My Spark Page

For those of you who are trying to find friends on Sparkpeople .... you need to create a My Spark Page.  When you go to the START page there are 3 columns - My Tools (in orange), My Content (in Blue) and My Community (in Green).  Under My Community you will see something that says "Create My Spark Page".  It doesn't take long to set up.

Lazy days ;)

SPARKPEOPLE

Seems like Sparkpeople is the buzz around bloggerland these days.  Count me in on those who have been frequenting that site.  I've even got my sister-in-law hooked on to it. 

When I first started on it I found it a bit tedious to enter each and every food into my diary.  However, as the days go by and I add more items to my favourites, it doesn't take long at all to enter everything.

I like to enter what I "plan" to eat the day before, then I just make changes as necessary.  I LOVE the feature where you can copy a meal from one day to another.  Makes it super quick when you have some meals that you eat frequently.

According to their formulas I should have lost about 4 1/2 lbs in the last month.  I'm down 2, guess I can't complain.  However, I'm still floating around that same 147 lbs that I've been bouncing around for months, so I'm hoping it will dip under that one of these days.

For anybody who wants to be my friend on there (hahah, does that sound desperate??? heeeheee) my username is TIAVER.  Feel free to add me, just let me know who you are as I'm not really keen on just adding anybody.  At the moment I have my food & fitness journals open to sharing with friends.

FEELING LAZY

Maybe some would call me crazy, but I've been feeling lazy this week.  Sunday I "only" ran 11Km.  Monday, both my kids had upset stomachs so my son didn't do soccer practice, which means I didn't get out for my run.  By the time I ran around, cooked, cleaned, etc I was just beat and didn't exercise.  Tuesday I "only" ran 40 minutes (well 35 actually because my tummy felt off).  Could have had another workout in the gym that night but I wanted to watch the finale for So You Think You Can Dance Canada (one of my favs!).  Then last night I had to take my kids to their sports and had a meeting at the school so I "only" got in 30 min of playing soccer with my daughter. 

For me this is very lax and I don't like it!

I'm hoping to get some long runs in between tonight and Sunday - PLUS some gym time.  Gotta keep those muscles building.

Got some pretty fun stuff planned for this weekend ... I can't wait!!!

Mi Vida Loca

It has been a crazy one lately!  Sometimes I wonder if my head is still screwed on straight.  Things have been a bit stressful and worrisome (waiting on a little bit more news and will share in time).  Worrying about loved ones, have a truck load of bookkeeping to do ... but the one thing I refuse to let slide is my health & activity level.  It may be the only thing I have left that I can control.

Friday and Saturday it poured here all day ... and I mean POURED!  Saturday we got 56mm of rain, and I think half of that is still in the shoes I wore that day.  My son had to play soccer in that mess, and half of his team didn't show up so they played short.  What a miserable day for that.

But Sunday .... ah Sunday ... that was beautiful.  My running friends wanted to go to a different trail than we normally do.  This one is not all that populated so I'm really glad my husband came along to run with me.  I'm guessing we did about 11K, a little shorter than normal.  It was slightly crisp starting out, but the sun was shining bright.  With the leaves changing colors it was just spectacular.  Definitely an enjoyable run.  I wish I had taken a small camera along.  It was gorgeous.

I know I haven't bee blogging much, and I haven't been commenting on others blogs much either - but I am trying to read as much as I can and think about my blogging buddies lots.  Hope everyone is doing well, and hopefully I can get to more regular blogging soon.

Take care....

Heidi

Where, Oh Where has Heidi been???

Oh where, oh where can she be???????

Hmmmm ... I'm right here ... not missing.  Last week I got myself in a blogging funk and couldn't get to doing it.  Some days I just don't have anything to say, nothing interesting to take pics of, nothing to report.

But, my absence does NOT equal falling off the wagon.  I've been healthy, active and all that fun stuff.

So, what have I been up to .....

SHOPPING

I went shopping with my sister in law and finally found myself a pair of jeans.  I swear I tried on about 20 pairs before I found one that was OK (still not great, but pretty good).  Also bought a few boring tanks & t-shirts and then one super sexy top that will be revealed later.  I want to surprise my hubby with that one. :)

My sister in law is a super shopper and I'm really glad she came with me.  I kept trying on things, thinking they looked horrible and she'd tell me No, it's too big - get a smaller size.  And she was right!  I started out trying on jeans in a size 30 and ended up needing either a 29 or sometimes even a 28.

Then when we were trying on tops I'd grab a medium or a large and every time I needed it one size smaller.  I NEVER would have tried on a size small, but she was right, it looked much better.  Any idea how long it's been since I've had a size small in my closet???  Long time!

RUNNING

The other day I ventured out for a longer run.  I had planned on doing about 10K, but part way through I changed my mind on the route and figured I'd end up being a bit short.  So when I got close to home I still had tons of gas in the tank and decided to add on the big block around my house.  I figured this would get me around 12-13K which is about what I run most Sundays.  It was one of those days I could have just run forever.

When I got home I mapped out the route I took .... 15 Km!  HAHAHA, a little longer than planned and it certainly didn't feel like it.  It was a nice route too, so I'll be sure to do it again.

SPARKPEOPLE

I'm still entering EVERY SINGLE food I eat on sparkpeople.com - every bite. It's making me really nervous because my calorie range is 1260-1610 and I've been averaging around 1350-1400 and haven't felt the slightest bit hungry. 

According to calories in vs. calories out I should be losing 1.5 lbs per week, but it sure doesn't feel like it. So ... I caved and got on the scale yesterday (first time this month). And ... yeah ... I've lost nothing, zilch, not even a .2 :(. So frustrating, makes me want to smash my head into a wall.

I hear over and over that weight loss is as simple as calories in vs. calories out - but why isn't it that way for me?? I feel like duct taping my mouth shut and climbing on the treadmill 24/7.

But ... I don't know what else to do so I just keep going on.  That's probably insane, who knows.  I could lower the calorie intake, but with the exercise I do I don't think that's wise.  I know I can't/won't stop or give up - that's just not an option.  It sure would be nice to lose this tummy pudge though.

Here's my menu for today, which is fairly typical.  If you see anything on here you'd like to comment on, feel free.  I'm open....

Breakfast - 1 cup plain, fat free yoghurt and 1/2 cup Kashi Go Lean cereal, 1 Kiwi
Lunch - 1.5 cups homemade turkey soup (broth, turkey & vegetables only), 9 wheat thin crackers, 1 light Laughing Cow Cheese Wedge, 2 med carrots, 2 small peppers, 2 med. stalks celery
Snack - Nectarine
Dinner - 3 oz. roast beef, baked sweet potato (no butter), Salad with light balsamic vinagrette
Snack (after workout) - 1 apple, 1 tbsp. peanut butter

Calories - 1220

This is more fruit than I usually have in a day, but I bought a bunch recently and don't want to waste it.

Tonight I'm doing my own little mini bootcamp which will include stairs, sprints, lunges, push-ups, tricep dips, crunches, and planks.

I almost did it!

GROUSE GRIND
Last week I mentioned that I took a shot at one of the goals I had set for 2009.  I climbed the stairway of Hell to Heaven (aka the Grouse Grind).  Here's my post on that attempt.  My goal had been to climb it under 50 minutes and last week I climbed it in 58 minutes and 42 second (which was a HUGE improvement from when I did it last year).  I decided after that climb that maybe 50 minutes was too lofty for this year and I tabled it.

This past weekend however I decided to get out there and give it another go.  The advantage I had this time was I knew my interval times at the 1/4 markers and how long it took me to do each segment.  So I figured on pushing each section just a little bit harder.  I was hoping to shave another minute or two off of my total time. 

I started off and pushed it hard right from the beginning because I was pretty sure I could do the first 1/4 quite a bit faster.  Last time at the 1/4 mark my time was 16:47, this time I got there in 15:14.  Cool!!!  Based on that I knew I could finish it faster.  But I had pushed hard and decided to take a short 20-30 second break to catch my breath again.

Then I pushed on through the next 1/4 to the halfway mark.  Last week I got there in about 28 minutes, so I figured this time I would be there around 27.  But ... I got there in 25 minutes ... that's another few minutes improvement.  Took another short break to catch my breath.

The third 1/4 last week I got to in 44 minutes and this time I got to that marker in 38 minutes!  I was now overall 6 minutes ahead of my previous time.  That got me totally pumped up and didn't even want to stop to catch my breath this time.  Though I figured without the stop I would probably tire out a bit and not complete the last quarter any faster.  I figured my finish time would be around 53-54 minutes and I was on cloud 9 with that.

I start to get tired and was considering taking a little break.  But I looked at my watch and thought no, you've got 5 minutes or less - push through it!  Then I looked up and saw DAYLIGHT.  OMG I was there already!!!!  Immediately my adrenaline started pumping and I RAN to the finish marker.

My time this time .....

Yup, 50 minutes and 40 seconds making me a FULL EIGHT MINUTES faster than last week.  How the heck did I do that???

When I reached the top this time I was just so excited, too excited to be tired.  I felt like yelling at the top of my lungs and could not wipe the smile off my face.  I immediately went and called my husband.

Afterwards I wandered around the mountain top (it's a huge tourist attraction and there's lots to see).  I actually jogged along the trail for a while and felt like I could go run 10K no problem.  That energy level stayed up all day.

Don't ask me how I improved that much in a week.  Maybe I'm eating better, who knows.  Ahhh, so happy!  So proud!  I literally felt like I could do ANYTHING!

SCALE ADDICTION

As some of you may know, Syl put forth a challenge this month that included not getting on a scale (any scale, not even the produce scale in the grocery store - hahha).  I didn't actually take up that challenge, but I did think about it alot.

I wasn't really sure if I could do it.  Like many of us, I'm a chronic weigher.  Usually just once or twice a day, but often more, sometimes on more than one scale, sometimes multiple times in a row.  I don't know if the results on the scale really affects my moods, but I do know that it controls me.

So I thought I'd give it a try and see how I felt.  The first couple days was weird, I had to remind myself not to use the scale.  The 3rd night I thought ... no one will know if I just get on, heck they don't even know I'm avoiding it.  But I did, I stuck to it.  Since then I have fleeting thoughts of  "oh, I didn't weigh myself this morning" (after I've eaten, which is normally a no-no).  Or thinking about what I'm eating in the evening that might affect the scale the next morning (I know you've done it...).

On that 3rd night when the scaling was calling me I threw my clothes on it ....

....and haven't moved it since.  It may just stay there for quite some time. :)

I don't really want to remove my scale because it's not like it's just MY scale.  Other family members use it (and don't have the problem I do).  I don't see why I should take it away from them.  I'm the one who needs to learn to deal with.

So ... I don't know how long I will stay off of it, but at the moment I'm feeling a great freedom.  We'll see how this plays out.  I figure it's worth the try.

COUNTING CALORIES

I have also recently made the switch from counting Weight Watchers points to counting calories using Sparkpeople (like Syl as well).  I've tried it before but it's never lasted more than 2 days and I was still counting points along with it.  It's now been about a week and a half and I've done it every day (even the day I had 2000 calories of not the greatest choices).

I'm loving that you can see not only your calories, but the breakdown of fat, carbs & protein.  I can map out my planned meals for the day and then make adjustments to have a more balanced diet.  Plus, I can see where some days I got a little high or low in one area, I balance it out over the rest of the week.  It doesn't feel so ... ummmm .... like you failed to meet some guideline, because you can see the bigger picture over the whole week.

The funny thing is, some days I count the points just for curiousity sake and I find that in general I'm sticking pretty much to the point target I had for weight watchers and rarely going over - which is funny because when counting points I often had a hard time sticking to that target.

I find that because I'm balancing everything that I'm just feeling more satisfied.  Some days I even have a hard time reaching my calorie limit, but then I can find something (like almonds) that fills up the categories that I need.

30 Day Shred Results

30 Day RESULTS

Maybe could have been better, but I'm not complaining.  There was some change and it was change in the right direction and that's always good.  I don't see much change in the pictures other than in my abs in the front pictures.  That was nice to see.  Seeing some other little pieces of muscle definition here and there, but had to look pretty hard.  And I was happy to FINALLY see some change in my thigh measurements.

Here's the numbers....
WEIGHT - Day 1...148.00....... Day 10....147.6 .... Day 20 ....149.4 ... Day 30 .... 147.2  (down 2.2 this week)

MEASUREMENTS

Chest - Day 1...38".........Day 10...36.5"......Day 20...36.25"...Day 30...36.25"   (no change this week)

Waist - Day 1...33.75" ...Day 10...33.5"......Day 20...33.25"...Day 30...33"        (down .25" this week) (at bellybutton)
..........- Day 1...30.75"....Day 10 ...30.25"...Day 20...30.5"....Day 30...30.25"   (down .25" this week) (at narrowest)

Hips   - Day 1...38".........Day 10...38".........Day 20...37".......Day 30...37"        (no change)

Thigh - Day 1...22".........Day 10...22" ........Day 20...22"........Day 30...21.75"  (down .25" this week)   (at widest - left thigh)

Arm   - Day 1...12.25"....Day 10...11.75"....Day 20...11.75"...Day 30...11.5" (down .25" this week)  (at widest - just under armpit)

Day 1-10 Change   - Down 2.75" - Down 0.4 lb
Day 11-20 Change   -   Down 1.25" - Up 1.8 lb 
Day 21-30 Change - Down 1.00" - Down 2.2 lb

Overall

Chest -  Down 1.75"

Waist - Down 0.75" (at bellybutton)

..........- Down 0.5" (at narrowest)

Hips   - Down 1"

Thigh - Down .25"   (at widest - left thigh)

Arm   - Down .75"  (at widest - just under armpit)

TOTAL - Down 5" and 0.8 lb

And the pics....

October Goals

Let's just say this morning did NOT go as planned.  When my alarm went off I went into zoned out land, which left me with very little time to get ready and absolutely no time to do measurements and pictures.  So it will have to be tomorrow.  My daughter was even worse off.  I thought she was up, but she wasn't, and she had 10 minutes to get ready for school.  Let me tell you this is a huge dilemma in a 13 yr old girls world - and somehow it was my fault (as is everything else that goes wrong in her world right now).  Ugh!

Last night my hubby tagged along with me to run while the kids did their sports.  We were at a local track.  I ran the track and the stairs, and he decided to time himself on a 5K - which he completed in 20-21 minutes.  WOW!  I don't think I'll ever be that fast.  We did however time me on a 1 mile run and I did it in 7:53.  Not bad, I'd like to do better since it is only 1 mile.  Gives me something to strive for.  After we picked up our daughter, we headed back to the track while my son finished soccer.  My daughter and I did sprint races across the field.  I never knew she could run that fast (short distance only though).  I was impressed with both of us.  We raced against some of the soccer boys too, but they are just way too fast for me.  It was fun to try though.

Since I have no measurements or pictures to share with you today, I'll just outline my goals for the month of October:

OCTOBER GOALS

♥ As the rainy season is beginning, it's time to get back to my gym workouts.  For October, I'm going to save money and skip the group classes I've been attending.  Instead I will create my own workouts to do in my gym at home.  Strength training at home 3 days/wk

♥ Continue running at least 3-4 times per week, at least one as a long run (10-15km) and one as a speed run. 

♥ Limit added sugar.  This isn't a huge problem, but as I'm tightening things up, this is one that will go.  No adding sugars (in any form) to things like my cooked cereal, tea - etc.

♥ I will allow myself small, occassional treats - but, to keep in line with that ... treats may only be consumed on odd numbered days, and must be 150 calories or less for the day, preferably under 100.  Having limitations makes me think twice before reaching for a treat.  I'm hoping that I'll find most days I don't need it.

♥ I'm following Syl's lead and for the last few days have been recording my meals on Sparkpeople.  I like how I can see how much carbs, protein & fat I'm getting in a day.  I can put in what I plan to eat that day and then assess where there are holes needing to be filled.  You can analyze all sorts of nutrients and such, but if I get too indepth I'll drive myself mad.  For the month of October I will record EVERYTHING I eat on Sparkpeople, aiming to stay well within the guidelines provided.

♥ I want to improve on that 1 mile time.  My aim has always been for running the longer distances, and the endurance that requires.  But I think to improve on your distance times you need to also improve on your short distance speeds as well.  My goal is to have that 1 mile time under 7:20.

These are things I can control.  I can set myself a weight goal or a measurement goal, but if my body doesn't want to go there I can't force that. 

Good luck and best wished to everyone else out there for this coming month!!!