HOT HOT HOT

Thats right it is HOT now.. and up untill last night I forgot how much it sucks to run in the heat and NC humidity. But I did it. Not as many miles as I had wanted to but I got out there and ran. I think in the heat I will have to build my miles back up so I dont hurt myself.

         Post Run it was HOT HOT HOT out there yesterday

While we are on the subject of working out. Does anyone out there get up early to do your work outs?? IF SO... How the heck do you make yourself get out of bed.. I would love to run in the morning but I swear I just cant do the whole 5:30 am thing and I dont stay up late so that is really not a valid excuse. I say constantly ok tomorrow I will get up early drive to the park and do my run... NEVER HAPPENS... Especially this time of year when its hot, I think it would be a better idea to do a moring run if I can just get up to do it.

 

This week is an exciting week! My Brother and his family finally make the move back home. YAY! I am so excited to get to have them close again.

OK lastly  do any of you do the whole "Clean Eating" thing?? If so can you leave me your email ?? I got some questions..LOL

 

Wishbone Day!

So this post is in no way shape or form weightloss related but on a subject so near and dear to my heart. Today May 6 the is Wishbone Day.

Osteogenesis Imperfecta effects my sister, my brother and 2 of my nephews.

Most people that know about this disorder think of it as brittle bones. In fact it effects so much more than their bones. 

With OI one whole strain of collagen is missing from their body's. Collagen is in everything, their bones , their teeth , skin, blood vessels etc. Outwardly we notice their bones, they break they are casted (a  LOT) they heal and it happens again.

What we don't see it the teeth or the vessels ...the interior stuff. My brothers OI is what lead to his aortic aneurysm.  

So with all that said it's OI awareness day.  Enjoy your day and if u know someone w OI give them a hug, just be gentle... Lol

Been MIA but I'm back!

Oh my goodness what a crazy 3-4 wks it's been. I am still hanging out between 160 and 162. 

I was able to go visit my brother over spring break for a whole week. He was still doing pretty ruff at the time so I was very glad I could be there to help out.

     This is my nephew (brothers son)

He is such a sweet boy, wide open all the time but sweet boy. While I was there they made the final decision to move back to NC, they will be living w my mom while they get back on their feet. And I am super excited to have him close again. They will be all moved in 2 wks.

I also ran the Rock n Roll Raleigh half marathon. It was my best time yet, 13.1 miles in 2 hrs 14 min 8 sec.  ( my goal was 2 hr 15 min)

            Day prior to race at packet pick up

              Day of race (pre- race)

Then 2 wks after I ran that I ran the Tarheel 10 miler. This one was a struggle I didn't have near enough calories the day before as well as only about an hour sleep so I was dragging big time. 10 miles 1 hr 46 min.. 

          Me and my new running buddy prior to race.

I am trying to maintain my running until June 6th when Mikaela gets out of school for the summer then I will start a pretty intense training plan in prep for the Fall racing session.

This past week my brother was in town, looking for a local surgeon and storage  etc so I got to see him and his son a couple more times which was such a nice treat.

       My bro and he looks so much better now:)

      My daughter and my nephew!

And last but not least I think I am starting the 5 day pouch test tomorrow, I am not having any issues but I need a reset too much stress, and too much travel over the last mnth I need to get back to basics.

Sorry for the radio silence over the last month, and I am glad to be back at my blog!

ONE YEAR

I so cant believe its been a year since I was banded( +plication). OH MY How things have changed. I am so much more healthy than I ever could have imagined being before. My knees don't ache ALL the time ( yea once and a while I'll come down on one wrong but that's it). I am not tired all the time. I can go play outside with Mikaela and not be out of breath, wanting to take a break 5 min  later. I have run 1/2 marathons. I am off all my daily meds except my BP med ( which Dr told me is a family thing so probably will always have that issue) As a family we eat healthier. I can buy clothes in regular stores, heck I can pull clothes out of my kids closet :). And wearing  sizes I didn't even wear in high school. I am doing a decent job maintaining so far even though its only been a couple weeks since I started in to maintenance. I am so incredible thankful for the opportunity to have this wonderful tool to assist me on my "Odyssey" Julie that's for you girl :) I am also so THANKFUL FOR YOU ALL your love and support means so much to me! The Blogger community is the best.!

Left Pic March(ish) 2013                                Rt Pic Last week March 2014

 

 

A few things I've learned over the last year.

* If you have a bad meal or snack MOVE ON don't make it a bad DAY, WEEK, ETC

* take measurements often, scales often lie.

*embrace the sweat, my exercise time regardless if I am strength training, running,swimming etc. is my time to focus on me, my health and my MENTAL wellness. No lie when I work out I always feel better physically and MENTALLY. When we are stronger in these areas it is easier to care for our loved ones.

* Family will follow my lead when it comes to healthier versions of food or creative workouts/ play,  with out too terribly much nagging from me :)

* Water is a girls best friend...water, water, water

* Eat slow or you will regret it. EVERYTIME! In life most of us need to slow down a bit anyways so meal time is my "practice" time for slowing down :) LOL

* SOME people will think you cheated by having WLS these people never had WLS so they have NO IDEA the work put it to it. The band is just a TOOL.. with that said imo its not worth getting upset over these people, bc 9 out of 10 times they don't care to listen to you defend your choice or explain the work involved. They more times than not are just overly opinionated, hard headed, un-educated on the subject  people so just move past them .

*I wish I had started strength training earlier. I love cardio, dislike weights but I wish I had found a happy in between last summer instead of just recently.

* and last but not least ( and I am sure this list could go on and on) I have complete control over the choices I make, its me 100% I choose to eat right or eat wrong. I choose to pack my lunches/snacks, I choose to work out or skip. Our life is all about choices.

 

 

 

 

 

BIG BDAY and Family Medical Crisis

SO this is going to be a chocked full blogg the last week has been so crazy and BIG TIME emotional.

FOR starters. Today my BABY turns 13! Thats a big time Birthday right? I love her so much and I am so proud of the lady she is becoming. Friday she got out of school at 11:15 so I picked up her and 2 of her girlfriends for a sleep over. I got the biggest kick out of sitting in the house with the windows opened listening to them giggle and play like little kids... They went into the woods w a tarp and built a fort then put on the muck boots and went to the river and splashed around. all the while playing with these walkie talkies she had wanted. It was so cute for me to know she is 13 but can still play like a little kid. I think play is so important even as we grown into adulthood. After they wore themselves out I took them to the movies. In the town one town over from us there is this refurbished OLD theater. They play movies that are no longer in the theaters and getting ready for DVD release. and I enjoy going there bc you get the movie theater experience with out having to pay movie theater prices... So a win win. The rest of her celebrations with the family pretty much got canceled this weekend due to the rest of the blogg... she completely understood, just was a little bummed..

That was Friday into Sat. go back a little further, Thursday I was sitting here at work. and I receive a call from my mom, she is obviously upset. Once I got her to take a breath and tell me what was going on she tells me my brother ( lives in TN we are in NC) was at the hospital they found an Aortic Aneurysm and are medi-vacing him to University on Knoxville Med Center for emergency surgery. She was walking out the door of her office with the clothes on her back to get there as my sister in law and nephew( scott is only 6) were both at the hospital. He was in surgery for 10 hours Thursday night, the aneurysm DID rupture and he ended up in cardiac arrest on the OR table. Dr said they were able to get him out of it fast enough they aren't expecting any additional damage bc of that. But we wont know for sure till sometime this week hopefully. Everyone Dr, nurses, etc. Have said it is a miracle he is still with us. He is now doing as well as can be expected. He is still in ICU. His vision is about back to normal and he is regaining the use of his right arm which up till today he hadn't been able to use. His BP remains a BIG TIME concern. One minute they thinks its stable the next its elevated too high for a regular person much less someone in his condition. So prayers are needed regarding his BP. They wont release him from ICU till they can get that under control. My nephew is now in AL with his other grandma for the week, headed home next week, when my SILs sister comes to help out for a week. Then I will be going out for a week, the week of Mikaelas spring break. My brother is only 31... This is due to the bone disorder both him, my sister and 2 of my sisters children were born with. Back when we were growing up there was no Internet and all we knew was what the Drs told us.. they have brittle bones dues to the OI and that they are going to break, be casted /heal and re break it was part of life.. Now we know the OI effects much more that just bones. It is a collagen deficiency, so it effects, bones, teeth, causes cardiac issues and much more. My sister has an appt with her ortho this week to discus getting her heart scanned too to check for issues.

Now with all that said and b/c this is a WL blogg. How does stress effect me... NOT SO GOOD!
I dont think I have had decent quality food since Thursday. But yesterday was by far the worst. I was litterally physically exhuasted. I have been the go between from my mom and the rest of our world really, family, friends, FB contacts ect. which is great I love that but it means I was up late and up early Thursday and Friday due to people all over the world being in differnt time zones wanting updates. Friday even on my run I was taking phone calls and running which for the record is a bit challanging. I started ea call with, hello, please excuse my huffing but Im running and if you are ok with the huffing I am ok to talk :) I really couldnt stop though bc it was so cold outside if I slowed down my sweaty clothes got entirly too cold. But thats ok no one minding my huffing. By Sunday though I was really on the downward slope of just being way TO TIRED. Really my whole family was, all due to differnt reasons, Mikaela partied too late Friday night. Matt had been out of town with Army for 2 wks and doesnt sleep well at all when he is gone and me, well you get it. All 3 of us stayed in bed the WHOLE day yesterday. We got up to eat, let the dogs in and out, wash dishes and that was about it. I slept more yesterday than I think I have in years, I believe this was because I needed it bc I am SO NOT A SLEEPER. I am the first one up at my house everyweeked. Laying in bed is just not my thing. But you see I said we need get up for food, ok so to be honest this is what my food looked like bfast- Chips yummy that was healthy huh. Snack Cupcake.... another winner. lunch more chips.. dinner a frozen burrito.. I really dont think any of this even qualifies aas food in the real world but that is how I ate all day yesterday. So I am back on track today got my shakes and my chili with me at work. I confesse this so you know that even though I am down my weight I still struggle and probably always will with food choices.
I hope you all have a great week.. BTW my one year band-iversary is Thursday!

Half Marathon that wasn't but still was

So I was to kick of my racing season Saturday. You know what Ive been training for, for months.
Well Saturdays 13.1 was not supposed to be anything special. Its a free run so no bibs, t-shirts, timing chips, water stations..etc. its just a group of people that gather twice a year and run either a half, a full or a 50k. I ran with this group my first half back in November time was 2:48 ( 2hours 48 min). I was looking forward to Sat bc I really wanted to verify that I will be faster come April 13th when I run Rock N Roll. Per the GPS I was 45 min away from the starting parking lot. So I left an hour and five minutes before time to start. GPS took me to a sidewalk no parking to be seen for miles.... so I went down pulled off the road re-set my GPS bc you know maybe it was just stupid and didn't connect right or something. I mean I don't know how these things work. I did this 3 times each time the GPS brought me back to the same spot in the sidewalk. I went down and found a visitors center to the greeenway and parked there and called one of the people running this race. She said they weren't going to be able to start on time bc a LOT of people were lost ...so not just me. Assured me however though I was only a quarter mile away get out and run it.. OK no big deal. I set my phone app and took off... 2 MILES later I see a parking lot woo hoo now we are getting somewhere... WELP my car was in the parking lot, and I had run a 2 mile scenic loop.... I gave up by this point it was 15 min after the race should have started so I just left. HOWEVER I didn't go home and cry and pitch a hissy fit like I wanted too.. I mean really I was in a mood I really could have done that. I went all the way back to my town and ran my 13.1 there. SO I did run the distance for a half sat just not with the group I wanted to. I also shaved 23 min off my November time so that thrilled me too. It was super beautiful here Sat so I went home loaded my daughter and her BFF up and went to the park. I ended up with a couple more miles ran there. So all in all a great running day. I so loved the warmth and the sunshine Sat.. Now, back to "Wintery Mix" tomorrow...
And an update on last weeks post about my full..
Game plan is to run April 13th Rock N Roll as a HALF. I don't want to risk injury. Thank you all for your kind words re: my last weeks post, it really helped me feel better about my decision. My goal is PR there ( personal record) I don't think this will be a problem since I tend to run faster with others. Will do the Tarheel 10, April 26th.. no biggy there just 10 miles but it is a VERY hilly course so I am libel to be sore when I get done, but that's ok variety is the spice of life right...lol. Then I am doing my full in Fayetteville May 4th in the All American . I wanted to do this originally seeming we are a military family and this is a big time military event and runs through Ft Bragg. BUT I didn't sign up before for a couple reasons.. 1) My husband will be with his military unit across the state that weekend so no family to cheer me on. Bc You know I am not leaving my kid on the side of the road to cheer for me by herself for 5 hours how dangerous would that be. and 2) it starts at 6:30 in the morning...... THATS EARLY bc Fayettville is a solid hour from my house, then there is parking and getting to the starting line to think about... so we are talking about leaving home about 4:30, 4:45 at the absolute latest. But those reasons aside I am signing up this week. I want to run it and I want to run the full this spring so there. I am doing it. After I made my mind up I called my mother.. By the way my mom is one of my biggest supporters in life. She ties with my hubby..I asked her would she pick up Mikaela and the two of them try to be at the finish line about the time I get done. I mean I can ball park the time. That would keep any one from having to get up and O DARK THIRTY to go down and just stand for HOURS. She was thrilled I asked, she has never seen one of my runs before so she is excited to be there. So that solves the whole no family there issue . And maybe if my step dad rides down with the 2 of them, my mom would be willing afterwards to drive my car back, bc honestly after crazy long miles like that my legs normally cramp up big time on the way home. Although I am hoping with the strength training I am doing, that wont be an issue. So we will see.
I will be posting in another day or two about the ChaLean Extreme weight training. Its great and I am super excited to share all about it.
Anyways thats enough running talk for now :)

New Weight Training Work Out

Well last night I did my first weight training session with my new program. We are going into busy season for Matts National Guard unit so he will be away more and more now through the summer, and while he is gone it is a lot harder for me to get to the gym. I am pretty much to the point I only do weights and classes at the gym anyways. Sticking to running outside for pretty much 100% of my cardio. So I am canceling my gym membership at least for a while... save some money, and time seeming my gym is 20 min on the other side of my house from my work. I love my gym, the people, the facility, and I gladly drive past a half dozen others just to go to it. But with our schedules coming up and the beautiful weather that I am telling myself is right around the corner, I think its time for a little break from that seen. SO I purchased the ChaLean Extreme weight training set. Its produced by Beach Body the same co that does p90X and all those lines. Her concept is lift heavy and slowly for only a few reps to really develop your muscles and we all know what they say...muscle burns fat right, and I need to tone up this year. There is a total of 90 days worth of training in the package and all I needed to have on hand was my free weights which I already had. It also came w 2 cardio and 3 Ab sessions. Last night after dinner I closed myself off in the bed room and went to work on the first session and also the shortest ab session. I really enjoyed this, and I could feel that I was working the different muscle groups which is great ( PS in 45 min I was done and at home, to do 45 min at gym I am actually gone 1 hr 20 min btwn drive time there and back). So for the time being I am going to stick with this and the running. I am horrible with the strength training to date so I think having a program to keep me on track will help. Doing it on my own and just kind of winging what days I do it is not working for me. I need the structure that is in the program . I will keep you updated on my progress with this. My daughter is helping me tonight with the before the program pics. Will also take @ 30 days, 60 days and 90 days so later on I will be posting comparison pics.

Pic of the ChaLean program