Awaken the Dragon

I am joining a dragon boat team. I know, right now you’re thinking of jumping over to Google to find out what the heck a dragon boat is. Don’t worry, I will explain.

My mother has been on the only team in the area (Hope in the Boat) since it started in 2008. “By paddling together, our mission is to promote wellness and provide hope and partnership to those on the breast cancer journey. We accomplish this through the ancient sport of dragon boat racing.” They are a team of breast cancer survivors and awesome women. I was lucky enough to paddle with them in one race in 2009 – Paddle for Pink in Mercer, NJ. They allowed survivors and supporters.

But, exciting news! Hope in the Boat is creating a friends and family team! I’m joining in, made especially easy by the fact that they practice within walking distance of my house. Up to this point, I’ve been the unofficial team photographer, which is why I could only find one picture of when I paddled with them (I’m on the left with the pink ribbon on my wrist).

I’m excited to be officially joining the team. Now I just need to find someone to be the team photographer for the friends and family team. It’s hard to paddle and photograph at the same time! I can’t wait to Awaken the Dragon inside myself!

To get a better idea, you can check out a video of the team on the CBS6 website.

Weigh-In Wednesday (Week 3)

Confession time: I haven’t done the Jillian Michael’s 30 Day Shred dvd since Friday. I had every intention of doing it when I set my alarm on Monday night, and on Tuesday night… Unfortunately, my resolve is not as strong in the morning.

In terms of the goals I set for the Power of One challenge:

1. I will reach my official Weight Watchers goal (148 lbs).
   I made it last Saturday! 147.6 at my official weigh-in for the week!
   
2. I will run at least 4 races this year, including at least one 10K.
   • Hangover 5K on January 1
   • St. Peter’s Key Run in April – this is my 10K
   • Komen Race for the Cure
   • Troy Turkey Trot
   • I’ve added  a 5K on April 2
3. I will find a gym or treadmill so I can continue to run this winter.
   Not so much… my neighbor has a treadmill, but it’s not long enough to run on.
4. I will get in at least 64 oz of water every day. – I’ve been brining a 30 oz water bottle to work with me and have gotten from 60-90 oz of water in during the work week.

So far so good on my goals. I can’t wait until the snow goes away and it’s nice enough to run outside! I love running outside! I hate treadmills.

Wordless Wednesday

All the snow, ice, and more snow has weighed down my poor azalea bush.

I Made it, Now What?

So I made it to goal, now what am I supposed to do? I’ve been in weight loss mode for so long that it’s weird to not be trying to lose weight.

In the past, I thought of goal as the end result of a DIET. Now I know that this is a lifestyle change and I need to keep this pattern of eating going. Weight Watchers says I need to add points to my day – 6 more Points Plus! This is feeling extremely scary. Adding 6 points could be a very bad thing. One friend suggested only adding a couple points in at a time. That makes the most sense to me right now.

I know I ate more yesterday and today than I have in a while, and that does not feel good to me, physically or emotionally. I know now that my journey was not completed when I reached goal, it is a never-ending journey!

GOAL!

If you’ve been following, you know that my scale at home said I reached goal on Wednesday. I’ve been emailing my trackers to 2 Weight Watchers leaders all week. Today, it became official at my 8:30 weigh-in at the best meeting in the area!

I bought myself a Pandora bracelet to celebrate. The charms are journey because this has definitely been a journey, and the dangle is their new breast cancer awareness charm which features the lucerne flower (also known as alfalfa) and part of the proceeds benefit Susan G. Komen for the Cure.

This week, I’ve learned that I need to eat more whole grains, and make sure I get my healthy oil in. This past week, I’ve focused on these things, and have found that I am less hungry.

I finally made the mindset switch to new program. I’ve embraced the thought that this is not a diet, it’s a lifestyle change! I’ve been hearing that since I first joined Weight Watchers in 1997. This is the first time it’s actually stuck. I’m glad it hit me before I hit goal, otherwise, I might not have recognized it!

I’ve been on and off Weight Watchers for years. In 2005, I joined at 214.8 pounds. During that stint, I got down to 164.2, gained and lost a boyfriend, and put most of it back on. I never really quit, I just kept gaining, paying, and pretending I was following the program.

At the end of December 2009, I decided I was tired of comparing myself to where I had been. I started fresh at 194.2 pounds. At the beginning of January, my fantastic leader, Chris, gave us a poem which became an inspiration for me.

So what has changed? I’ve become a more active person (I’m now a runner, but not in the winter snow and ice), I have more energy, I now think before putting something in my mouth, I eat more fruits and vegetables, and most importantly – I like myself more!

So, this is the point where I start tearing up, so I’m going to end with my advice:

1. NEVER give up your goals!
2. Make sure that the goal is for you, not for others.
3. Find a plan – whether it’s Weight Watchers, counting calories, or something else. Make sure it works for your lifestyle.
4. Keep a food journal. If you’re writing down everything you’re eating, then you’re paying attention to it.
5. Remember that YOU are worth it!

I will hunt around for some before photos and find someone to take a goal picture. There aren’t many before pictures because I didn’t want anyone to take them.

Power of One Weigh-in

Since Saturday, I’ve been sending my trackers to 2 WW leaders – mine and a friend from High School who is a WW leader in Scotland. Based on their input, I’ve modified my thinking to the new program. My mindset was old program, still. I wasn’t getting in the healthy oils or the whole grains. My mind was stuck on keeping the points as low as possible even though my daily points went up.

As a result, when I weighed myself this morning for the weekly weigh-in over at the Sisterhood of the Shrinking Jeans, my scale said I was at goal (even fully clothed). Since I weighed in last Wednesday at 152.8, this feels awesome!

This week, I’ve made it to my DPT (Daily Points Total) every day. I hadn’t been reaching it in past weeks because I’d been putting in lots of fruits and vegetables instead of lean meats and proteins. I did my best to add in olive oil every day (except yesterday).

In terms of my goals:

• I have added another race to my race calendar (a 5K on April 2nd with more details to come).
• I have not found a treadmill or gym, but have started working out to Jillian Michaels’ 30 Day Shred dvd in the morning.

I added another goal for myself:

4. I will get in at least 64 oz of water every day. – I’ve been brining a 30 oz water bottle to work with me and have gotten from 60-90 oz of water in during the work week.

I hope everyone has a great day. I’m snowed in here in upstate New York!

That makes it a great day for some homemade oatmeal. I’ve never made regular oatmeal, only instant from a packet. A snow day is the best day to try something new!

1/2 cup of rolled oats
1 cup Blue Diamond unsweetened
vanilla almond milk
1 Tbsp Better ‘n Peanut Butter
1/2 banana
1 tsp (probably less) cocoa powder

and a cup of hot tea – yum!

Plus, I got activity points shoveling out my car! Lots of reasons to love a snow day!

Switching Things Up

I’ve been in a bit of a food rut recently. My lunches almost always look the same. So this weekend I decided to shake things up a little bit. I’ve been buying Oscar Meyer luncheon meat because I know I can put 6 slices on for 1 point. I went out and bought real meat yesterday afternoon! I weighed my cracked pepper turkey (yum!) this morning and got a lot more meat for the same 1 point! I added some turkey sausages into my breakfast.

I was inspired by Julia to try some different fruits this week. I went to Fresh Market to try to find pomegranates because I can’t find them anywhere else. While there, I decided to pick up some kumquats. The taste is definitely a little tangy. The peel is edible and they say that’s what adds the bitter flavor. I cut one in half and was surprised to find the large seeds. They are definitely my least favorite part of the kumquat. I haven’t decided yet whether I’ll buy more when I’m finished with these.

I decided this week, I need to add more lean meats and proteins into my diet. I also wasn’t eating all of my daily points target (at Weight Watchers), so this week I’ll eat more during the day to get to that number and eat some of my activity points. I’m hoping the shake up will help me lose the weight I’ve been putting on the past couple of weeks!

In the meantime, does anyone have suggestions on what to do with chia seeds? I’ve been seeing a lot of mentions of them out in the twitter world, so I bought some yesterday, but now I’m not sure how to use them. Thanks in advance for any advice on that!

UP Again, but I Don’t Care

It’s week two of Shrinking Jeans Power of One Challenge, weigh-in day. So I weighed in and the scale read 152.8, higher than last week. But, I know I’m doing good things for my body. I’ve started using Jillian Michaels’ 30 Day Shred and EA Sports Active for the Wii, and going to yoga a couple times a week. I’ve gotten at least 64 ounces of water in every day so far this week. I’m tracking what I eat and what I do (activity).

So, I keep in mind the fact that my scale is an asshole! It will not always say what I want it to, and for reasons I will not understand. And that’s ok. I’m becoming a healthier person. The scale will go down at some point.

The easy route would be to say that I was losing when I was doing absolutely NO activity, so clearly I need to go back to that. I’ve decided, with the support of my Twitter peeps, that is NOT the correct path. I’ve been inspired, lifted up, and supported by their comments, tweets, and blogs.

I will make goal at WW at some point. In the meantime, I will get a healthier, stronger body. I am happier with myself, no matter what that scale says!

My First Power of One Post

Ready to Go

I am ready to go back to work this morning. A week off always messes with my system. My activity level changes and my eating changes. Even though I feel like I’m always eating the same thing during the work week, it’s working for me on Weight Watchers. My typical day at work consists of:

Breakfast: An omelet wrap

• 1/2 cup of egg beaters (1 PP)
• 20 grams of Cabot 50% lite shredded cheddar (1 PP)
• veggies or salsa (0 PP)
• wrapped in a Lite Original Flatout (2 PP)

For me, I know I need the protein in my breakfast to feel satisfied/full until lunch time (at 10:20). Since I eat breakfast between 5 and 5:30, that’s not as early as it sounds. It just leads to splitting my lunch into two parts.

Lunch:

• sandwich – 2 pieces of Pepperidge Farm lite bread
  (2 PP) , 6 slices Oscar Meyer turkey (1 PP), 1 piece WW Pepper Jack Cheese (1 PP)
• WW yogurt (2 PP)
• apple – sliced up and dipped in the yogurt (0 PP)
• fat-free, sugar-free jello (0 PP)

Afternoon Snacks (any or all of the following):

• baby carrots (0 PP)
• VitaTop (3 PP)
• clementines (0 PP)
• Vital Mixed Berry Bar (3 PP)

Dinner: I always eat with my neighbors and they don’t plan dinner ahead. However, she’s also on WW, so they’re really trying to eat healthier. There’s usually rice (1/2 cup = 3 PP), steam fresh veggies (0-2 PP), a meat (4-7 PP), and a sauce (1-3 PP).

Tonight’s dinner is from Halfmoon Sandwich and Salad Shoppe. I love their personalized salads – I can get exactly what I want on the salad! We usually order online and then it’s ready when I get up there.

I tried yoga for the first time last night, and feel all nice and stretched out this morning! My legs are feeling so my better than they were!

I Have an Athletic Hangover

Yesterday I work up still sore from spin class on Wednesday, but I decided to go out and run the Sober-Up 3.5 mile race anyway. Now, not only are my thighs sore, but so is my hip. Ibuprofen is my friend!

I’d been blaming the sore thigh muscles on a build-up of lactic acid, but Active.com says it’s not so. They say that the lactic acid is gone 30-60 minutes after exercise and the reason the muscles are sore in the days following is “microtrauma” to the muscle fiber membranes and contractile elements (?). Apparently I did not do enough warm-up before my spin class or race yesterday, and now I’m nursing an athletic hangover. I wish there was a remedy for this kind of hangover!

So, what did I do today? Not much, went to church, came home and worked on my blog, went to my parents for dinner, and took down Christmas (or at least the inside decorations and the tree). It feels so good to have my living room back to normal.

I think Zuma is going to miss playing with the ornaments!