on the menu:

Sunday: Chicken Cordon Bleu, rice & brussel sprouts

Monday: My Chinese Chicken LoMein-style with lots of veggies

Tuesday:  Beef Fajitas with spanish rice & beans

Wednesday: Grilled Chicken and Veg

Thursday: Breakfast for Dinner

Friday: Pork & Cabbage

Workout Plan:

Daily: morning walk with Lucy

Monday: Upper Body, Stretch dvds (morning)

Tuesday: week 2, day 2 #hundredpushups, crunches and stretch dvd (morning); 4 mile run (6pm); #tworkout (8:30pm)

Wednesday: sleep in; run 2-3 miles and walk for rest of q’s hour at karate (5pm)

Thursday: wee2, day 3 #hundredpushups, crunches and stretch dvd (morning); 4 mile run (4pm)

Friday: Upper Body, Stretch and cardio dvds (morning)

Saturday: REST

Sunday: 5-6 mile run

That dreadful time of year is now upon us. I must return to be “teacher lady Jen” in only a few short weeks. September 1 is my first day back and I have much to prepare. I have a to-do list a mile long to make sure I am prepared as well as my daughter. Fun stuff!! Sort of! It is a lot of work but I am going to work hard to get ahead of the game so I can stay there! HA! Every year I work hard to find my perfect organization and each year it gets better.

I need to find MY perfect balance!!

My balance requires a plan. But not a written-in-stone plan. I still need to be flexible. We shall see how the plan works this week. See ya next week.

Current Weight: 196.8 lbs
Previous Weight: 194.4
Weight loss: +2.4 lbs
Weight loss in Feb: +2.2
Starting Weight: 242.6 lbs
Weight loss total: -46.8 lbs

THE WEEK IN REVIEW:

I had such an awesome week!! I completed week 1 of Couch to 5K training program! I slogged in the rain, through puddles and in the snow and through the slush! I have picture proof!! I completed week 1 of Bob Greene’s 8 Week Total Body Makeover.  I am trying to get into a routine of strength training! Bob Greene is helping me get my feet wet! I worked out 6 days this past week! and I LOVED it!! I love to be outside – even though it was not the best situation for being outside! I feel like such a rockstar!! I actually want to keep training and I can’t wait to see how far I can go with this running stuff!

I feel strong!! This week was amazing and I feel strong!!

Wednesday was my birthday and I celebrated with my husband and daughter! I was blessed with gifts to help my journey. An awesome friend sent me a HRM and Big Man and kid ordered me a Wii (although I am sure they will enjoy it as much as I will) and a sports game.

**So all you Wii owners must tell me your picks for the must-have games, especially the active, get-in-shape kinds!

*image courtesy Google images*

Did you think I was just going to ignore the weigh in?

I kind of want to ignore the scale but it is part of the journey.

The scale was not kind to me but it is not the end of the world.  The scale WILL NOT be the voice that says if I had a good week or a bad week. I had a great week! I tracked everything I ate this week: the good, the bad & the ugly. I ate every single point I had coming to me: my daily points, weekly points allowance, and most of my activity points. I had ice cream cake and chinese food on my birthday. Maybe, I ate a bit too much food this week but I was constantly starving!! I don’t know what this all about but I figure it has something to do with changing up my workouts! I stayed within my points range (using allowable extras) but I was hungry a lot!

Also, Saturday morning or also known as Weigh-In day comes around and I wake up with my monthly friend! I knew I was close in time but I had no warning signs. Actually, the more I think about it the more I realize I probably had all the right signs but I missed them because of sore muscles from the new workouts. The sore muscles masked the PMS misery! Chalk another one up to workouts!!

I am not sure if using all my points, new workouts, or TOM is to blame for gain. I am not going to stress it because I had an awesome week. For the week coming up I am going to be moving on to week 2 of the C25K and Bob Greene workouts.  I will continue to track all my food but I will do it on Sparkpeople and WW etools [I will explain why in a later post].

This week I am focusing on planning! Menu planning has helped me so much! Dinners are healthy and I never have that “what are we gonna have for dinner?” moments! Because dinner is so thought out I have leftovers for lunches.  This week I am going to plan my workouts and I am going to plan every day the night before (just like my daughter has to do every night).

My menu plan is posted. Go check it out!!

My workout plan is:

Sunday: REST/clean house

Monday: Couch to 5K ~ week 2, day 1

Tuesday: Bob Greene ~ week 2, day 1 ~ Last chance tworkout ~  Leslie Sansone walking

Wednesday: Couch to 5K ~ week 2, day 2

Thursday: Bob Greene ~ week 2, day 2 ~ planks, pushups ~ Leslie Sansone walking

Friday: Couch to 5K ~ week 2, day 3

Saturday: Bob Greene ~ week 1, day 3 ~ an outside walk with the family, maybe at the bird refuge.

**I want to challenge myself to get up at 6 am with the alarm!! I am a horrible morning person but I really want to get better! This week I have decided that the best way for me to do this is to challenge myself and blog about it!

]]> http://www.jeninreallife.com/2010/02/28/i-had-a-great-week-the-scale-just-sucks/feed/ 16 http://www.jeninreallife.com/2010/02/26/perfect-10-crazy-eights/ http://www.jeninreallife.com/2010/02/26/perfect-10-crazy-eights/#comments Sat, 27 Feb 2010 01:31:53 +0000 jen http://www.jeninreallife.com/?p=757

How did I work my goals this week?

1. Lose 5 pounds per month – I think I am only down .2 for the month of February but we will see what happens on the scale tomorrow. I have decided that I don’t really care what the scales says. Yes, I am curious but I will not let the number on the scale determine the success or failure of my week.  I am really embracing non-scale victories.  While I have finally set an ultimate weight loss goal of 100 pounds, I have decided to not set specific time sensitive weight loss goals. I will get to my goal weight! I am ok if it takes longer than I want it.

2. Walk 15 miles each week - I wound up with 10 of 15 miles this week. But I started and completed Week 1 of Couch to 5K yesterday! Go check it out if you haven’t!! There are pictures!! I am still grinning ear to ear knowing I finished week 1!!

3. Strength train 3x each week, every week -I also completed week 1 of the Bob Green 8 week total Body Makeover dvd that I won from Shrinking Jeans. I threw in 2 walking dvds and a yoga workout courtesy of exerciseTV.

4. find and prepare one new healthy recipe (or food) -Mission accomplished! I actually made 2 new recipes this week. A Pot Roast recipe I found on allrecipe.com and a Roasted Garlic Chicken recipe that was in this month’s Food Network magazine.

What you don’t know about Jen…..

I am camera shy! I prefer to be behind the camera. I love taking pictures and I hate my picture! I have always been like but it goes even deeper. I am a teacher so I should be fine standing in front of a group of people and talk like a normal person. I CAN’T!  I stand in front of rooms full of teenagers and i am not nervous at all. Change it to grown ups and I get all blabbers. I can’t remember what I am talking about or what I already have said. I am ok, if we are all sitting around chatting.  It’s not the talking to people that bothers me, I think it is being the center of attention that makes me nervous.  Those who know me in real life cannot understand this from me! It makes no sense! I am very outgoing and personable!

Random Thoughts

This was an awesome week! Setting my ultimate weight loss goal was actually quite freeing. I started and completed the first week of the Couch to 5K training program. I may not be setting any records but I kind of am!! A record for me!! I swore I wanted nothing to do with running! Now, I am looking forward to next week’s training!

I am feeling stronger (physically and mentally) than I have in a very long time!!

Click the link!! You know you want to!! Click and watch the Bangles!! I promise it will make your Monday!!

WEEKLY WEIGH IN STATS

Current Weight: 194.4
Previous Weight: 196.8 lbs
Weight loss: -2.4 lbs
Weight loss in Feb: -0.2 lbs
Starting Weight: 242.6 lbs
Weight loss total: -48.2 lbs

THE WEEK IN REVIEW:

The week started off with such promise! After snow days and chest colds hampering me I was hopeful that I would get back to consistent working out.  Big Man and I went out of town on Monday to see an awesome concert. I was in the car for over two hours but I think I made up for it with a half hour in the hotel pool and 3 hours of hippie wigglin’ (I don’t know what else you call the dancing one does at a Dead show).  I did not have my Gruve (it is currently broken and I have been slacking on sending it to be fixed but tomorrow it will go to FedEx) but my pedometer racked up 11,000 + steps while I was at the show.

Tuesday morning I woke up to a text from my mother. The kid had been up 3 times to puke! Oh joy! We drove home in very limited visibility due to snow. I spent the day lounging with a very sick kid. I always know she is sick if she is super clingy and if she takes a nap willingly. I swear the kid thinks naps are evil!

Wednesday I woke up and got ready for work like normal. I left the kid sleeping with daddy on duty. I drive 3 miles to get to work! In the time it took me to drive to work, mind you it is 3 miles away, I was feeling nauseous and overheated! I got into school ans lasted about 20 minutes before I was sent home. As I was walking to my car, the bus arrived. Don’tcha know I slipped on damn ice and went down quick and hard! Did I mention I did this in front of a bus of my students?!?!

Thursday and Friday I was feeling better and made it to work. I wasn’t 100% but well enough to be in school. Fridays at my school are workplace readiness days. We don’t necessarily teach academics. One of new classes started this Friday and I am super super excited about this class. I am teaching a Girls Essential Skills/Self-Esteem Building/Fitness Class.  Our first day was awesome!! We started some self-esteem building exercises. I am looking forward to how this works.

I did have some exciting things happen during this otherwise bleh week of sickies:

• The class I mentioned above started and went extremely well. The girls are “into” the class! A few of the girls even asked me if I would stay with them after school to work out in the gym (our school is very small so we do not have the gym facilities of a traditional high school)
• I set my ultimate weight goal this week!! After reading @amerrylife ‘s blog this week where she set an awesome super big goal , I decided that I also wanted to lose a total of 100 pounds. I have been himming and hawing about what my ultimate goal will be! I think my vagueness has only hindered me. 100 is a nice even number and I am almost half way there!
• I decided to sign up for the FitBloggin’ New Balance 5K! TO RUN this 5K! I am not a runner but I want to challenge myself to try this!! My goal for this 5K is to just finish the dang thing and run half! I started the Couch to 5K training program today.
• I was named Teacher of the Year for my school

I am looking forward to the week ahead! I have new workout goals!

• couch to 5K training with @FitinmyHeart, @damanlovett, @JeepJenn, @priorfatgirl, and @amerrylife [IF you are training with me and I didn't list you please hit me up in comments ~ I want to make a list (with links) for all me fellow SLOGGERS in training!!
• Start Bob Greene training with @fitinmyheart [this is a dvd with an 8 week total body makeover plan] Monday (tomorrow) will be week 1, day 1.

I will also work on:

• drinking 8 glasses of water every day
• remembering to take vitamins every day
• stretching every night before bed!
• track! track! track!!

Oh life is good!! I am feeling better! The family seems to be over the sickies! I am ready to take on the world!! At least, for the next week!

much love, Jen

Needless to say, I have been in the house and not eating all that bad but not all that great! Really, I just ate too much this weekend! This week will focus on lots of veggies!

monday: Barley Stuffed Peppers -I am going to add diced zucchini to the stuffing and make cauliflower fritters on the side.

tuesday: Chicken Caesar Salad

wednesday: Breakfast for Dinner – the kid has requested pancakes and bacon. She loves breakfast for dinner!

thursday:  Skirt Steak Fajitas – loaded with peppers and onions and such.

friday: Pork Goulash – I found a slow cooker cookbook that I forgot I had. Big man looked through it and found a couple recipes he wanted to try. I settled on this one for this week.

One of my goals this year was to try one new food or recipe each week. So far I have been doing good with this goal but I haven’t really mentioned it too often. This week I am hitting both: I have never had barley (so actually, barley qualifies as a new food and a new recipe) and I have never made the Pork Goulash. I am very excited about this week’s dinner.

Lunches will be leftovers from dinners plus there is leftover chicken pot pie and spaghetti in the fridge. Hubs also took out some homemade ham & bean soup out of freezer.

Breakfasts will be eggs (with leftover veg or hashbrowns cooked in Pam), or oatmeal with apples or bananas

*Every week I write this menu plan. Every week there are life stresses…but I always know what I am having for dinner. This is one stress I am glad I do not have in my life. My good friend, Jenna, introduced me to menu planning and I am so happy she did! Menu planing keeps me sane, there are no more days of standing in front of the fridge wondering what the heck I am making for dinner.  I post a handwritten copy of this menu on the fridge and hubby and daughter help with dinners, either getting stuff out of freezer or helping pull everything out to make dinner.

If you are not menu planning, I strongly suggest you try it out!!

How did I work my goals this week?

1. Lose 5 pounds per month – I weighed 204 pounds on January 2nd and 194.6 pounds on January 30th! This puts me at a total of 9.4 pounds GONE for the month of January! Here is to an equally awesome February!

2. Walk 15 miles each week - I did not log any miles this week. I have totally babied myself this week with this cold. All week long the stairs at work killed me! I was totally out of breath most of the week.

3. Strength train 3x each week, every week - see above! I did not strength train or walk this week! I did not much of anything!

4. find and prepare one new healthy recipe (or food) - A few weeks ago I read a blog post from one of my favorite Weight Watcher, Heather. Heather blogged about a new WW cookbook with 165 Crock Pot recipes!! I saw the book at my meeting and it was only $10 so I snatched it up! This week we made the Shrimp Creole recipe and I definitely recommend this one! It was delicious! I love shrimp and this recipe reminded me of New Orleans.

What you don’t know about Jen…..

I have a slight obsession with New Orleans!! I have been to NOLA twice. Once before Katrina – Big Man surprised with a weekend get-away to NOLA for my birthday after we got engaged. and the second time we went to NOLA was the May after Katrina – we got married on that trip! If I could afford it, I would go back every year! I LOVE NOLA! The city is alive with music and food and soul! I told ya, I am a bit obsessed! I am even planning my next trip to NOLA, in 2012!

This was a weird week! I was just getting into the swing of working out almost daily. I am tired of being sick and tired! I am going to try to get some activity in this weekend and I am really hoping to be back in the swing by Monday! I have a new workout dvd to try!

Last week’s weight: 198

This week’s weight: 193.6

This week’s change: -4.4

Total change:  -49.0

Before I tell you about my week, I have to reflect a bit about the number on the scale. I am not ruled by the number on the scale but it is a piece of the puzzle or game. Losing weight is just like putting a puzzle together – each person must create their own puzzle. I am working hard to find the pieces that best fit my puzzle. Part of the puzzle is the number on the scale and part of the puzzle is measurements. I finally took new measurements and there were actual changes between November and now. I have heard every option for how often to measure and I am not sure how often I will measure but probably not every week. Do you measure? How often?

Another piece of my puzzle has been setting reasonable goals. I admit I have not always been the best goal-setter.  I usually just kind of bulldoze my way through. No real planning just one day at a time. I joined two challenges this year (Perfect 10 and Rethink Your Shrink) that have been helping me set small reasonable and attainable goals.

My BIG goals are outlined in my week 3, Perfect 10 update. You can also find a list of last week’s workouts.

My smaller goals, I will discuss here:

1.  drink 80 oz of water daily I am great about this Monday – Friday. I don’t know why since I barely drink any water during the school day. 5/7

2. take multi vitamin and glucosamine every day I am horrible about this but I am getting better. 5/7

3. make time for workout As you can see if you check out my Perfect 10 update, I worked out a lot last week. I was a bit lazy the last two days but I am very happy with the progress I have made in the workout area. I look forward to working out even if I bitch about it before hand. I love that @ShrinkingJeans leads Biggest Loser commercial break workouts. I love how sweaty I get Walking at Home or on the treadmill. I love that my arms are starting to feel “tight” and I LOVE that I am getting stronger and tighter! I will continue to workout because I finally get it! I really LOVE that I found a workout I LOVE!!

Another piece of the puzzle is FOOD! Ya’ll know how much I love food. All food!! Good food, good-for-you food, healthy food, and just plain junk food. I have learned that some foods have no place in my healthy life plan and I know there are foods that if they were off limits I would rebel and binge on. No foods are off limit. Moderation. I have learned menu planning is essential to my weight & wallet management. I am planning healthy meals full of lean meats and yummy vegetables. I also allow treats and occasional “cheat” days but I don’t call them that. I have always managed to stay within my points and now that I am adding all the workouts in I am ok with some higher points splurge days.

Another piece of the puzzle is accountability! I NEED lots of accountability!! I tried ditching my meetings and just using WW online….I lost and gained the same 5 pounds the entire 4 months. I went back to my meetings and did a little better but then Christmas came and we went away and I did not track and I gained back a few pounds. I found a group of Moms on the same journey.  #Mamavation is an awesome motivational community of moms in various stages of the healthy journey.  The mamavation ladies are all just so sweet and supportive!

Now, on the other side of the coin I found the Sisterhood of the Shrinking Jeans…how could I not check out a group of chicks with a blog titled that?!?! and they are a riot – super supportive & encouraging and not afraid to YELL at me to get my ass moving! I love how sarcastic, snarky and down right brutal their love can be – they are the best!

I join all kinds of challenges! Challenges keep the whole  journey new. I am not always the best challenge participant. Not  the challenge’s fault…but I lack follow through some times. I get all excited but don’t always finish what I start. I am currently involved in two challenges: Perfect 10 and Rething Your Shrink. I liked these two challenges and since the principals behind the challenges were so similar I felt (and still do) comfortable participating in both challenges.

Twitter is the best motivation!! I tweet to inspire and motivate as well as be inspired and be motivated! My twitter peeps are my friends. My twitter peeps know all the answers to all the questions I have!! My twitter peeps don’t let me get away with sulking or not working out! I may be addicted to Twitter but I swear it has huge benefits!

I rambled and rambled! This was a good week – mentally and on the scale. I am finding the perfect balance for me. I am finding what is right and works best for me. This has to be my journey, my way!! I have been traveling on this journey to health for over a year now and it really has been the last 3 weeks that I can honestly say, “I get it!!”

Did I tell you that Twenty Ten is the Year of JEN?!?!

Join me in making 2010 the best year!

At WW meeting I stepped on scale, here is what happened:

WW lady: “2 pounds”

Me: “wow, I lost 2 pounds”

WW lady: “no, up 2 pounds”

Me: “wow, I gained 2 pounds, really?”

I decided to chat it up with my leader before the meeting,

Me: “Stephanie (my leader’s name) should I be concerned with being up 2 pounds? I tracked, stayed within my points and worked out. I even worked out this morning and late last night.”

Stephanie: “you tracked?”

Me: “yes”

Stephanie: “Everything?”

Me: “yes”

Stephanie: “Well that is a success! You worked out…that is a success! You are here…that is a success!!”

I have been thinking about this conversation since then…it is all I could think about!

And damn it, I may have gained this week but it was a great week. Ok, to be fair…it started off slow but ended with a bang.  My workouts and weekly goals are recapped here on my Perfect 10, week 2 update. I am so tired of being a slave to the scale. I had a great week and the scale will not dictate whether or not I had a good week. My Perfect 10 update includes my BIG goals but here is where I post my smaller weekly goals:

1. drink 80 oz of water daily I did this 6/7 days

2. take multi vitamin and glucosamine every day I remembered 4/7 days. I MUST get better at taking my vitamins.

3. make time for workouts I totally made time for me and my workouts!! I worked out 5/7 days and on the other 2 I did enough around the house to be “moving”!

On Tuesday I had an absolute meltdown! I can’t even tell you exactly what happened. I said something to Big Man and he gave me some look and I got all snappy. I snapped at him he snapped at me and I burst into tears. I must tell you all that me and the Big Man never fight! NEVER! Our friends think we are weird because as crazy as it sounds we actually like each other…and we don’t believe that fighting is productive ~ definitely stems from how we both grew up and the last relationship we were prior to meeting each other!  Sorry for the ramble here – but I really love the big dummy! Anyway, I cried and cried and it took a little bit to stop. I can’t exactly explain what started it or what “it” was even really about. I was left feeling very tired after the tears ended.

Later that night, I tweeted about my meltdown and I was hit back with many similar stories from my friends. When I talked with my WW girls, I again heard similar stories from this week. Something must be in the air.  I was also tweeted back by @debroby and she told me that at the start of a new fitness regime it was normal to have freakouts!! REALLY?!!? This is normal. huh?!?! @mizfitonline has said this very thing before.

What does this freakout mean? Well, later that night I saw my girls at @shrinkingjeans tweeting Last Chance workouts during Biggest Loser commercials. I do not watch Biggest Loser but I needed to jump into the action. I did a few exercises and lots of tweeting with my friends @shrinkingjeans, @lissjoy, @girlsworld, @fabfattieShan, and @footdr69 !! I needed that time and I did indeed begin to feel better. Wednesday came around and I worked out and felt awesome. I even bumped it up a bit ~ while doing my walking workout I did the middle mile twice!!

I also walked on Thursday.

Friday we ordered Chinese for dinner. I ordered chicken & shrimp with veggies (steamed with sauce on side). I didn’t eat any rice but I did eat a few steamed dumplings.  I drank a ton of water after dinner to try and combat the sodium. I walked on the treadmill for an hour (at 3.0 mph) and worked up quite a sweat.

I woke up at 7:30 (ridiculously early for a Saturday) to get ready for a walk with my girlfriend, Tammey. She was at my house by 8 and we walked for an hour and almost 3 miles. It was cold but we were moving and talking and the time went by quickly.  We haven’t walked together in forever and it was nice…even though it was cold. Ya’ll know how much I hate being cold!! After our walk I had a banana and some water and headed to my WW meeting. I stepped on that scale and gained 2 pounds. ugh! Not what I was hoping to see but a good learning experience. This weigh-in really taught me to not rely on the scale.

After WW meeting, I went home to eat something more substantial than a banana. Then it was off to the Red Cross to give blood. I have not donated since I was in high school…in 1996!! My daughter went with me and snapped some pictures!

**I chose to give blood because it is what I have to give! I am not a rich woman but I have plenty of blood and I am healthy!! If you are healthy, please consider going to the Red Cross to give blood!

**I am going to go back again March 13, 2010! That is the next time I am allowed to go back and I will give blood every 6-8 weeks, it is the least I can do! Who is with me??

One final note: I will not be using my previous Saturday Scale Time anymore. I will instead give a week in review every week after I attend my WW meeting.  I do not want to focus on the scale as the most important tool!! My success will not be determined to a number on a scale!! I will continue to weigh in at my WW meetings because I think I should….what are your thoughts about the scale?

much love!!

Jen

How did I work my goals this week?

1. Lose 5 pounds per month – my weigh in day is Saturday (tomorrow), last week I lost 8 pounds which put me at even from my holiday gain and a loss of 2 for January. I am working hard to hit my goal of 5 every month…on average.

2. Walk 15 miles each week - I logged 13 of 15 miles this week. I am making progress!!

3. Strength train 3x each week, every week - I am still struggling in this area. I do not belong to a gym – I just can’t afford to waste my money and I would be lost in the weight room. I do better when I can follow along with a workout dvd…I have been making sure I do my walking dvds since the incorporate some moderate strength training. I have also been adding in strength-type exercises here and there. but…I don’t really feel like I know what I am doing and I hate not knowing what I am doing. I keep trying new things and I am going to try another new this week. My good friend, Hilary, blogged the other day about baby-stepping into strength and she totally spoke to me. Hilary is going to be following a plan from one of Sparkpeople’s bootcamp challenges. I like the looks of this plan and I will be trying it out this week!

4. find and prepare one new healthy recipe (or food) - I am still figuring out my camera and I just fixed my internet issues  – so I am a bit behind in blogging about new foods/recipes. This week I tried a new brussel sprouts recipe that was super yummy and super easy!

WORKOUTS this WEEK

Friday: treadmill – 3.01 miles, 60 minutes. I started at 9:30 – a little late but better late than never! and it was pretty intense. I know a 20 minute mile may not be fast for a lot of you but for me and on the treadmill this was a fast walk! I loved it and damn did I sweat it out! I am kind of gross! sorry for the info, I know you wanted to know.

Gruve:  GREEN goal

Steps: 14,946

Thursday: treadmill – 3 miles, 66 minutes. I really enjoyed this walk! mixing in walking dvds makes the treadmill so much more fun. I upped the speed to 3.0 for most of the walk and I hit the incline – 1% for about 20 minutes total and 2% for about 20 minutes total.

Gruve:  GREEN goal (I aim for green every day)

Steps: 14, 911

Wednesday: 60 minutes, 4 mile Walk at Home Weight Loss Walk (walking, cardio, resistance, and core) ~~> I did the middle mile, or the Mary Kay mile, twice.

Gruve:  GREEN goal

Steps: 14,240

Tuesday: I had a bit of a meltdown today. I snapped at my husband over something really stupid and then broke down all blubbery. I cried my eyes out and I can’t really tell ya why. This took a lot out of me but I managed to eek out some exercises that the @shrinkingjeans through at me while they all watch Biggest Loser. Every Tuesday, the girls tweet last chance workouts to do during the commercial breaks. I did squats, pushups, planks, squat holds and a few jumping jack. I do not like jumping jacks at all!

Gruve:  BLUE goal (almost to green but not quite)

Steps: 6,509

Monday: unintentional rest day. Some days life just totally gets in the way.

Gruve:  BLUE goal

Steps: 7,800

Sunday: 45 minute, 3 mile Walk Away your Waistline with Walk Belt (walking, cardio, resistance, and core) 50 squats

Gruve:  Yellow goal (about 50% of the way to green…totally a lazy Sunday)

Steps: 7,809

Saturday: rest day. house cleaning day.

I HAD A GREAT WEEK!!

I started wearing a pedometer regularly again. I have tried a few different pedometers but I went back to the Weight Watchers model and I love it! It fits nice and tracks pretty accurately. (Just my experience, I bought my own WW pedometer.)  I have been making it a point to stand and walk around much more while I teach. I am working every extra calorie I can get ~

It was a long and exhausting week. There were days where I did not do what I should have. I completely broke down on Tuesday. I am not sure what brought it on but I was a mess. and I could not figure out how to come out of it and be productive. All I wanted was the couch, a blanket and a cup of coffee. I guess that is progress…I probably would have made and ate an entire batch of brownies.

What you don’t know about Jen…..

Speaking of brownies…I have not had a brownie in forever. I cannot be trusted around brownies. One is never enough!! If I make the brownies, I eat the batter and eat the baked brownies. I can and have eaten the entire tray of brownies before they ever cooled down all the way. At parties where brownies were set out, I have been know to walk by and grab then walk by again…and again…and again…you get the drift. I have a serious brownie problem…I like it in all forms…I cannot eat just one…I just stay away…it is easier and safer that way…

I love this part of the challenge…it is kind of goofy telling you silly little things about myself and I am going with things that I probably would not tell you otherwise.

Is there anything you want to know? Just ask!!

I love this challenge and I am so glad Steve is hosting such an awesome challenge. Thanks Steve!!

How did I work my goals this week?

1. Lose 5 pounds per month – my weigh in day is Saturday (tomorrow), last week I gained 6 (insert any expletive here – I have) pounds. NOT a great way to start the year but I was expecting a gain since I fully enjoyed Christmas and our little family get-away. No regrets! Maybe a bit of a sugar coma and maybe I won’t be as off-plan for as long anytime in the near future but not regrets. Progress!! I yelled and cursed at the scale last Saturday but I did not let that defeat me! I have had an awesome week!

2. Walk 15 miles each week - I had an awesome week! It has been weeks since I did any real exercise with any real purpose!! I logged only 11.5 miles this week but I am still calling this a win!! For my first week back I am ecstatic

3. Strength train 3x each week, every week - Mission accomplished. See my weekly workout list below. I have decided to include a list of all the workouts I have completed in the last week.

 
4. find and prepare one new healthy recipe (or food) - I tried acorn squash this week. I did not write a blog about this but internet access has been a major issue this week! All the computers at work are useless ~ our server is fried! and I have been making less time for online and I think I cause my router to have a heart attack. I have had spotty connections at best. I will write about acorn squash this weekend.

WORKOUTS this WEEK

Friday: Treadmill: 3.25 miles, 78 minutes. 25 Knee Highs, 10 pushups (I do couch pushups-real & girl pushups kill my knees)

Thursday: 45 minute, 3 mile Walk Away your Waistline with Walk Belt (walking, cardio, resistance, and core) 50 squats

Wednesday: 45 minutes, 3 mile Walk at Home Weight Loss Walk  (walking, cardio, resistance, and core)

Tuesday: 35 squats, 25 knee highs, 10 couch-pushups. Treadmill: 2.25 miles, 65 minutes

Monday: Kettlebell: 50 swing squats, 35 sumo squats, 35 figure 8s. Resistance band:  tricep extensions, bent over rows & alternating lying chest presses

I did not workout last weekend. I should have but I let myself get done all the things that needed to be done so I could focus on myself!

I HAD A GREAT WEEK!!

I truly had an awesome week! It started slow – I was not very productive (on paper) with my goals last weekend but I needed that time to get ready for the upcoming week. It was back to school after Christmas break and (I am not bitching – just stating) I let myself get completely off schedule over Christmas break  so this week was exhausting. I did not let that be an excuse!!

What you don’t know about Jen…..

I am a complete cover hog. I don’t even know how I do it but I steal the blankets. ALL the blankets!! and I somehow cocoon myself with said blankets. I wrap my cocoon so tight that there is no way anyone can break in – much less get some blanket back so they are warm!! Big man is no match! We each have our own sheet & blanket on our bed. I don’t steal his covers and we sleep wonderfully. I think it may just be the secret to our happy marriage…beside that we are madly in love!