It’s Not Me, It’s Your Scale…

Well friends, I just need to get it out there. I gained a pound this week! I know what you are thinking. Did you have two helpings of Strawberry Shortcake on Valentine’s Day? Did you enjoy chips and guacamole more than once last week? Well…the answer is yes. YES!

I will be honest. I was not nearly as cautious as I have been throughout the challenge, and that made me a bit nervous for weigh-in last night. However, I had some pretty rock’n workouts, and I was hoping that would help my cause.

 

Turns out it didn’t. And I had to pay an extra dollar for my dang pound. How disappointing!!! But, there was some good news that came out of last night’s meeting. Someone tied for first place this week and that someone is my Mother!

 

She broke the 10 pound mark this week too! Yahoo! Way. To. Go! She is also in 3rd place over all for total percentage of body weight lost. I have a good feeling she will remain in the top three and will walk away with pretty sweet prizes when our challenge ends in two weeks.

I remained grumpy and disappointed about my results and insisted it was probably the scale and not me. 🙂 I have to blame someone, right? (Here is where my husband would jump in and say, “No. No you don’t.”) I decided to not let it get me down though. Or at least I tried.

By the time I got home my mood was fairly foul. The weather was so dang windy and cold, not to mention snowy, that by the time I got home I was ready for my pajamas. Until I realized we didn’t have any more food for Selby. Crud. So, my extra pound and I had to head back into the crummy weather so my puppy would stop looking at me with those hungry eyes. (Note: She had dinner. We just didn’t have enough for breakfast. I am not that bad of a Mommy.)

 

I have refocused my energies once again, and plan on getting myself back into the top three next week. (yes, I was in third place until this week when the leader board pretended like it had never met me.)

I was reminded of a cycle that I typically find myself trapped in. Whenever I lose a couple of pounds I get cocky and think I can eat like a runner. Why? I am not real sure, but at least I am more aware of the pattern now and can change it. Oh, and just so you know, you can’t out work a bad diet. I’ve tried.

 

It Got Me

Wow, a week off left my page views awfully low. Better get back at it!!!

My week hiatus from blogging was due to an unfortunate cold. I just wasn’t able to escape it like I hoped. I was able to work through it, as the worst part hit me over a weekend, but I found myself doing two things: blowing my nose and sleeping. Working out was not a priority and frankly, I don’t think my body would have allowed it.

Since I wasn’t working out I needed to make sure I remained focused on eating healthy foods. The weight-loss challenge wasn’t going to take a break just because I couldn’t breathe through my nose.

Example of one of my lunches! Oatmeal with a banana and some veggies!

 

When last Monday came (I know, I am so behind on this post) I found myself a little nervous for the weigh-in and wondering, how much can snot possibly weigh. Sorry, kind of gross, but I did actually wonder that. Luckily, my focus on healthy eating allowed me to see continued results.

I lost another two pounds. Which brings total weight-loss to six pounds since starting the challenge. Yahoo!

My Mom lost over three pounds! Go Robbie! This was very good news considering her agitated state when we left the last weigh-in. She has now lost eight pounds and we are really hoping to see her reach 10 pounds this week!

I will report back after the weigh-in tomorrow!

The wallpaper on the phone. It helps keep me focused!

Couple Workout

I came home with a monster head ache today. Unfortunately, “the crud” has been going around work, and I continue to do my best to avoid it! Lots of sleep, Emergen-C, working out, and eating well. So far (knock on wood) I have been successful. Hopefully it can stay that way.

We received a bit of snow today so I was hoping if I went outside to shovel the fresh air would help. I also downed a big glass of water since I was definitely slacking in the water department. Shoveling can be such an awesome arm and abs workout! Selby was freaking out the whole time I shoveled too. I totally should have video taped it!

Yesterday evening quickly turned into a “rest day” since I ended up writing three blog posts! Holy moly! I needed to make sure I worked out tonight so I didn’t fall out of my new routine. Luckily Justin agreed to workout with me too. I love it when that happens. Couples who workout together, stay together! Right?

Tonight we did a 46 minute video that is part of the Chalean Extreme series. Burn Intervals is an interval workout that incorporates cardio and muscle endurance. Needless to say, we were sweatin’ by the end!

I still have a bit of a head ache so the plan is to drink a lot more water and get to sleep early!

Baby Steps

By the time I got home last night from our second weigh-in I was too exhausted to post an update. So here goes, with a brief Super Bowl recap…

Our first weigh-in went fairly well. I lost 3.6 lbs and my Mom lost an impressive 5.2 lbs. And while we know maintaining that type of weight-loss throughout the challenge isn’t realistic we of course wanted to continue seeing progress.

Super Bowl Sunday is not the best day to have before a weigh-in. However, having the fear of a next day weigh-in helped me plan my day a little bit better than it could have been. I made sure I fit in a workout and only packed one bottled drink to enjoy at one of the two Super Bowl parties we went to.

Luckily, I have really been doing well making sure I workout in general, but especially on days I know I might be consuming a bit more than I should. I even made sure I worked out prior to our night out last Friday and before the rodeo! So I did a Super Bowl Sunday workout. And my BIC Band held up during an intense TurboFire workout! I am lovin’ them!

We attended two parties, and although I may have snuck in a few more bites than planned, I feel like I was much improved. Plus who can shove chips into their mouth watching Beyonce? Seriously. Hot. Woman!

Monday’s weigh-in came quick. Especially after a food filled weekend.  I made sure to drink lots of water and really hoped I didn’t gain. That would just be the worst. I didn’t think I did though, I had been really good throughout the week and torched a boat load of calories.

My new employer has a small gym for the employees to use. I stayed after work and tested out one of the treadmills. It was so convenient I might start doing that more often. I hadn’t run since about the end of October so I eased back into it. I alternated walking a quarter-mile/3.0 incline and ran a half-mile/1.0 incline for 30 minutes. I am not a fast runner by any means, but it felt really good getting back into it.

 

After my workout I got ready to pick up my Mom for our weigh-in. She didn’t feel like she had the best weekend either so we both arrived a little nervous. When we arrived we found out that not only would we be weighed, but they would also do measurements again. Frankly, I don’t care how much I weigh (just kidding, that is so false), but inches really mean more to me because that really makes a difference in the way my clothes fit.

My Mom went first and she quickly came back and said, “I am going home!” She hadn’t lost anything. She felt very discouraged and angry. We talked it over and found out where she could have done better during her week/end.

Then it was my turn, only .4 pounds lost. Yeek. Not too good, but totally what I expected after my weekend. I felt good though when I was told I have lost an inch off my hips and half an inch off my thighs. Not too shabby if you ask me. Total pounds down = 4 lbs.

My Mom and I (well, mainly me, she was still irritated at this point) left with our fire reignited. I plan on killing it at the next weigh in.

 

No, This is my First Rodeo

And when I say a little bit…I mean a little bit! I didn’t grow up in a booming metropolis or anything, just a modest midwest river town just over 20 miles away from the Twin Cities. I wasn’t exposed to a lot of wild animals, farm animals, hay, or mud. Unless a wild animal to you is Minnesota’s state fish (Wally the Walleye to be exact) or mud that actually what we called muck on the St. Croix.

I did, however, visit my cousins in Wisconsin quite often and they had a lot more land than we did. They even had an abandoned barn on their property which turned out to be a great playhouse especially after it was forbidden from our Minneapolis born and raised mother. I always thought it was a lot darker there since street lights were almost nowhere to be found. And to be honest, I never felt comfortable knowing that I was more than five minutes away from the closest hospital. (I know that sounds weird, but we don’t have time to decode my childhood fears in this post.)

So when I decided I would join some friends and go to the World’s Toughest Rodeo, I even surprised myself a little. I like new experiences, and I needed some friend time, so why not…right? I borrowed a cowgirl hat from friend, and found a cute flannel on Target’s clearance rack for $11. Side note: Do cowpeople really wear that much flannel?

I didn’t have boots, but I wasn’t about to invest in something that expensive for a first time rodeo-er. The rest of my outfit was found in my closet and that was just gonna have to do. Luckily, I enjoy beer like a country girl, well, my Wisconsin cousin would probably disagree here, but I do what I can to hold my own.

While we enjoyed our beers we also enjoyed a bit of the rodeo. At first I was really excited. I have always loved how much country folk take pride in their country. As an Army Wife, and proud American, I loved the beginning. GO ‘MERICA!

And it is all fun and games until someone gets hurt! Some people say bull riding is the “most dangerous 8 seconds in sports.” (Some people = Wikipedia) Sure enough, a young cowboy’s head smacked a railing and was knocked out cold. Super scary to see him lying there, not moving at all. Luckily, the MC was able to keep us up to date and the cowboy was going to be just fine. Talk about scary though!

That is for me when things went south. We were able to see the holding area for the animals and that was probably a bad place for me to be. At first I thought there were friendly cows and got excited when they were about to come out. Then, I realized they were bulls. I know, that sounds really stupid, but some were spotted, just like cows! They had sheep so why wouldn’t they have cows? Either way, I could see the handlers getting the cowlike bulls all riled up in back. That made me feel bad for the animals.

And, to really top it off, let’s talk more about the sheep! Have you ever heard of Mutton Busting? Holy scary. I for sure thought this had to be illegal. Check out the video below. Strangest thing I have ever seen in my life.

After the Mutton Busting I sent a text to my “Wisconsin Cousin,” I should really give her a better name. And said, “I am definitely not country enough for a rodeo.” Her response…”I probably could have told you that.” I probably should check in with her a little more often.

I definitely had an experience that was new to me, and I am thankful for that. I think from here on out I will stick to Country Music to fulfill the little part of me that is a bit country. And unfortunately, I may never be able to say, “This isn’t my first rodeo.”

Have you ever been to a rodeo? What did you think?

Friday Night Bites

I don’t know about you guys, but weekends tend to be the hardest on me when it comes to sticking to a healthy, clean eating plan. For some reason by the time Friday rolls around all I want to do is go out to dinner and have a big old glass bottle of wine. But since I joined the weight-loss challenge I am trying to remain more mindful and strong.

With that said, Friday rolled around and surprise, we both wanted to go out! We decided on our favorite little Asian restaurant close to home, Orchid. Trying to remain mindful, I did not order a dinner that came with white rice. Note: I am a sucker for white rice. I love to eat it in my house. I’d probably even eat it with a mouse. I like to eat it all the time, here or there. I’d honestly eat it anywhere!!

I order Pho, which I had never tried before, and Justin ordered Bahn Xeo. We were told they were two very traditional Vietnamese dishes. We were both really excited to give them a try.

We ended up being very happy with our selections. And, Pho does come with noodles made from rice, but I still don’t think it is the same. 🙂 I will definitely be ordering that again. And on a side note, I didn’t drink a bottle of wine either. Instead I opted to enjoy gin & tonic and kept the liquid calories a wee lower than normal.

BIC Bands

I love doing a little online shopping and then every day thereafter checking the mail box or front step until it arrives. That is how I felt this past week after ordering my first BIC Bands.

I came across the product on my new favorite blog, Peanut Butter Fingers. The BIC Bands were featured as one of PB Finger’s MUST haves for fitness apparel and accessories. I have always struggled with head bands so I naturally wondered if the BIC Bands really were that great. So, after having a successful first week of the weight-loss challenge, I decided to treat myself and give them a shot.

Since I have always struggled with head bands to wear while working out I started to think it was me. Maybe my head was misshapen? Maybe there was something wrong with the way my neck connects to my head? Or maybe my hair was the problem? All of these thoughts ran through my head at one point or another. So, I gave up and decided bobby pins would have to be my answer.

And while the bobby pins did seem to work, they weren’t nearly as cute as sparkly head bands and if you forgot to grab one prior to leaving for your run, well you’d be annoyed for the next 30 minutes for sure. When the BIC Bands arrived yesterday I quickly tore open the package and yelled to my husband, “My present arrived!” As I opened the package I noticed a hand written note thanking me for  the order and to enjoy! (A personal touch you don’t get with big retailers!) Then, I saw my black sparkly band and my pink one!

Luckily, I saved my workout for after work that day. So I quickly change and obviously decided that the pink one would have to be tested first! My workout for the day was a 46 minute Burn Intervals workout that is part of the Chalean Extreme program which is produced by BeachBody.  This particular workout is intense as it alternates between high intensity cardio drills and strength training.

I am happy to report that by the end of the workout my BIC Band was still on my head! I did notice it creeping up in the back ever so slightly, but with a slight adjustment it was fine. Plus I felt extra pretty during my workout. And trust me, a little extra can’t hurt.

I can’t wait to pick more of these for myself, but I also can’t wait to buy some as gifts!!!