Non Scale Victories - 2013 Recap

Hi everyone!

It's been a while since I participated in NSV Thursday with KTJ so I thought today, the last Thursday in 2013!, would be a great day to celebrate some Non-Scale Victories.

I absolutely love the Holiday season; I truly do.  The spirit of the season, how everyone seems to be just a little bit nicer to each other, the food!  Oh, the glorious food...

And did I EVER enjoy the food this year...in all honesty, I sort of gave myself a free-for-all.  I told myself that I would enjoy it and not stress...I can't promise that I didn't stress a little, but it wasn't so stressful that I didn't stop myself from reaching for yet another sugar cookie.

The thing is that I tried really hard to bust my ass in the workout category to counter-balance SOME of what I was doing.  And I know that you can't outrun a bad diet, but I honestly don't feel like I completely fell off the wagon because I made my workouts a priority.  Still, I'm not going to get on the scale to see how much damage I did...I think doing that would probably do terrible mental damage to myself...and how healthy is that?  Not. Healthy. At. All.  So I'm forgiving myself and I'm moving on.  And isn't that the most healthy thing I could do?

See, I'm learning - ever so slowly - that it's okay to live a "normal" life, as long as I just keep going in the right direction.  And by "normal" I mean a life that doesn't involve the stress of worrying about every little thing I put in my mouth or about how many calories I burn in a workout.  That's not normal!



I'm still a work in progress but I'm learning, every day.


And I definitely had a few moments when I was feeling pretty yucky and mad at myself this past month, but I turned things around with a little shopping trip.  And I don't mean retail therapy - well, actually I guess it was - what I mean is that I tried on clothes last weekend and I was still able to wear the same size and even a few smaller sizes.  SO, while I felt fluffy and flubbery on the inside, apparently I'm still okay on the outside!  Phew!

My last NSV for 2013 has to be a little progress pic.  What better way to really see how far I've come?

I remember feeling really great about how I looked on our cruise in February, and I still feel great about it...but then I look at pictures of me just 10 months later and I honestly feel amazing at how far I have come this year.  I'm still a little leery of sharing these kinds of photos but this blog has been such an amazing journal of my healthy journey that I'm doing this for me.  I needed to see this comparison and I need to be able to look back on it when I'm feeling like poop.

As I say goodbye to 2013 and welcome 2014 with open arms, I have big, lofty, high hopes for myself this year.  Nothing out of reach, only to continue living the life I have always wanted for myself.  

Happy New Year to all of you, my friends, and I hope 2014 brings you love, health and as always: happiness!

Jenn

Taking a Moment...

Hey there!

So things have been going really well in my neck of the woods...it's funny, it seems when health/fitness/weight loss bloggers "disappear" for awhile it means they fell off the wagon...in truth, that's definitely not happened in my case.  I just haven't had the time to blog in a while and I feel bad because I didn't have much to say...basically my life is pretty boring:  get up, work, workout, shower, make a healthy dinner, pack healthy stuff for the next day, make sure Hubby's taken care of, sit down on the couch and fall asleep watching one of the many sitcoms we love.  Pretty boring stuff, right?  And how many times can you say the same thing?

So, I thought I'd check in and let you know that I'm still here...plugging along...doing my thing.  And that's actually what I wanted to post about today.  The monotony that is a healthy life.

I'm really trying to formulate in my mind that this is basically my life now...as boring as my every days seem, this is exactly what I wanted for myself...to live a life that incorporated my healthy lifestyle.  When I first started out, everything was new and I had so much to report on...everything was an accomplishment.  Now, it seems that it just is what it is.  I'm not even at goal yet if we're talking numbers, but my TRUE goal is to live a healthy life and I AM...someday I might have to write about maintenance...right now, I'm writing about plugging along.

And that is absolute reality:  if you want to truly live a healthy life, you have to do it day IN and day OUT.  And that's all I'm doing here.

I also wanted to touch a little on some of my "challenges" and they really continue to be how much stress and expectation I put on myself.  The thing is that if you want to be successful on this journey, you HAVE to be driven...it takes obsession in a way, to lose weight and get healthy.  but you have to find a good balance between keeping yourself motivated and also being happy in where you are right now.  When I think back about the last two years, it was such a blur...of course, it didn't feel like that when it was happening or I was plateauing, but it really WAS a blur.  Part of that makes me sad because there really were so many different things going on but most of the time I was focused on the next thing I had to do:  set a goal, hit it, move on.  And here I am now, the time flew by anyway...all of that stress I put on myself and I still got to where I am in this moment.  The part of me that is glad though, is the blogger in me.  Thank goodness I started my two blogs to document the journey.  I love going back and reading my old posts and remembering, mentally, where I was in that moment in time.  My feelings were so very real and yet, the newest me, wants to reach back to the older me's and say, "Calm the EFF down!  Stop...look around and enjoy the view!  Hop into your closet and pull out some of your fat clothes that don't fit anymore and just take a minute...SAVOR. THE. MOMENT.  Because I don't really think that I spent a lot of time savoring anything and that really makes me sad.  I'm not going to spend too much time dwelling on it, and will instead learn from it, but while I was not wasting my time, I certainly didn't live in the moment.

Recently with the holidays I've really been in my head.  And if I am being completely honest, I've been chastising myself for the silliest of things:  enjoying myself...not stressing.  So...can you really say "I'm not stressing" if two days later, you think back and stress about it?  I'm going to say, "No...that's stressing in a nutshell, dumbass."  My point is this:  I need to be better at doing exactly that...enjoying myself.  The problem with me and my head, is that I always feel like I'm one meal from a downslide into oblivion.  Is it just me?  That's the thought that is always just sitting on my shoulder, rolling around in my head, clogging my every days.  Even 75+lbs later and two years of healthy living, that's what I think about.  Isn't that exhausting?  Yes.  It really is.  I am still learning folks.

In January, I start classes again.  I'm anxious about how I am going to manage my healthy life and the stresses of school.  But I'm also excited about it because I've changed my Graduate program to Sports and Health.  I am very much looking forward to learning more about the ins and outs of health in general and of course, incorporating these theories into my life.  I'm also hoping someday I can offer educated advice to all of you if you have questions!  I think I have a good plan in place so we will see how it goes.

So there you have it - what's been happening in Jenn World lately.  Hope you all have a wonderful Holiday!!  I am going to work hard and keep the promise I made to myself this year and not plan a bunch of things that will stress me out...and I WILL be slowing things down and enjoying the holidays before they are quickly over.

I'm working hard to slow down my mind, but certainly not my momentum.  I cannot turn back now.

Be well, everyone!

Back from Vacation!

Hello everyone!

We're back from vacation to San Diego and Denver and what an amazing time we had!!

We lived in San Diego for 6 years so it honestly felt like going home...however, we tried to do things that we didn't do while we were living there, like hiking.

I know, I know, I lived in one of the healthiest and best climates in the United States and I NEVER did anything healthy while I lived there - WTF was wrong with me?

Well, it's because I was fat. And unhealthy.

I'm not either of those things anymore...well, chubby, but not fat {wink}.  But I'm certainly healthy - that, I am sure of.  So we hit up Torrey Pines and the Cabrillo National Monument and we had a blast!

Some pics for you to enjoy:

We also had a wonderful time in Denver with our dear friends; what a beautiful, beautiful place!!  More hiking - I swear, hubs was such a trooper since hiking is not his cup of tea!  It made me so happy to have him along and he really did enjoy it.

In both cities, I ate way more food than I should have but I truly enjoyed my time and tried not to stress about it.  My goal was to keep busy so that at least I was burning some of those delicious calories and that's what we did.

This week I'm back to the grind and I can't say I'm loving it, lol - but I gotta work to pay for my next vacation, ha!  Hope you have a great week, everyone!

NSV Thursday!

Only shot we've seen from the race - kinda blurry but I love that we are all in sync!

Hello!  It's NSV Thursday!

Last week was insane and so I didn't get a chance to post - this week, I have just one big NSV:  I ran my Blood and Guts Obstacle Race and it was AMAZING!

The race consisted of a 5K and 11 different obstacles.  I was more antsy about the running part because I HATE cross country and that was probably the hardest part for me.  Even though I run, I am a very mental runner and it's very difficult for me to run in a group.  But my team was wonderful, these girls have my heart; they have been with me training side by side for four months.  They are both faster runners than me but they stayed with me the whole time.  I loved that we got over and through every obstacle together!  The obstacles were fun:  hay bales, walls, mudslides, pits of gook, tires (which I completely bit in on - smack down on my face - nice!  Hubs said, "Guess you're not trying out to be a running back anytime soon..."), more walls, lots of mud, zombies...The worst obstacle was actually the cargo net...that sucker was probably 20 feet high and I crawled up without any issues...but when I got to the top, I was terrified.  I could NOT fathom how I would swing my leg over the top and crawl back down on the other side!!  I froze!  The cargo net was not the most secure, and everyone that was climbing up was on the same net; so it was all wiggly...But my buddy talked me through it and I held my breath and did it!  I was shaking by the time I got to the bottom and ready to cry from relief but there was no time!

We finished in under an hour and I cannot say it enough but it was truly a super fun experience and one I would absolutely do again.  Even though I think we were ready physically, I am still bruised and sore almost a week later.  The weird thing:  I don't bruise easily so I'm pointing these suckers out to anyone who will look at them - my badges of honor!

Here are some pics, but we are still waiting for action shots to be posted on the site - that part is annoying...

After the race, we hit a great restaurant and celebrated with pumpkin ale - best beer I've ever had, lol...coulda had something to do with the fact that I needed that sucker badly, but it sure tasted good...

If you have a chance to hit up an obstacle run, I highly recommend it.  Very fun, and challenging and such a sense of accomplishment!  I can't wait to do another one.

Have a great week, everyone!

Oh!  And Happy Halloween!  Our race costumes are doubling as our Halloween costumes, today and we are Zombie Slayers!

NSV Thursday!

Hello everyone!

Welcome, and let's get right to celebrating our Non-Scale Victories with Katie and Ashlee!

Sometimes I feel like I say the same things, and I probably do, but honestly my days are pretty much spent the same way:  meal planning, working out, homework, resisting delicious temptations (seems like every minute of every day!), posting dumb pics on Instagram (don't forget to follow me so you can see how dorky I am! @jennlefebvre), and more working out.  In truth, I'm here to tell you that if you want to live a healthy life, this is how you do it...plug along as best you can and try every day.

Even though some of these are the same, I'd still like to share!

My first NSV:  I'm still reeling from my doctors visit last week.  And even though we're celebrating NON-scale victories, I still feel like it's my birthday since arriving in Onederland...I cannot tell you how many people have written me with the most beautiful words and that have reached out to me to ask if I will be their healthy buddy...what that means to me goes beyond words.  I started this little blog as just a way to share some healthy recipes...I had HOPED that those recipes would assist ME in my goals:  eat them and lose weight.  And here I am with two blogs now, living the healthy life I have always wanted and with the most amazing support system of fabulous women on their own journeys and enthusiastic cheerleaders you could ever imagine.  I couldn't do this without you all!

My next NSV:  Getting the Hubs out on a bike!  So far we've been on two rides and I am loving having him come along.  I want him to love working out as much as I do, but he has a physical job so he's basically working out all day.  I sit on my butt all day and want to go, go, go when I get home and he's already exhausted from the day.  He's been such a great sport to come along with me!

My last NSV:  NEW CLOTHES in smaller sizes!  I'd been dreading winter because I have NO long pants...I've been living in capris all Summer...I don't know why, but I STILL hate shopping for clothes and I cringe when I go into the fitting rooms.  I was pleasantly surprised at what I fit into and am really happy with the new stuff I bought.

That's about it for this week!  Hope everyone has some great NSVs of their own - remember to count them ALL and be proud of your efforts!

My Onederland Arrival

I did it, y'all.

After spending 20 years in the 200's and almost reaching 300 at one point, I've arrived in Onederland...officially.

I know that I had pledged not to weigh in October, but I forgot about my Doctor's appointment.  Yes, I could have not peeked; just let her write that stupid number down and not known a thing...but I've told you before that I'm addicted to that damn scale...I had to do it...I looked.  And I knew I would, too.  I wore the lightest clothing I could without being an exhibitionist...I wore no jewelry...I even took off my glasses.  I held my breath as the digital scale went up and up and I SWEAR it was like watching Extreme Makeover Weight Loss when the numbers go all over the place and you wonder if that's real or staged.  That shit is real, folks.  It went up, then it went down...and it settled on 196.2

I literally stood there and wouldn't move...I started to cry...and then laugh at myself, but still crying.  The nurse was a little surprised, but then I turned to her and I said, "I'm so sorry...but I haven't weighed less than 200lbs in more than 20 years...I'm so happy!"  She hugged me!  Aren't I the biggest dork?

Here's the funny thing that followed:  they left me ALONE...in that room...with that SCALE...so what would any other psychotic scale-addict do?  I got naked and I got on it again.  Then I stepped off of it...then I stepped on it...you GUYS, I swear I got on and off that thing like 20 times.  Butt ass naked, I weighed 195...and shit yah, I took a picture of it.  Then, like any other crazy person, I wondered how much my iPhone weighed and how could I take a picture without holding it?  Um, yah...Cah-RAY.

I have dreamed of this moment but I never imagined how wonderful it feels.  I honestly can't stop weeping a little every time I think of how significant this is for me.

While I still have many more pounds to go, I am absolutely going to enjoy this moment...because it took me so long to get here...TWO years of hard work to lose more than 85lbs between these two photos.

August 2011 - 40 years OLD.

October 11, 2013 - 42 years YOUNG!

Not just "at" Onederland, but smack "IN" it!!  Yay!!

I told my friend today who is just starting her own amazing journey...every bit of the hard work it took me to get here is worth this tiny little moment in time.  I say "tiny" because this is just a stopover on my journey - a nice stopover, don't get me wrong...but it's a stop on my way to the body I want.  Not some skinny body at a certain weight...but the strong, healthy body that is going to sustain me for the rest of my life.  The one that is going to carry my ass over lots of finish lines.  The one that constantly amazes me with its feats.

I looked at my life when I turned 40 (the first pic above was at one of my surprise 40th bday parties) and realized I was at a crossroads.  Realistically, I had ONLY 40 more years left (at that weight DID I really even have that many??)...was I going to waste them being unhealthy?  I decided that I wasn't.  So I set out to save my life.  That is what keeps me going every single day...I am trying to save my life.  I just want to take a minute to thank my body for helping me get there, haha!

I have my days, believe me.  Last weekend I ate 3 bagels in 3 days...eeks.  Well, actually YUM, I freaking love bagels, but I know that's not the right way to eat for me.  Still, sometimes I gotta have a bagel...or cookies...or ice cream...it's life and I love food, people!.  But when I partake, I turn around the next meal or the next day and I make myself pay for it:  I get in an extra hard workout, or I eat cleaner.

There are no tricks.  There are no secrets.  It's about working hard, eating right and the persistence to just keep going. That's it.

I am so happy and proud of myself today!

Guest Post; Emily Stone: Tips for a Fit Fall Semester!

Hello everyone!

Today I'm happy to share today's post from a soon-to-be healthy blogger, Emily Stone.  Emily is getting ready to launch her own blog soon, so be sure to send her a note if you're interested in following her and be on the lookout!  Today she's sharing some great tips for a healthy Fall so whether you're a returning student (like me!) or just looking to stay on track as the days get shorter, she's got some great ideas to stay healthy.


Hi all, I'm Emily Stone, a SAHM, proud wife, runner, fitness fanatic, health food addict, and animal lover! I have my own blog in the works, but in the meantime, Jenn has been wonderful enough to let me contribute as a guest on her amazing blog. Today, I'd like to share with you some of my best tips for having a fit fall semester! So if you’re in school or going to classes then listen up! If you have any questions feel free to email me!

Tips for a fit fall semester – A Post from Emily Stone

When I first started college, I was absolutely dreading what it was going to do with my body. Going from healthy home-cooked meals to all-night parties and study groups could turn the Freshman 15 into the Sophomore 20 and the Junior 25. Yikes! How is it that “starving students” can find it so easy to put on unwanted weight? The good news is that there are lots of options for a college student to stay healthy and fit when fall arrives. 

Diet

I used to say that the word “diet” was “die” with T added to the end. Does anybody want to be on a diet? Not really. It’s so much better to make small lifestyle changes. The first tip is to anticipate the need to eat, drink and snack. I try to always take food and water with me wherever I go. If I don’t, fast-food joints will seem that much more appealing. I took my tiny fridge and filled it full of low-fat snacks and produce. I bought a Rubbermaid container and kept non-perishable snacks in it.

That underscores a major problem college students face. When I didn’t have access to a full kitchen, I found it harder to get a balanced diet. For a time, students can benefit from the occasional meal-replacement like protein bars and on-the-go protein drinks. However, these cannot replace fruits and vegetables. Where diet seems to fail, vitamins are a sensible idea, too. I bought Supplements from Beachbody and made sure to take a daily multi-vitamin too. Few people get all the vitamins and minerals they need to stay healthy and strong. So a good multivitamin is a necessity.

Exercise

I walk everywhere. It doesn’t really matter if I have a car, if my chances of getting a good parking space are practically nil. Walking is necessary, but it is not sufficient. The gym is usually outrageously though, and full of people I don’t want to be in the company of when I’m sweaty and out-of-breath. What do I do for exercise, then? DVDs and the internet, baby! Between my roommates and I, we could’ve ran our own fitness room. I got my start with some excellent Shaun T's workout DVDs and tested out some of my roommates from there. When I need to do some weight-training, I use resistance bands which have become a lifesaver considering how versatile they are and the fact that I can store them just about anywhere.

Maintenance

The trick to any diet or exercise regime is maintenance. If I quit after a month or two, it’s not going to work very well. I did much better once I took the long view. I need to be healthy for life. Good eating and fitness are great, but they can’t do everything for me. They can’t buy me a good night’s sleep. These days, I plan my schedule around eight hours of rest, and try to make it non-negotiable. That way, when I’m just too busy, I don’t totally run out of steam. I bought a scale so that I can make sure I don’t slip too much if my diet gets a little crazy around the holidays. And I’m more careful about partying. I’ve switched out my Sprite for club soda, and I’ve switched to low-cal drinks like the Skinnygirl Cocktails.

Early adulthood is the easiest time to get and stay healthy. Working hard to eat right, exercise and stay in control made me so much happier in the long run.

Non Scale Victories!

Hello lovelies!

My “No Weigh September” has turned into “No Weigh October”!!  Yup, that’s right, I’ve decided to continue to say “#$*%& You, Scale!” until early November when I will celebrate my 2 year Healthy Anniversary.  I’m not ready to give up feeling good about ALL of the healthy things I’m doing every day and I’m certainly NOT going to let the stupid scale ruin my positivity.

Which brings me to my favorite part of all of this:  Celebrating my Non Scale Victories with Katie and Ashlee!

My first NSV continues to be that I’m killing my weekend workouts.  I’ve been able to get a long run in (the last two weeks I’ve run 6 or more miles) as well as getting in some nice long bike rides.  I still get my work week work outs in, but I love the weekends when I really have the time to push a little harder and go a little farther.

My next NSV is not really all mine but I’m committing to helping a really great friend on her journey to her own healthy life.  In the past, it was hard for me to do this because it’s hard enough to stay on track when you’re on your own journey; I could barely help myself!  But I love my friend and I am ready to help someone else get healthy!  She has committed to No Weigh October, too.  AND, we already have a plan in place for the upcoming holidays.  I've let her know that the pressure is on and she does not have the option of "starting over" on January 1st.  We are not going to let the holidays ruin her momentum!

Finally, I’m happy to report that even though I’m not weighing, I did take my measurements and in one month, I have lost 4.25” AND I lost them off my problem areas:  my stomach, my butt, and my thighs…whoop!  Those freaking burpees, lunges, runs, bikes and squats are working!

What were YOUR NSV's this week??

Respect Reality

Hey there!  It's NSV Thursday and time to link up with two of my favorite ladies, Katie and Ashlee!

This week, I just want to talk about something that I think about all of the time and after reading some of my favorite blogs this past week, this might be of some help to others, as well.

If you get a chance, check out this article from US News & World Report.  It's called The Most Important Skill for Weight Management.  The article really hit home for me and the summary is that life happens and no matter what your best efforts are in healthy living, sometimes life is going to throw you a curve.  The only way to be successful in your healthy lifestyle is to Just. Keep. Going.

For instance, last weekend I PRd my running distance and ran 6.83 miles.  Then on Sunday, I biked over 15 miles.  I felt amazing; like I could move mountains.  I was a little sore but overall feeling pretty damn good about myself and my efforts.  I'm constantly amazed at what my body can do, so I'm constantly pushing the limits.  Constantly.

Then came Monday and my Crossfit session with my trainer.  My workout consisted of a warmup:  1 lap (.75 miles), 50 high knees and 20 squats.  Done.

The workout:

Run 1/2 mile
20 burpees
60 lunges
1 min plank

Run 1/2 mile
80 backslap jumping jacks
50 air squats
10 pushups
1 min each side, side planks

REPEAT

Cool down.  Which I didn't even get to.  Because at about lunge 35 of my first round I felt something tighten and almost snap in my left quad.  Did I stop?  Nope, I grimaced and I plowed on.  And guess what that got me?  The same feeling in my right quad.  By the time I got to the final round, I could barely walk.  But I effing did those MFing runs, squats, jumping jacks and planks. 

I finally let on how badly I was feeling and I was given the stink eye from my trainer as well as the stern instructions to take the next few days off.  I sorta gave her the "yah, as if" look and she told me about how being strong was not just about what your body could physically do and how hard you could push yourself, but that it is also about being mentally strong enough to say when enough is enough and to rest.

I have plowed through injuries before and ended up not being at my best for longer than necessary.  I'm learning that I need to know when to quit; I sure as hell don't want to be out of commission for longer than necessary.  But mentally, I'm not at the point where if that happens, I'd be okay.  In fact, I FEAR the possibility of not being able to work out and push myself physically; I have literally  become addicted to working out.  I'm not even ashamed, in fact I'm pretty damn proud of that fact, but still...

This sort of disturbs me and this article, which my trainer shared with us, really opened my eyes.  What would I do if something happened that sidelined me for a long period.  Do I have the mental strength to pick myself up and dust myself off and deal with it?  I don't know.  I'm still a little upset with myself when I overindulge for no apparent reason like on a random Thursday vs. at a special event or holiday.  The article states:

"Instead of being frustrated that your weight management 

or healthy living strategies are affected by reality, 

try to remember that your best efforts vary. 

The best you can do over the week of Passover or Easter is undoubtedly less 

healthful than the best you can do the week after. 

If your goal is your best, you'll never fall into the trap of repeatedly letting yourself down."

I have some work to do.  I am going to try to remember this and to keep this at the forefront of my healthy lifestyle.  I will continue to try my best every single day.  Whether or not I'm successful is up to me, but tomorrow is another day and another opportunity to continue with this amazing healthy life I'm not only enjoying now, but hope to enjoy for the rest of my life.

So my NSV this week was just one:  I did not stress about not working out the last two days.  In fact, I actually won't be able to work out again until Saturday.  But I'm not stressing.  

I have to admit...it feels pretty good.

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