2013 changes

Couch to 5k update...I've been sticking with it! I actually ran 4 times last week, and did the first day of week 3 today WITH a little extra running at the end! The last walking interval meets up with the cool down, and I don't need 8 minutes of walking in a row.  I've also been doing well eating healthier - not perfectly, but much much better than pre-holidays (and concurrent holidays..yikes). 

Healthy items I've been enjoying:
-Smoothies made with 8 ounces of almond milk, 3 large spoonfuls of Cabot vanilla bean reduced fat Greek yogurt, spinach, and some frozen fruit
-Avocado mashed up with lemon and garlic salt on Stacy's whole grain pita chips
-Carrots with Otria Greek yogurt dip

I signed up to do a "Biggest Loser" competition at school, so that's providing an extra oomph of motivation. I passed up doughnuts this week, which was a big deal, because I was really hungry and they smelled amazing. And they were free. Poor + fat = doom.

I'm hoping to keep with the exercising over the next couple months when things get busy. We're hoping to put our house on the market in March and buy a new, big, forever home. This will be an adventure worth chronicling in itself. I need to start taking pictures if this blog is going to be any less boring.

No more water smoothies

Well, I already proved I suck at sticking to even a simple exercise program. Today was the last day of week 1 of C25K and I, of course, only did 2 out of 3 workouts. Remember when I was all like "yeah I'm going to do 4 this week, NBD." Not so much apparently. I'm not going to get discouraged. I really would have done today's workout but I had a horrible headache. I'll pick up tomorrow with Day 1 of Week 2. I have to download week 2's podcast. The podcasts are coming from here, in case you're interested: http://runningintoshape.com/5k-training-downloads/

Although I didn't work out today, I ate pretty well. I think part of the contributing factor to my headache was dehydration (I forgot to bring water to work yesterday and the tap water just wasn't going down so easily). I made myself a nice little smoothie with 8 ounces vanilla almond milk, 3 large spoons of vanilla lowfat Greek yogurt, a couple handfuls of spinach, a handful of frozen cherries, and a handful of frozen blackberries. It was pretty good - much better than my fruit & water only smoothies.

Mom...want to share??

If I make smoothies more tasty like this one, I'll be more likely to WANT to drink them, so I am not going to make nasty water smoothies anymore. 

I also had carrots with Otria carmelized onion Greek yogurt dip as a snack. I didn't really eat lunch since my head hurt - instead I napped and by the time I woke up I felt good enough to have the carrots. For dinner I had a slice of pizza - not the healthiest choice, but it was only one slice, so I still feel good about it.

Last night, Bill ate 3 Reeses PB trees. This morning he woke up and proudly declared that he lost 3 pounds this week. I hate him.

Is it summer yet?

One day back at work and I'm already incredibly stressed out. I'm going to try not to talk about my job much on here since it's been proven that people in my profession have seriously compromised first amendment rights. All I will say is that it's very frustrating when I am doing my very best to teach my students, and it seems like they are doing everything they can to NOT learn (and not take any personal responsibility for it either. Or care.).

I intended to at least consider Day 3 of C25K today but by the time I got home from the grocery store it was dark. I did buy a lot of healthy food. I had mashed avocado on multigrain pita chips as a snack. We had salmon for dinner, but it was a little bleh. I need a new recipe. Tomorrow I will start my day with a cherry vanilla smoothie - some combo of frozen cherries, almond milk, and vanilla low-fat Greek yogurt. Then I will go to work and frantically try to get as much done as possible before homeroom is over and I am already exhausted. Ugh.

Off to go read in bed...I'm about halfway done with "Flowers for Algernon." It's really good. I wish I had someone to discuss it with. Only 2 more days until the weekend...

Goodbye, 2012

I have high hopes for 2013.  2012 was ok - I racked up 24 credits for advancement on the salary scale and agreed to co-sponsor my school's Pennsylvania Junior Academy of Science and...well that's about it. I gained 5 pounds, lost 4 pounds , gained it back. I watched a lot of TV and read a few books. I gave my dog a lot of kisses, and gave my husband a few too (way less than the dog).

 

  You'd kiss him a ridiculous amount too, right?

Maybe I should set some reasonable goals for 2013 so I can look back next year at this time and feel proud rather than "meh" like I do right now.

Christina's List of Reasonable Goals to Be Conquered in 2013

1. Move into our new home (this has much less to do with me and much more to do with a lot of factors I have little control over, but it is the main thing I hope happens this year, so it stays).

2. Lose 17 pounds to reach 115 (Maybe I should set smaller hurdles? I will weight 127 by 2/15, 122 by 4/15, 117 by 6/15, and then the last 2 by 7/15. Then I will MAINTAIN).

3. I will achieve Goal #2 by exercising at least 30 minutes a day 4x a week (or 45 minutes a day 3x a week) and eating more fruits and vegetables and less CRAP.

4. Finish my credits for salary advancement (12 by March, the remaining 24 by October)

I think that'll do. In other goals, I started doing the Couch to 5K program because Insanity is too hard right now and I need to get in better shape so I don't hurt myself. It was really freaking cold yesterday (windchills in the 20's!) but I bundled up and did Day 1. You're only supposed to have to run 3x a week and the program will have you ready to run a 5k in 9 weeks. That puts me right around early March. I tried finding a 5K to register for so I had some accountability built in but there aren't any yet. I'll have to check back. I'm thinking I'll do Day 2 today, Day 3 tomorrow, and maybe do more than my 3 days for Week 1 since it's pretty easy right now (60 seconds run, 90 seconds walk). I downloaded a podcast that tells me when to run/walk so I don't have to think too much.

One last thing. I got a Wawa hoagie for lunch. I tried to be healthy. Whole wheat roll, spicy mustard, avocado, spinach, and tomato turn into a goopy mess and sit heavy in your stomach. Do not make this mistake.

Happy New Year!

Insanity Fail

I've come to the sad conclusion that I'm too out of shape/too weak to effectively complete Insanity right now. They really drill the idea that you're supposed to keep proper form, and I can barely even make my body contort to proper form, much less do the moves enough times to do much good. I'm going to try to look on the bright side of this - at least I'm realizing I'm disgustingly out of shape before my weight gets TOO out of control. Once I've lost some weight and gotten my endurance up a little, hopefully I can revisit the idea of Insanity.  This is very frustrating.

Blog reboot

I started a blog once, but it was dumb, so I took it down. I'm going to start over. I doubt I'll post much, not because I don't have insanely interesting things to say, but because I get tired a lot and generally choose napping over creativity. An appreciation for good, frequent naps is embedded in my genes.

Today, I started Insanity. For those not familiar with this, it's a workout put out by the same company that does P90X. I tried P90X a couple years ago and was seeing decent results, but didn't even make it through one full round before I got bored with it (or was overcome by the urge to nap). My only complaint about it was the need for handweights or resistance bands, neither of which really appeal to me. I can't seem to use them correctly. Insanity is more cardio based and I think I should be fine just using the equipment built into my body. I need to do something either way. I really like food and I've been slowly but surely gaining back all the weight I lost before my wedding. I really don't like being fat, so I suppose I should address the situation before it gets too out of hand.

Day 1 consisted of a fit test. Maybe I'll post my results after I do my next fit test so I can be proud of my accomplishments. There's no point in posting my initial results now since I have nothing to compare it to. All I know is I have no upper body strength, but I never have, so that's not new.

Merry Christmas!