>RLAM The Book - Winners

>

I am thrilled that I was able to give not just one but TWO copies of this awesome book away. I used Random.org to select the lucky winners and they are....

#1 ... Julie
#13...Terri

Thank you to everyone who entered this giveaway. And if you didn't win, don't fret (or maybe fret because this is an awesome book) but head on over to Run Like a Mother's  blog and read about many other awesome mother runners (gosh I love that word!!!).  Now all I need the winners to do is email me your mailing addresses and your book will be on it's way to you Monday.

>3 Things Thurs.

>1. You still have time to get in on my giveaway. Go HERE  to get the full details. But the summary is, I am giving away Run Like a Mother (the book). AND because those ladies are more awesome than I even said they were I will be giving away TWO books. Somehow Dimity McDowell (one of THE RLAMers..seriously!!!) got word that I was giving away their awesome book and said she felt bad that I spent my own $ to buy the book and give it away so they were having their publicist send one to me for the giveaway! Hello!?! I'm just a small town girl with a blog and a pair of running shoes!! I was like totally on cloud 9. See for me those ladies are like any other celebrity! Anyhooooo, now there are two books up for grabs so go tell all your awesome friends about this little blog of mine and the great giveaway! :)

2. I registered for the Covenant Health Knoxville Half Marathon a few days ago. I will be running 13.1 miles in April. Holy cow!! ME??? 13.1 miles??? Crazy, I know. Thankfully my hubby will be by my side. I'm glad he let me talk him into this. AND I am proud of myself for being committed to the training. I chose a 10 week training plan and am now on week 4 with 2 more runs for the week ahead of me (3 miles today, 8 miles Sat). So far everything is going well. There are 10 weeks until the half marathon and 6 weeks left of my training. So, if I have to repeat a week I think I am all good. Any experienced runners are welcome to give me advice. I am lucky to have a great support system and awesome running pals to get me through my training.

3. Tomorrow is my hour long personal training session. It will be the first one I have ever had. I am excited and nervous. I have done so much exercising this week that I hope I can hang for the full hour. And I hope that the workout doesn't kill me to the point I won't be able to make my run a good one on Saturday. But I also hope that the workout I am given will give me the results I hope to see before summer..and yeah maybe that isn't enough time but one can hope, right!?

>Mmmm breakfast!

>Breakfast is quite possibly my most favorite meal of the day. I love bacon, eggs, grits, biscuits.... I love pancakes and sausage! I LOVE when my hubby cooks because let me tell you I cannot make any of those things without the help of a bag or can. haha And of course none of those things are all that healthy and are most certainly not every day breakfast foods in our house, but man I wish they were.

I often find myself trying to find something for breakfast that is quick or can be grabbed on the way out the door or even reheated when I get to work. A lot of times I will just have toast w/pb and honey or an english muffin with cheese but those aren't the healthiest of options either.

Hubby and I have found a lot of great recipes on SkinnyTaste that he (I can't really take credit since I don't do a lot of the cooking) has been making for our family. So far everyone has loved the recipes and there has been a recipe or two the kids have asked for seconds of.

Last night I decided to try a breakfast recipe. Broccoli and cheese mini egg omelets and experimented with it a bit. I used whole eggs (5 of them), cheese and chopped up 2 slices of bacon hubby made earlier in the day. I think total I made 8 little muffins. No one in my family was really interested in these, which is fine because it gives ME breakfast on the go the rest of the week.

I didn't snap a picture because mine didn't come out looking exactly like Gina's but here is the picture off her blog...

This morning before leaving the house I had my regular cup of coffee with a half english muffin/mozz cheese and decided once I got to work I would nuke 2 of the mini muffin omelets and have those with my 2nd cup of coffee. They lacked flavor and that was probably because I don't use a lot of salt/pepper (and didn't add anything extra prior to cooking) so I drizzled a bit of hot sauce on them which seemed to be just what they needed (for my taste). Overall I think they were really good. Low carb, low cal and relatively low fat! I think you could definitely make many variations of this to suit your own tastes.

>The rest of the story

>So, where did I leave off?

230 to 178 and back again, right? Yep.

In 2008 I did get a little help from a dear friend who signed me up to run my first 5k ever. It was in July of 08 and as she was newly pregnant I was as new to running. And by running I don't mean the act of jogging at a fast pace without stopping or whatever definition you want to use. I mean there was some fast foot shuffling but mostly walking. 48:59 minutes later I crossed the finish line.

And I didn't run again or attempt to lose anymore weight until April 2009. I had enough, summer was coming and by golly I DID want to run (like for real run!). So, I stepped foot into the walk in weight loss center I visited a year prior and again I had a bit of success but after a couple of months and another swimsuit season I decided I could actually do this on my own without their expensive bars and 3 times a week "counseling" sessions.

So, I bought a few books, read a few chapters and journaled what I ate. I went back to my gym...the one where my memship sat unused for several months. And I started going at least 3 times a week. I started back into a regular running routine and by April 2010 I had lost  almost 40 pounds. 

I had finally worn a bathing suit on summer vacation that didn't include a coverup skirt to hide my thighs. I ran the same 5k race I ran in 2008 two more times, improving my time by almost 15 minutes! And I learned that I could definitely do this weight loss and running/workout thing ON MY OWN.

I sought out the help of the dietitian at my gym because like with most anyone attempting to lose weight around October of 2010 I hit a wall and the weight wasn't moving. She had me loosely follow a diebetic eating regime. No, I am not diebetic or even prediebetic but she said the eating plan would produce results and with just tweeking what I was currently doing she felt I would lose weight. And I did. I lost 10 pounds from Nov. 1, 2010 until Jan 1, 2011. I followed the plan she gave me of eating 6 small meals a day and continued with my workout schedule.

I overcame a fear in 2010 and started going to group classes at my gym. I found I LOVE BodyPump and started trying to at least make that class 2 times per week. That added to my running and healthy eating is what aided in the 10lb loss.

BUT...
that isn't all. There is one more important thing that helped me get there.

I had to have support. And let me tell you people, if it were not for my husband and his unending support I would not have survived over a year of healthy living. We make healthy meals at home for the most part. He started running with me early in 2009 and he has stood beside me through my whole journey. Always always believing that I could achieve my goals.

In 2010 we ran 5 races together.
In 2010 I lost an additional 20 pounds making my weight loss total as of Jan. 1 60 pounds.

I set new goals for 2011 and he is right there helping me achieve those.
1. Lose 20-25 pounds
2. run my first half marathon

I still struggle every single day of this journey. I struggle with food choices and fight the urge to make bad choices. I admit to making bad choices or allowing myself cheats once in a while. I feel it is somewhat important to do that because (if you are like me) if I don't I will think about those bad foods (that taste freaking awesome) for so long that when I do give in it is a complete over indulgence and leaves me feeling guiltier than it would just by giving in to a tiny craving. Makes sense? HA!

I still struggle with my image. Yes, it is true that I hardly look like the 230 lb girl I was back in April of 2009. But there are days (LOTS of days) when I look in the mirror and that girl is the same one staring back at me. I curse that girl everyday because I don't want to be her. I don't want her to haunt me with her chunky thighs and fat belly and her size 20 pants/size 2x tee.  It is very hard to see the changes my body has made...changes *I* have worked hard to get.  BUT I know they are there, even when I do struggle to see the girl I am now and not the girl I was...

There's more! Stay tuned (again.).

>Hi, hello, welcome...

>I see I have some new followers. Thank you for following me. :)
And the same to you long time followers. I appreciate you all.
One thing you should know about me (actually my blog) is that for some strange, strange reason it doesn't update for me, for you, for anyone. I think it says the last time I posted (Google reader or whatever the fancy tracking method is) was like 11 months ago. Let me assure you that is NOT the case. I may not post daily but I DO try my absolute best to post a couple times a week.  So, please stay and check back often!

For those of you that are new (and those of you who aren't so new but might not know) I thought it would be cool to do an introduction of sorts or tell you about me (yeah that's an introduction, duh) and how this blog came about. And it may be that I am not cool but bored and needed something to post today. haha

So, here we go...
In April of 2009 I found myself at the same exact (large) weight I was at about the time I attempted to lose weight after having not one but both of my kids. Tipping the scales just a few ounces shy of 230. Yep. 230. Yikes. I had tried several methods of losing weight from fad diets, to all kinds of books, even those little walk in centers that cost entirely too much and "make" you think you need to eat their nasty processed garbage. HA. Did any of these methods work? Of course they did.

But they were not the right methods for me. You see it all began on a lazy Saturday when my daughter was about 4 months old. There was this one plan (hello, tv infomercial man) that I tried immediately following the birth (and weaning from the boobage) of my daughter where I lost almost a whopping 80 lbs in just less than a year. That same year I found out my worthless little gall bladder was loaded with stones and it likely had to do with the drastic change in eating (read: starvation diet) I was currently working with. I was also going to the gym and working out as much as I could and even thought that the pain I was feeling (related to the gall bladder thingy) was my body starving to lose all this weight. ha SO, gall bladder out, diet done. I tried to do it "my way" a while longer and kept most of the weight off until trying to get (and successfully becoming) pregnant with my son.

I did what any other fat chick who had been pregnant and fat before did...
I said I was going to watch what I ate with #2 and keep up with exercising. Um, yeah. Guess what??? That did not happen. I was pooped way more than I ever thought I would be but I guess working full time and chasing a toddler has the ability to do that to a pregnant woman. Oh wait, does that sound like an excuse? Whatever. So, wanna play the guessing game some more?

You got it. I gained more weight than a pregnant fat girl should a SECOND TIME!!! I don't even know what I tipped the scales at on delivery day but I am guessing it is more than the 230 I was pushing at my latest weight loss attempt. When my son was born I was determined (way determined) to nurse that boy 12 months. So, weight loss was at the middle to back of my mind because I knew if I wanted a good supply I needed to make sure I ate. Go ahead, laugh.. it's ok. I am pretty sure I didn't gain any weight while I was nursing him and if I lost weight it was a miracle. The day I weaned him is not one I will forget.

That day was also the day I was going to get serious. And I did. I joined one of those walk in places that charge too much to weigh you multiple times a week and also have a "counselor" there to look at your food journal to blast you for eating such and such and only losing 4 ounces between Monday and Wednesday. Seriously, they really only hire these people to sell the product. They work off commission and going in I *knew* that but believed this could be done. I could lose weight. And I did.  I went from exactly 228 to 178 in about 6 months. Then I went on vacation, wore my swimsuit and hello....

A year later I was 230 lbs....AGAIN.

This is where April of 2009 comes in and when my REAL weight loss/running journey began.
Stay tuned tomorrow for the rest of the story. I've got to get dressed to go run. ;)

>Rest over!

>I rested, like the doctor said, for 3 days.
I skipped the workout I had planned for Friday as well as my "long" run for Saturday and even took a decent nap Sunday.
But today I HAD to run. Had to. So, immediately after work I changed and hit the gym.
I was feeling relatively well but had already told myself before making it to the gym that I was only going for 2 miles and didn't care if it had to be a slow 2 miles. It would be a calorie burn and I hadn't had that in 3 days.
When I got on the treadmill I set it to a 11 min/mile pace. My last few runs have been betwween 9:50 - 10:20 min/mile pace but I was totally fine with 11 min/mile even 12 if that got me moving. At about mile 1.35 my stomach started talking. It had been bothering me all day and the best thing I can come up with is the antibiotics are bothering my stomach a little. I rarely take meds so this is the only reason I think they're bothering me. Of course I am no dr or nurse so I could be completely off base. Anyway, I hopped off the treadmill and ran to the potty real quick. Once I got back to the treadmill I felt fine and moved on along.
I ended my run at 2.53 miles in 27:02 (10:41 min/mile pace). I was fine with that.
What I did realize is that this bronchitis is refusing to break up and give me any relief in my chest. I really thought running would move that stuff a bit, but apparently not. I still feel fine. I was glad to run today! I am still short on my mileage goal for the year but with a half marathon coming up in April I am sure to add to the mileage soon!!! :)

I'm done resting but plan to "take it easy" as much as I can with my running this week. I still plan to run but will do like I did today and just listen to what my body says. If it means only running 2-3 miles a couple days this week fine, but I REALLY want to aim for the 6 that I have on the schedule for Saturday!

>Benched

>Per Doctor's orders I am to take it easy and rest a few days.

Last week sometime I started feeling a bit congested and sneezy. I might have also had a bit of a scratchy throat. It lasted a few days but overall I felt fine. I went about my week as normal and worked out when time permitted and rested when I felt the need.

This week I thought I was feeling better and other than a major coughing attack following Monday's snowy run I have been ok. Nighttime always sparks the cough though and apparently it isn't just driving me crazy but hubby made mention that I coughed all night long the last couple of nights. Oopsie.

Today I woke up with a bit more tightness in my chest, soreness in my throat and a major headache. "Go to the doctor," a couple of people said. But really I don't feel that bad and I haven't had a fever. Yeah, I'm one of those that thinks (I) need to be seriously sick to even make a trip to a doctor's office which is why I still (2 years after my doctor moving to a different practice) do not have a regular doctor. ha. I just don't get sick.

Anyway, around lunch time I sent hubby a text and said, "Should I go the clinic?" And of course he said, "about your cough." I debated but after hubby said he was afraid if I didn't go and kept on like I have been if I did have bronchitis he was afraid I'd get walking pnuemonia or something. So I called and they told me there were only 6 people in the waiting area. I went.

Ugh. Doc confirmed what hubby thought. Bronchitis but also that I have an ear infection which is crazy because I have had no pain in my ear at all. So, I went on to ask the dr about activity and if it'd be okay to go on with my current workouts. He asked exactly what I meant. lol I chuckled and said, "Well, I have a 5 mile run planned for tomorrow and I'd like to keep that part of my schedule as is." HA Yeah, he said no way. Come on!?

Apparently it's true... your body does need rest to get over these things. So, I am going to take the dr's advice. Tonight I will (wait til hubby gets home) and take the kickbutt cough meds and antibiotics the dr prescribed and take it easy. Hopefully by not hearing me cough all night long hubby can get some more rest too. And tomorrow I will skip my 5 miler (which really is disappointing to me because it is my long run for the week and means making up for mileage not only for my half marathon training but also Tall Mom's 1000 mile club) but I cannot promise that the Emert clan will not venture out of the house for something.

Have a great weekend!