Yummy

Here’s my lunch for today. ..A nice salad with oil and balsamic vinegar.

I bought a new app on my phone. “Couch to 5k”. I am going to try to go from being a couch potato to eventually running a 5k. I have a friend who wants to do the same thing. Yesterday, to get in to it, a friend and I went to a bike trail and walked 5 miles. The bike trail is 3 miles up and 3 miles back, but he stopped short a mile, because she had blisters on the back of her heels and I had one on each of the pads of my feet. It was a hot and humid day and we were thrilled to see this sign.

Have any of you started running after never doing it before? How did it go and any advice for me? 🙂

Basement to gym. Beginning stages.

My 20 year old, Beth, has flown the nest. What I have been working on lately is turning the basement(Her old room) into a playroom/gym/family room. It is going to take a lot of work doing it, but I am determined. I am hoping that doing so, will light a fire under my ass to work out. Here are some before and during pictures.

The dark dreary purple my 20 year old painted the basement.(Before picture)

Some hideous graffiti my 18 yr old son drew and a chalkboard my daughter spray painted on the wall.

More graffiti, compliments of my 18 year old son. The darker color on the right side of the left wall, is the color the room will be.

This room, used to be my “Teen Cave” when I was 19. The most graffiti I did, was the following picture:

This graffiti I did 22 years ago, is less than an inch across and hidden on a rafter.

I am realizing that teenagers today are so much less respectful, than back when I was a teen. I wouldn’t have even THOUGHT about drawing on the walls..My dad would have kicked my ass!

Anyway, got 2.5 of the 4 walls done. I also have to move some stuff Beth left behind and clean the floor.

Here is the first picture I will put up, upon completion of the room.

This is my brother, Roger, who passed away November 29, 2013. He is my inspiration for working out and getting healthy. I made this picture with a quote from his facebook page.

I’d like some feedback on maybe some good motivational quotes to print out and put on the walls. Please reply in comments with some good ones you have come across. Thank you. 🙂

Triggers, failures…

I am learning a lot about myself. via this blog. Triggers. We all have them when dieting. Whether it be from PMS, stress, or other things. I am learning my biggest trigger. Running low on food.

When I am running low on food at the house, eg; no meat, but some veggies, I tend to find excuses to sabotage myself. It’s very easy to say, “Uh. Let’s order Dominos tonight. It’s cheap and quick.”, after I procrastinate on making dinner. I have that tendency and I am realizing it. Instead of making excuses to order crap food, I should be working on making  a salad, which is still good enough for dinner.

This diet has been a two step forward, one step back process. I lose 14lbs, gain 4 lbs, lose 4 lbs, gain 4lbs. All by “cheating this one time.” I did it again, which is why I am writing this. As I have said before, I also have a tendency to run away from blogging for a few days when I cheat. Avoidance. I guess a coping mechanism of some point.

I start training this week for a new job. Once I start working, it will be full-time. I am hoping that will stop me from running low on food and using that as an excuse to eat shitty convenience meals. I think meal planning needs to be done, even if its done 24 hours in advance. Then I cannot use, “I don’t know what to cook” as an excuse to screw my diet up.

Exercise. I’ve been making excuses not to exercise. My brother died of a heart attack at the age of 50 years old, this past November. For the last 10 months of his life, he lost a lot a weight and was exercising religiously. I am afraid I will over exert myself and succumb to the kind of death he had. Yet, a sedimentary lifestyle will give me just that type of ending. I feel damned either way. It’s become my fear and a good excuse. Yet it really isn’t a good excuse. I need to get off my fat ass and exercise. I *WILL* get off my fat ass and exercise.

Why? Because I need to….But how? By not having self sabotaging behaviors. By believing I can do this. By putting my fear aside and saying, “Fuck this. I am going to live my life, not live in fear, because really, living in fear is not living at all. ”

So once again, I will climb back on the South Beach Wagon and work for the fit body I want. I will earn this body, because the body I live inside now was earned by  laying around and eating Ben & Jerry’s ice cream. The body I want is underneath the layers of fat that I own. I made my body how it is and I am the only one who can sculpt it to be what I want.

Tell me about your diet triggers and failures and what you have done to help ease into a healthy lifestyle. I am curious what others do.

❤

One month, two days, two hours, and thirty seven minutes since my last cigarette.

 

Exercise

Time: 30 minutes

Tension: 2

Miles: 11

Calories burned: Over 400..

I still cannot reset the exercise bikes settings. The miles said 61 when I started and I did it till it hit 72 miles, which was 30 minutes later. No picture today, because it came out too dark. (garage was cleaned and rearranged.)

I wanted to make excuses not to exercise today, but instead “got it over with”. Like eating steak, brussel sprouts, and a loaded baked potatoe, where you eat the food you dislike most, first.

I will do this. I am doing this. Why?

Cause I need to…

Day 7 of South Beach Diet

I went from 207.5 lbs to 199.0 lbs in a week. That’s a total of 8.5 lbs lost. I could have pushed myself farther than I did. I used the bike twice in the last week, not counting today.

 

Down 8.5lbs. Woohoo!

This next weeks goal will be to do: 30 minutes on the bike at least 5x’s this week. Also to successfully get in three meals and two snacks each day. And I would like to lose another 5 lbs. I don’t want to set the goal too high, because then I am setting myself up for failure. Failing is not an outcome I want this week.

Some things I have learned this past week: 1) When going to a friends house, bring my own snacks. 2)Drink lots of water to avoid constipation. 3)Excuses are not an option.

My goal when I started last week, was to be under 200lbs within a week and I successfully completed that goal. I was really afraid I may not have succeeded. I am learning failure is a choice. I do not choose to fail.

I set two HUGE goals this week..ones that people advise against or thinking is not possible. Let’s face it. When you quit smoking, you tend to eat a lot. If I did eat a lot this week, evidently it was the right foods. 🙂

If my brother was still alive, I know he would proud of me for losing weight this week and quitting smoking. I cried today, because I miss him so much and really wanted to call or text him to tell him what I did. He *IS* my inspiration. Although he died last November, last year he set his own goals and pushed himself to achieve them. He had lost over 50 lbs from January of 2013, until the day he died, by eating healthy and exercising. I just wish he would have quit smoking. But since he didn’t. I did…

Why? Cause I needed to..

Day 7, Phase 1 of South Beach Diet. Cigarette free: 6 days. 2 hrs, and 36 minutes.

Exercise

30 minutes on bike. Tension: 2. Calories burned 430. Miles a little over 11 miles. The calorie thing was the only thing that reset to zero when I started on bike and it wouldn’t cycle through. Based on the time, calories burned, and tension, I know its about 11  miles.

 

Exercise Today

Recumbent Bike.

30 Minutes.

Tension: 2.

Miles: 10.85

Calories Burned: 399.1

Recumbant Exercise Bike(Day One)

Used my exercise bike. Set the tension to 1.5, just because I am quite out of shape. Fluctuated between 18 and 34 miles an hour, depending on what song was playing on my phone. HAHA. I did 10.64 miles in 30 minutes and burned 391.12 calories. 🙂 I managed to survive. I am thinking perhaps I will keep the bike in the garage for now. It was cold in there when I first started and I broke a sweat half way through it. Not to mention no interruptions from the kids. #WINNING!