HYC UPDATE

Oh for goodness sakes. I STILL haven't hit 50 pounds. I remain ONE POUND AWAY. Irritating. Annoying. Discouraging. Motivating. And so on. This has been the hardest plateau I have EVER hit. Yes, I've tried all the "mixing it up". More excercise, less exercise, high calorie day, blah blah blah. My eating has been fine, no cheating! Really! Nothing is working. However, I will not give up. Of course! We are one month into our 2nd "Biggest Loser" contest at work (do you remember who won the FIRST BL contest? Oh stop. I'm blushing). We have periodical weigh-ins every month for people to see where they're at, but I'm opting out and waiting for the big weigh-in at the end. I've lost about 5 pounds so far this go around, much slower weight loss than what I'm used to, but, I'm still celebrating!!

I do have a few NSV's (non scale victories) though. First of all, I've started running. The first day was torture. Actually the day AFTER that was the real torture as I felt the effects. However, the day after that when I ran, I could tell it was easier! It's amazing how many different muscles I was working. I don't even hurt after an hour on the elliptical anymore, which tells me it's time to find new ways to torture ahem...challenge myself. I've got the "only fools run at midnight" and Bloomsday races coming up. Can't wait! Do you remember that running a 5K is on my list of "to-do's"? One day....

I also had a great 6 mile hike with girlfriends on Sunday. It was supposed to be a family hike with all our kiddos, but Cole was sick and my friend Amy's youngest two stayed home. Then Gracie ditched us. In the end, it was just Amanda, Amy, her son Sean and I. We actually ended up on the wrong trail, but still had an amazing hike. My victory in this is that I could have went another 6 miles! My body is so much lighter and stronger now. Denise is proud! Here's the three of us...

Oh yeah, another NSV. I ordered T-shirts for a big basketball game we are going to this Thursday. I always used to order a XXL for myself, but this time I got an XL, and it fit perfect!!! WOOT!

ONLY FOOLS RUN AT MIDNIGHT!

There is a fun run taking place not far from where I live that is called "Only fools run at midnight", on Saturday, April 10. Obviously, it starts at midnight! Yes, I am signing up, and no, I have no idea how I'll be able to stay up. I go to bed at 10 pm on weekends! HA! Hopefully with the help of coffee, coffee and lots more coffee, I'll make it. My Mom and I did this and years ago, and had a blast. It is a 3.5 mile course. I believe the race t-shirts glow in the dark, but don't quote me on that!

I'm trying to get a group of friends (male or female, I don't care!) to join in (you can either walk or run), so, if any of YOU live in this area and want to join in, click HERE for more information and the sign-up form!

A BIT OF BABBLE

This past Friday night I met up with some girlfriends after work for our friday night knitting club. Its great fun. We meet at a coffee shop, visit, knit, and beg Amanda to fix all our mistakes. It's awesome. We even have a new member who just happened to be walking by one day, stopped to chat about our knitting, and has now joined us!

In other news, I am preparing for my inventory "re-do", after a disastrous screw up a few weeks ago (not on my part), caused us to start over at square one. Irritating.

My weight loss journey continues to go well! 36 pounds so far! I've been a bit frustrated with how slow it seems to go for me, and I think part of that is due to a medication my Doctor put me on a few months ago. The number one side effect is weight gain. Oh goody! On a positive note, I guesss its great that I'm losing at all! I may quit taking it, as its not a "necessary" prescription, just something I've been trying out. We'll see about all that.

Our final weigh-in at work for our "biggest loser" competition is on Feb. 4. I'm in the top 3! Wish me luck, I've got some serious competition! I've had several people tell me that they've been inspired by what I've been doing, thats such a wonderful compliment. Hearing that really inspires ME as well! Thanks to you all!

A bit of great news is that I feel fantastic!! After 3 months of a vegetarian diet, minimal sugar, very little processed foods, nearly a gallon of water a day, and hard excercise, I have never felt better. I finally feel like I got over that hurdle that was always holding me back from becoming who I want to be. I have wasted alot of time being overweight, and I will never go back to that lifestyle. The good thing is, my new lifestyle makes me so happy! I crave nutritious foods, and love researching health and nutrition so I can continue on this lifelong journey. Most importantly, its teaching my children good habits so they don't have the same struggles as I have. I love seeing them grab an apple, carrots, or a glass of almond milk out of the fridge for a snack. I've found that kids will generally eat whatever you put in the house. They'll eat the chips, cookies and other garbage if its there, but if you put low calorie goodies, fruits and veggies, they are just as likely to grab those. There are so many great low-calorie snacks on the market these days. Read your labels!!

On that note, I found a few new products that our whole family liked!

These are YUMMY!! Morningstar does put alot of extra stuff in their products, but I do really like this one, as did Paco and the kids. No one noticed a difference. They are 4 weight watcher points per serving, and a good source of fiber, which is key to weight loss. Tonight we are having a chef salad and Im going to cook these up and toss them in. Sounds sooo good! My original plan was just to try the vegetarian lifestyle for 3 months, but honestly, I don't think I could ever go back to my old ways. I feel too good! Oh, this stuff is TOO good. Again, fiber rich (6g!), and, for my weight watcher friends, only 3 points per serving. I mix a little flaxseed and almond milk in it for even more flavor and nutrition. The kids gobbled this up this morning!