Join Courtney's 10 Day Challenge

This is my friend Courtney--coolest chic west of the Mississippi--Courtney and I are alike in that we each struggle to lose weight.  When other stick figure moms pop our their kids and slide into their skinny jeans by their post partum visit, Courtney and I work our butts off  (literally) to shed each pound we've gained.  Courtney is a fan of group weight loss challenges.  I am not generally motivated by "group" activities such as these, but I AM motivated by SUPPORTING each other.  Your support through my blog, youtube, and my "IRL" friends, has helped me stay the course to becoming a healthier person that happens to be skinnier....I say that because I truly believe just being skinny is not healthy.  You can be a stick figure who eats fast food all day and never cooks a healthy meal to save their life, and that doesn't make you healthy!  Anyway, I digress...

Watch her above linked video, subscribe to her if you don't already (DUH), and try her challenge.  My understanding of the point to her challenge is self accountability.  By making a video everyday about the healthy choices she had made that day, helps her to be accountable for her eating and workout habits.  In turn, she posts them and gets feedback and support from the mom community.

I "accept her challenge" in that I will blog each day and tell you guys about the healthy choices I've made that day and hopefully a cool photo to make it less boring for my readers (who doesn't love photos!?).  I might make a video or two, if time permits.  I don't know how she finds the time to make the ones that she does!

I encourage all of my friends looking to lose weight to find what motivates you.  Is is a goal? Group support? a pair of jeans that are too small hanging on your closet door?  For me it is a goal.  I wanted to run a full 5K. I wanted to become a runner who could run 3 days a week for 30 or 40 minutes.  Because I'm such a goal-orientated person and I've achieved my goal, I set a new one, bring on a 10K!!  If you've followed me recently, you also know I am trying to get to 170lbs (my doc recommended goal weight) by Christmas--will I succeed? Keep following, reading, and commenting.  I LOVE your comments, even the bad comments (of which I've only ever gotten 1 or 2), let me know someone is out there reading.

Have a great day!

10K training and Morning Runs

So I've officially started a 10K training program called "bridge to 10K" made for 5K graduates.  It's easy so far.

So I wanted to take you through this morning's running experience.  It's not that I'm not a morning person--I do okay in the morning as far as general moods go--but I've never been a morning exerciser.  The only time I exercised in the morning hours was when I was home fulltime with Mimi and I would go to the gym at like 10am--lol.

But with my work schedule, it's getting difficult to fit in my 3-4 weekly runs comfortably.   Right now I do one of my runs (or two) on the weekend, when time is waaaay more flexible, and the others I desperately try to fit in during the week.  When things are less crazy at work I'll leave work at 4:30 instead of 5 and get home with just enough time to run before my husband pulls in the driveway with Mimi.  Other days, I run when we get home with Mimi at home with daddy or in the jog stroller.  Mimi was doing fine with the jog stroller until I upped my mileage and she gets bored.  So I said to myself "self, you need to shag your butt out of bed and run before Mimi wakes and up and before work" this way, I don't miss evening time with her, I don't have to drink coffee so late in the day to have energy to run, and I dont' have a fussy kid in a jog stroller for 45 minutes--

side note---why do people by $300 jog stollers and NEVER jog with them!?

anyway....
So last night I forced myself to go to bed at 10:30 and set my alarm fo 5:50am.  I set out all my running stuff right by the front door, shoes, clothes, ipod, everything.  I prepped the coffee machine and went to bed hoping for the best.

When my alarm went off my husband started to shoving me out of bed "go run" he said with his face muffled with pillows.  See you think he's being supportive and encouraging me right? guess again--he just wanted me to shut my alarm off and kick me out of bed so he could sleep!

So by 6:07am I was coffeed up, dressed, and on the dark road.  DARK. Holy jesus it was dark this morning. Almost unsafe dark.  Luckily I felt okay because there were lots of cars out and people walking their dogs---Our dog wasn't even up for a walk that early, he perked up a little when I initially woke up then snoozed back to sleep on the living room rug...

Running in the morning was so different, in goods ways and bad.  First thing I noticed was how much faster my first mile was.  The second mile I had to push through, I wanted to stop for a minute and just breath because my asthma has been so bad after having bronchitis, but I pushed through.  The third mile I was dying.  I needed Lady GaGa to get me through. I was going to walk the last half mile home (the whole route door and back is 3.5 miles) because my legs were sore, but I saw the morning bus and knew it was almost 7am and that I needed to get home.  I cranked up some Enrique Inglesias "Baby I like it....." and sang my way home thinking of Courtney for some reason.

I actually had to take off my shirt the last 1/4 mile and run in just a sports bra--it was that hot.  I passed by the two elderly ladies who walk their dogs like 10 times/day and they didn't' seem to be scared by my half nakedness.

I am proud that I ran, but I'm not sure if I'll make this a regular thing.  I'll have to get out the door by 6am and not 6:10 next time if I want to get to work on time.  Now I am all hyped up on coffee and endorphins that I can't sit still--at 3pm I'll probably crash and burn.

Time to Re-Focus Peeps

Alright bloggerettes---Monday's weight update.

So, this morning I was 186.2.  Not bad considering the plethora of Pumpkin bread I consumed over my stove yesterday, crumbs flying everywhere.  It was so delicious but oh so calorie laden!  Let's not forget the Halloween candy I stole from Mimi yesterday (2 funs size snickers and a lolipop).  Come on--my one year-old doesn't eat it anyway!

The above mentioned food frenzies lead me right into today's point--Re-Focus.

About 2 weeks ago I stopped counting calories and just tried to concentrate on training for the 5K to be able to finish the entire race (which I did).  Let's face it--it takes a lot of energy not only to workout, but to fit it in your life.  I was expending so much energy trying to fit in my runs and give them my all, I tried not to worry about calories. I tried to just fuel my body with healthy food and not concentrate on weight loss right then.  Okay ladies, 5K over (SUCCESS!), now I'm focusing on my Christmas Self-Imposed Weightloss Goal.  Right now I am 16.2 lbs over my goal of 170 lbs.  To attain this goal, I need to lose 2 lbs a week! That to me is not realistic. Yes I know it's do-able, but not realistic.  Losing 1lb a week is a more realistic goal I think.  So I'm going to keep focused on 170 and keep striving for it, but I'm not going to break down into tears if I don't make it to that exact number by Christmas day.

Last week I resolved to take better care of my body by getting adequate rest and staying hydrated.  Did I follow through? You betcha!  I have been drinking ~2-3 Liters of water daily, and getting 7 hours or more of sleep each night.  This morning I only snoozed 3 times (normally I can snooze for 1/2 hour or more~!).

This week's goals include:
Running twice before Friday (when we leave for the wedding in CA)
Keeping hydrated and rested (again)
Re-focusing on my calorie consumption by tracking my food intake!!!!!!

Here is what today looks like for me, including what I ate for breakfast, what I packed for lunch, and what I plan to eat for my snack.  Between yesterday and today, I've consumed an entire bag of spinach! Yes!

I use free website called Calorie Count, it's pretty easy to use, free, and has a mobile app that sinks with your online entries.

I challenge anyone that is trying to lose weight to track their calories on paper, a site, their phone, anything--this will help you where the bulk of your calories are coming from.   If you are trying to lose weight, and you follow my blog, leave me a comment and tell me about your blog or youtube page and let me know you're trying to lose weight too and that you accept my challenge to track your calories! Just try it for 3 days,  you'll get a really good idea of how to clean up your diet.

5K Tomorrow!

Are you ready for this chicas?!  I am running my first ever 5K tomorrow.  I've been sick with Bronchitis all week, but I'm on my antibiotics and I'm feeling pretty good.  Tomorrow at 7:30 am, armed with trusty IPOD, my albuterol inhaler, and my ol' faithful NewBalance 992's, I am hitting the road for my first 5K race.

My friend Dana is running with me for support. She is a 30 mile-a-week runner, dropping down to my level for a day to keep me going through the entire race. Mimicans will be there with my friend Kim (probably in a fleece cause it's gonna be cold!), cheering mommy on!

Want to know what I'll be jamming to for the 40 minutes it'll take me to finish?


OMG (feat. Will.I.Am)-Usher
Dynamite-Taio Cruz
Animal-Neon Trees
Teenage Dream-Katy Perry
Stronger-Kanye West
Like A G6-Far East Movement
I Like It-Enrique Iglesias
Airplanes (feat. Hayley Williams of Paramore)-B.o.B
Toxic-Britney Spears
LDN-Lily Allen
Just Dance ft. Colby O'Donis- Lady GaGa


I am going to do my best and that's all that matters!  I can't tell you how many times I've attempted a 5K program and failed quit.  Thank you Todd from 5K101 for your amazing FREE program.  It will work for you too!

Thank you to my subscribers for your continued support and amazing comments!

Mommy Meetup Video from KyleandCourt

Hey guys, Courtney made this hilarious video of our vlog together from my trip to Houston.  I had so much fun, can't wait to meet up with her again!

How we treat our bodies...

I think after having a baby you have so much more respect for what your body is capable of.  I often stare at Mimi playing with her toy piggy bank on the floor, now a whopping 27 lbs, and I think, "man, I grew her inside me."  To me that is so mind blowing.  Now that Mimi is learning her body parts, when she points to my belly I say "you were in there!" She just stares at me blankly, but I am still amazed by the whole experience.

Now I could continue on to say what a train-wreck my body was after my pregnancy with Mimi, or how I'll always have this saggy belly...but that's not the direction I wanted to go with this.

I've been getting progressively more sick with this cold turned probable sinus infection since Sunday, but Monday night I decided I had to get in my run.  I know crazy right? You're saying "geesh Jen, give yourself a rest!", but I'm driven.  With my 5K this weekend, I wanted to get in my run!  So I took two puffs on my inhaler (I have mild asthma which gets aggravated by being sick), put Mimi in the jog stroller with her Nanook of the north sweater to keep her warm and we set out while Daddy was at his kung foo class for a 3 mile run.  The first mile of my run sucked.  I spent every step wanting to stop and turn back.  My muscles felt achy, my body felt too heavy to move.  After I rounded the corner and got into the second mile I just stopped.  I stopped for a minute, drank some water, wiped the sweat off my face and just breathed.  I  continued running, and I kept thinking about all these phrases that our parents tell us....

You get out of life what you put in....
I thought about how that works for "body" instead of "life" too. You get what you put in...my body? I haven't been giving it the best lately.  I've slacked on my vitamins, gotten lazy about drinking enough water, spent late nights up reducing my sleep, haven't been stretching....What did I expect to get out of my body?

This brings me to
Treat people how you want to be treated...
Which I'm going to twist into "treat your body with the goodness you expect from it."  If I want to be able to function with a healthy body, I need to treat my body well too.  This means adequate nutrition, rest, and hydration.

Now that I've written all this I realize it really doesn't make sense.  I guess my point is (if I have one) that sometimes we don't treat our bodies with the respect they deserve, then we wonder why we get sick, we can't lose weight, we get sore muscles.

I am going to make a better effort to take care of my body.  I see exercise as part of this.  I want to leave time for adequate sleep at night (at least 7 hours), drink 2-3 liters of water daily, and start taking my multi vitamin again.

Take care of your bodies too! What are you going to resolve to do better for your body?

DUCK! DUCK!

Who says Mimi can't say words? She said duck 20,000 times today....

Busy Fun Weekend

Homecoming Parade!

Isn't it great to live in a town where homecoming is a reason to close down business for a day?

Living in my college town for 7 years, I had never made it to the homecoming parade.  I'm really glad that I braved the traffic and made my way downtown for this year's parade.  Don't laugh, I'm afraid of being faced with the situation of a crowded place with no parking.  This fear keeps me from attending a lot of fun things....As a last minute decision, my friend and decided to throw the strollers in the trunk and find a spot.  We found a parking spot 8 blocks away and strolled our way downtown.  We found the perfect shaded spot, with not too many "shady people" around.  The kids did great, considering the length of parade I was impressed (~ two hours). After the parade we rewarded the kids (and ourselves) with pizza.  

Friday night I FINISHED the 5K101 training program.  I am so friggin' proud of myself--more on this in another post! 

Pumpkin Patch 2010

Check out this photo, Dahlia and Mimi last year, and Dahlia and Mimi this year. Wow.  My kid has grown so much, it makes me sad/happy.  Let me tell you, taking these two to the pumpkin patch this year was no walk in the park! It was like a workout trying to get photos of these two doll's sitting by a pumpkin.  My friend and I joked that we look back at these photos only we'll know what a sweaty mess we were trying to get them!

In the end I managed to get a few nice ones.  My kid cannot not be convinced to smile.  I miss the days where a set of jingling keys or a funny noise made them crack the world's cutest smile. ah well.  I saw a bunch of people there with tiny babies and my heart ached a little thinking about how much Mimi has grown, last year that was me propping my kid up against a pumpkin and jingling some keys and getting the world's cutest smile.  Now I'm chasing Mimi down as she runs completely disinterested in the colorful kodak moment pumpkins, just wanting to check out the bounce houses.  Atleast she wore the green fall dress I scored on ebay for 99 cents! I think I'll make her wear it again for Thanksgiving.  

Having Friday off was a DREAM.  Here it is Saturday night and I'm thinking, "oh man my weekend is over" but in reality I have all day tomorrow too!  

I have about 5 loads of laundry staring me down.  You all have a great weekend!

Thanks Jess!

Beach Camping

There's something so magical about camping at the beach.  We live about 1.5 hours away from the beach.  This is just long enough to make it somewhat inconvenient to go often.  Camping at the beach is a cheap and really fun solution to this problem...

Bring on one of many (I hope) fall camping trips.  We have a group of about 8-10 friends that share our joy for camping.  A couple times a year we all pack up our cars and embark on these really fun weekends where we all come back dirty, sweaty, tired, and 2 lbs heavier from all the food.  I grew up camping, it brings me closer to my 'roots' so to speak to sleep in a tent and cook eggs over a fire.  I love it.  In Florida you have to change your mindset a little.  Up north where I grew up, you can only camp (comfortably) from May-Sept maybe.  In Florida, these are the months you DO NOT want to be sleeping in a tent outside.  So we've had to transition to enjoying camping in oct, nov, april, and may.  My husband didn't grow up camping, but he loves it.  We want Mimi (and other future children) to share this love.  As a side note--it's kind of funny, I was just reading my friend's blog about how she wants her daughter to share her love of food, and my wording here is so similar, just substitute camping---lol anyway....

We want Mimi to feel at ease sleeping outdoors, being around a fire, and getting a little dirty and not fussing.  She's there man--this kid can camp.  This was not her first camping trip, but this time we did not bring the travel crib.  We had her just sleep right between us in the tent, something we've never even done at home---ever.  But we were trying to travel light due to the number of people and space.  She did well with the hazards of the campsite.  We wore her out walking and swimming and beachin' it up.  We even kept her up late and took her to the beach with us at night and let her run around and play with glow sticks.  My husband went swimming at night and said it was really fun.  I enjoyed the cool breeze and the stargazing wrapped up in my fleece.

I will spare you more camping details.  Just know, you CAN camp with a one-year-old, and it CAN be fun and safe.

I hope to do one or two more of these weekends before it gets really cold.

Cheers!

This week will be busy,
2 weeks left to the 5K, i'll be finishing week 8 (last one) of my training program this week
We are cooking dinner for two great friends celebratin their bday's tomorrow
We have Friday off for homecoming!

Later Gators....

Happy Anniversary!

Today is our two year wedding anniversary.  A lot has happened in the last two years.  My husband has been there for me through a lot! Pregnancy, childbirth, knee surgery, job changes, stress, you name it.  I may complain about him sometimes, but he's a great husband.  Marriage is work.  I hope we keep working hard at it and enjoying each other.

Here's to many more years, many more babies, and many more great moments for the two of us

If you are a super cyber stalker and want to see more photos of our wedding, message me and I'll send you the link :-)

Feeling Truly Run Down

Each night I've been fighting the urge to crash into bed at 8pm.  I'm exhausted.  I feel exhausted everyday lately.  I'm not quite sure where this exhaustion is stemming from.

I've been pushing myself really hard trying to get through my 5K training workouts.  I run the 5K October 23.  Yesterday I ran 3 1-mile intervals and when I got home I laid down on the cool tile feeling like I was going to throw up for about 10 minutes.  I think I was dehydrated.

When I'm home with Mimi in the afternoon and evenings I struggle to keep up with her and when she goes to bed at 8 I melt into the couch like I've run a marathon.

Blah.  Well I started taking my vitamins again and I'm trying to stay hydrated.   I'll give you an example as to why I think it's dehydration---I weigh myself every morning at the same time under the same variables, and sometimes for fun I weigh myself before bed (I know it's a little obsessive).  I've noted that on average, I lose 1.5-2 lbs between night and morning. Today I actually weigh less a night than I did this AM.  Because I haven't exercised today (it's my rest day), and I've been eating today, it's likely dehydration.

My appetite is decreased as well.

I know this isn't a very exciting post.  Well usually mondays I update my weight.  This morning I was 187.2 I think, tonight I was 186.  I'm going to try to drink some water though, so who the frick knows what I'll be tomorrow morning! **Tuesday I was 186**

I have to do my run tomorrow night and I'm actually dreading it.  I need to readjust my attitude and go into with my best foot forward.


I hope everyone out there is doing well!  Good luck to all my TTCing friends, newly preggo friends, and weight losers!  I send my love and support to you all no matter what you're aiming for!

I love all the comments you guys give and am thankful to all my readers. Have a great night!

My Blissful Saturday

Today was full of french toast, errands, boating, and tissues.  I got stuff done.  Spent the day out on the water, ate delish bbq, kissed Mimi 5,000 times, and now I'm lounging in bed with a cold.  This cold can't even take away from my day.  Here are some photos of my day for you all....

I love my daddy

I love the curls, please stay curly please stay curly...

Could that FL fall sky be any bluer?!

Spring fed systems ate perpetually 72 degrees F--BRRRRR

ah boating down the river.... 

Mimi fall photo shoot in our front yard this morning.

French Toast mmmmmm

I hope these loopy curls stay.

How you make your choices

Just a warning--I'm in a really bad mood today......

I catch a lot flack sometimes from other people for the choices I make for my kid. Which I think we can safely say all moms experience this.  Everywhere I turn someone is unhappy with what I'm doing as a parent--friends, mothers (my mother and MIL), daycare provider, even my husband! So I just want to politely say SHUT UP.  I make my choices based on the information I have available to me, what my family can afford, and what I think is right best for my kid. 

Now I've been accused of not taking advice well.  I think my friend is actually scared to give me her opinion because she thinks I take everything personally.   I believe there's a difference from someone telling you what worked for them or sharing an experience they have had or heard about, and someone telling you what you're doing is wrong--or even that what you're doing is "silly" or "stupid."

Yesterday my husband saw me feeding Mimi some Tyson chicken nuggets out of desperation because the kid was starving and HE hadn't made dinner yet.  He says to me in a snide voice "do you even know what you're feeding her!? did you read the ingredients!?"  Yes honey, it's chicken and breading.  Will the occasionally frozen chicken nugget kill her? No. I mean really? God he sounded like one those smug moms who "only buys organic" because of the propaganda brainwashing us into thinking "organic is always better." 

My approach is to look at what Mimi eats the most (ie exposure risk), where pesticides are concentrated the most, and see what organic products are available in our area that I can afford.  The local grocery store I shop at also has a really nice assortment of both LOCAL and ORGANIC stuff, and I will buy organic fruits and vegetables when they're in season and available at a price I can afford.  Knowing where your food comes from can be just as important as whether it is organic or not ( imported fruit was four times more likely than domestic to have illegal pesticide levels, and imported vegetables were more than two times as likely, according to an FDA study from 2006).  Yes, I said "when I can afford them."  Our budget is tight. I can't afford to buy ALL organic, so I do what I can.  I also don't think organic is always better, safer, or superior.  The two things I regularly purchase organic are apple products (juice, applesauce, etc) and dairy products (milk, yogurt, cheese). 

Why?

Apples (and some other thin-skinned fruits)

Washed, conventional fruits with delicate skins like peaches, apples, nectarines, and strawberries are especially pesticide-laden, whereas tougher-skinned veggies like onions, avocadoes, and sweet corn require and retain far less chemicals, according to an analysis of 87,000 FDA and USDA pesticide tests.  Apples were found to have 42 Pesticide Residues by the USDA Pesticide Data Program.  Now--take this excessively large number with a grain of salt---not all "found residues" are found at levels toxic to humans.  Some "toxic levels" haven't been established yet--which is pretty scary, because that means there's no legal limit that grower's produce can't exceed....

Applejuice and applesauces were tested separately because they are considered processed and have varying levels of pesticides in them as well. 

Resource Link:  United Stated Department of Agriculture (USDA) Pesticide Data Program (PDP)

Milk-(and other dairy products such as cheese, yogurt, cream etc)

Now a disclaimer--Mimi gets organic milk, organic yogurt, and some organic cheeses.  Not all of her cheese is organic, and I don't buy ice cream made from organic milk, but she doesn't consume ice cream in the same quantities as she does milk.  If she gets non-organic stuff I don't panic.  And I try not to be smug about it. 

According to the USDA Pesticide Data Program, Milk contained on average12 pesticide esidues.  These included

4  Known or Probable Carcinogens

8  Suspected Hormone Disruptors

4  Neurotoxins

3  Developmental or Reproductive Toxicants\

Now let me let you in on something you might not expect---domestic organic milk also contained some of these pesticide residues--but in lesser percentages (about 1/3 of the amount of conventional domestic milk).  I know what you're thinking "What!? My organic milk is supposed to be all organic!"  Wake up and smell the pesticides sister!  Use of pesticides is so broad and excessive that it's ubiquitous in our environment.

So am I saying that because I use organic milk and some fruits that my kid won't get cancer? No, there are so many other physiological factors, genetic factros, lifestyle factors, and environmental factors that come into play there...

Am I saying that if she ate conventional fruits (especially apples and peaches) and milk she will get cancer? No, but hre risk may be higher due to increased exposure to known carcinogens.  I don't think you can deny that.  

Am I saying I'm better than you because I buy these products organic? God no. This is one of the plethora of decisions I make for Mimi.  Mothers are faced with decisions everyday.  What I don't understand is why mothers think that there's one true way to do things? I can raise my kid differently than others and we can all still be making the best decisions based on our situations.  

So I'm going to keep on buying my organic milk (which only cost $1 more per gallon) and my organic apple products.  And i'll still sleep at night even if you judge me and think I'm being smug.