Physio hurts.
Haven't logged on to Biggest Loser on the Wii in a few days. (Did I tell you it sucks and not to buy it? The interface is horrible).

Day 28 - Got my Wii time in today. 30 minutes of step, and step related all while wearing the baby (extra 15lbs).
Now I need someone to strip a turkey carcass for me.

Day 27 - 35 min on the treadmill courtesy of Dinosaur Train & the exersaucer

Day 26 - Squeezing it in! 38 minutes on Wii, with only 45 min left in the day

Day 25 - 20 min on the treadmill followed with 10 minutes of core and 5 min of stretching.

Day 24 - Does 2 hrs on my feet wearing the baby & prepping for a 3-year-olds birthday party count?
later that night 30 minutes of stretching done! I'm tired.
As for falling off the food wagon? There is no food wagon. There's just paying attention. (But I totally get the shoveling in of things that I *think* are going to taste good and when they don't? I keep shoveling).

Day 23 - Thirty minutes of the treadmill! Done. Love the exersaucer and TV. But I'm sad that my Nike+ appears to have died from disuse.

Day 22 - I did a mixed work out at the gym. 15 minutes on the elliptical. 5 minutes on the stepper. 15-20 minutes of stretching and the physio I was assigned.

Day 21 - Finally got my 35 minutes on the Wii

Day 20 - Today was at the gym. First measured day on my new begin to run program. An aggressive paced 15 min walk after 15 min warm-up on elliptical and about 15 minutes of stretching & back/butt strength moves.

Day 19 - I've got 25 minutes done. 18 min walk plus stretching.
much later Finished off with 15 minutes of Wii

Day 18 - Got 15 minutes on the treadmill done before 10am. Not sure what else is on for today, but it won't involve using my shins much!
much later I did some Wii Fit+

Day 17 - 34min on the Wii - strength & yoga

Day 16 - I got it done. 25 min walk. 14 min elliptical and my regular stretching & strengthening

Day 15 - Today was a quick gym day. About 20 min on learn to run program and 10 min on elliptical. I am tired.

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You know how grateful I am to have access to and resources for a gym? and a Wii? and my own in-home high-end treadmill? It's great. I do appreciate it.

What are you doing? Want to get in on the end of the challenge? Or better yet, start your own.

OK2010A!

This year has a theme for me.  It's about embracing the whole of my life and living large.

My theme for the year, Operation Kick 2010's Ass (OK2010A!), started January 4, 2010.

You're welcome to be part of it. You're welcome to ignore it. This is part of how I'm going to face 2010, because 2010 is about generally maximizing fun for me, my husband and the kids.

Want to join me?  You are officially challenged to 30 minutes of new activity every day for 30 days.

We're all busy. Some of us are parenting a number of kids, some of us have stressful jobs, some of us are in the middle of profound life changes. But your goal is to take on another 30 minutes of activity. Include your kids, do it at your desk, on the Wii, 3 sets of 10 minutes, 6 sets of 5 minutes; whatever it takes to get it done.

Walks, squats at the bus stop, a class, a swim, a run, a video... if you're struggling with how to get it done, ask for help. We've all got ideas and we've all got excuses. (I can help with coming up with excuses, too!)

There is no weigh-in. No need to point to a before and after. This is about feeling better and having more energy. About creating good habits and modeling good behaviour for others in our lives. The pride of accomplishment is your reward.

The Sound of Silence

The silence is frustration. I'm bored of writing about excuses.

My treadmill has been as idle as my blog.
I hurt my back (again) and am just back to walking for fitness today.

But the blog, and my running, are both working on the same assumption:
I'm just going to have to start one more time then I stop.