Non-Scale Victories Linkup, March 28, 2013

Hello lovelies!!  It's time for my favorite post of the week:  NSV Thursday!  This is the time that we get reflect on all of the great, healthy things we did this week that are NOT scale related.

I continued to try to drink my water and eat my fruits; the hard part about the fruit consumption is that right now there aren't a whole lotta good-tasting fruits so I'm stuck with the usuals:  apples, pears, bananas, grapes...I love Cuties, but I'm the only one who eats them so I cannot justify paying $8 for a crate of them when I won't eat them all.  This week was weird as far as my water intake, because I noticed that I was having to go to the bathroom even MORE but I'm not drinking any more than I did last week!??  I swear our bodies are so finicky.

This next one may not be considered an NSV, but in a way I feel like it is.  I usually try to work out for like 3 hours a day on the weekends.  It's a lot...but I feel like when I do that I can be a little lax on what I eat and not be so obsessive.  The problem is that 6 hours of working out on the weekend is insane...like psycho-insane.  Don't get me wrong, I honestly love working out and when I have downtime, it's the first thing I'll use to fill it...but I need to do other things...I love to paint but I don't make the time for it...I also never get to sit on the couch & watch movies with my Hubby because I can never sit still long enough to do it...those are the things I should be making time for.  So my NSV in this sense is that I vowed NOT to work out that long AND to be more conscious of not going over my calories.  AND, I got some good couch time with my Man - we watched "This is 40"...twice, it was SO funny!

In doing some research on working out, I've been trying to get in more QUALITY workouts and doing more interval training.  My bestie sent me a great article about Burst Training and I'm trying to incorporate more of these types of workouts in.  They apparently burns many more calories overall than a typical cardio workout.  Definitely worth trying.

This one should probably wait for the 5K Challenge Linkup but I'm just so excited I have to share.  I'm officially RUNNING a 5K on June 1st - ahhhhhhhhhhhhh!  I just found out yesterday that my company is sponsoring one locally and since I was already planning to run our virtual one, why not commit to an official race??  I can't believe how excited and SCARED I am!!  Every time I think about it I get butterflies-in-my-tummy-nervous and come close to crying from being so afraid but that stressed out feeling I get when I don't want to do something is NOT there...that's a good sign, right??

I also had an overwhelming urge to eat everything in sight yesterday...but I didn't!!  Ohhhh, my inner fat girl was a beast, trying so hard to get me to eat a bunch of bad things, but I didn't let that bitch get the best of me.  Winning!

Hope you had some great non-scale victories, as well! 

Be sure to head over to my recipe blog & follow me for great, HEALTHY recipes every week!

Also, if you'd like to follow me on Instagram (jennlefebvre) or Twitter (@HealthyMakeover), look me up!

5K Linkup March 26, 2013

Hello!  I want to preface this post by saying that I have been SO super busy the last week and I feel like I'm not devoting enough time to either of my blogs and I just hate that.  One of the things that I LOVE about blogging is the connection I feel with my fellow bloggers, and new friends that I've made along the way during this journey.  I wish that I had a gazillion dollars so that I could stay home and devote the kind of time I'd like to to all of you and my blogs!  My apologies for not keeping up with your blogs the past week, I promise that I'll head over and get caught up!  You mean so much to me so I wanted you to know!

Okay, on to the 5K Challenge - this week, again SO busy, I didn't get much outside running time.  For soccer practice with the kids, we do run, but the field we use is awful - full of ruts, holes, huge grass mounds...I don't feel confident at all running on it, especially because I'm clumsy enough on flat ground.  Also, we have had such cold ass weather AND 30-40mph winds, it didn't make for the best running conditions.  Have you ever tried to run into the wind when it's howling like that??  It's hard enough for me to breathe when I'm running, and then add hurricane force winds on top of it!  Okay, I exaggerate, but still....So, I did what I could.

However, on Sunday I was at the gym and even though my outside time was limited, I moved on to Week 4 of C25K anyway; I was feeling confident enough to at least TRY it and guess what?  I'm pretty damn amazing on the 'ole treadmill, lol.  I laugh because seriously, I'm not, but hey in my mind, I'm ahhiight.  Week 4's schedule of C25K is this: 5 minute walking warm up / Jog for 3 mins / Walk 90 secs / Jog FIVE MINUTES / Walk 2.5mins / Jog 3 mins / Walk 90 secs / Jog FIVE MINUTES / 5 minute cool down.  So yah, huge pat on the back, I wogged for BOTH 5 minute sessions and I even added a SPRINT (cough...cough...4.7mph while hanging on for dear life) in at the end, just for fun.

You know what's happening with this whole "running thing"?  Brace yourself...I'm starting to see what all the hype is about.  Nowwww, if I could get the running outside confidence that I truly need, that will be the next test.  But the treadmill?  I own that bitch.

On another note, if you aren't already following my recipe blog A Healthy Makeover, head on over and follow me!  I try to post at least 2 recipes a week; hope you get to try some! 
Here's my recipe from today:

Thanks for stopping by!

Non-Scale Victories Linkup March 21, 2013

It's Thursday and time for reflecting on the last week and all healthy things Non-Scale related!

My list this week is short - not because I had a bad week, but because I only did a few "new" things this week.

1)  Even though this can wait for next week's 5K challenge (and truth be told, I might mention it again...a few times...), I'm super excited so I have to report it anyway:  I wogged for 4mins straight on the treadmill on Monday and THEN on Tuesday, I wogged for almost a FULL 1/2 mile outside on the soccer field!!

2)  On Monday, I also drove through sleet, icy roads, and numerous accidents to get to the gym - what's that old post office creed??  Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night...okay, maybe not gloom of night - I'm a huge chicken.

3)  This week I also attempted to eat fruit with every meal or tried to eat at least 3 fruits a day.  It wasn't as hard as I thought it would be.  I'm going to try to continue this.

4)  I'm one of those people who just doesn't think about drinking water...I actually don't think about drinking anything (except my beloved latte in the morning - Sweet Joseph, how I love thee...), so it takes effort to drink enough of anything, let alone water.  I've gotten so much better over the last year and a half, and I always drink at least eight 8oz glasses, but this week I tried to up my water to 12 and even some days I got up to 14.  When I first started my journey, I set a calendar reminder to pop up at work to tell me to drink water...I can't tell you how much that helped!  I've also been blessed with the tiniest bladder known to man, so all this water has me running to the bathroom at least twice an hour.  Extra steps during the day!  I actually have to stop drinking water by 2:30pm & use the restroom right before I walk out the door, just to be able to make it home without breaking out in the pee sweats...you know what I'm talking  about...when you have to go so bad, you start sweating?  Yah, that's me.  The great thing about trying to get enough water is that I rarely have any type of drink that isn't water, again except for my latte...have I mentioned how much I heart that latte?  I swear to you that sometimes I kiss my cup.

Be sure to tell me what your NSV's were this week!  Remember, it's not all about the scale.

5K Linkup March 19, 2013

I did it!  I finished Week 3 and I'm moving on to Week 4!  You may recall that last week I was completely stressing about how HARD that extra 30 seconds is...well, I'm here to tell you that it got easier...SO much easier!  And in Week 3, I had to run 3 minutes.  The first time, it was hard...but I did it.  I even got a little bit crazy and pushed myself on Day 2 to 3:30...and guess what?  I didn't die; that's pretty cool, right??

I actually ran for FOUR minutes last night.  I figured something out:  you have to find a sweet spot.  A speed in which you can sustain the longer period of time.  That speed for me is 4mph...laugh, I know, it's slow...but it's 1mph faster than my fast-ish walk, so that's pretty significant, right?  Short-stumpy legs, what can I say :)

I wasn't able to do any part of Week 3 outside, so I wonder if I can do the same thing off the treadmill; I'll have to see this week.

So, here's what I have to say to whomever is listening - this C25K thing?  It works.  I've heard from SOO many people that it does, but you really don't know until you do it yourself.  If you're thinking about it, try it!

Non Scale Victories March 14, 2013

Happy NSV Thursday!

Wow, it has been so very busy the last two weeks and I'm feeling overwhelmed with how much is going on - I haven't even been able to keep up with my blog buddies, so please forgive me!  I'm hoping I get a chance to catch up on them in the next few days but I have a busy but fun weekend ahead, too.  A few obstacles that I'll have to be careful of:  my dear friend's daughter's 16th birthday party, and another fun birthday party at our local race track which also features...dun dun dun...a buffet!  My plan is to work my arse off in the morning so that I can partake in some goodies, but not go too off track that I feel guilty about it on Sunday...I'm going to go ahead and say that'll be an NSV in hopes that it'll help me stay accountable!

My biggest NSV for this week is actually one of the main reasons things have been so busy for me.  In an effort to continue to step out of my comfort zone, challenge myself and get in some different workouts, I signed on to help my friend with her son's soccer team as her assistant conditioning coach...yeeks!  Now, the reason it's a little bit scary for me is that I have not always been comfortable around kids.  Hubby and I were not able to have our own, and we have nieces and nephews who we love and adore, but I don't have a lot of opportunities to spend time with kids in a social setting.  And, to be honest, I'm not really not comfortable around kids that aren't "mine" as in, in my family or my circle of friends.  So this is pretty huge for me.

Tuesday was our first practice and it became apparent RIGHT AWAY that I'm definitely going to be challenged physically, just as I'd hoped.  Part of me says, "What were you thinking??"  Careful what you wish for, right??  I thought I had built up some stamina but the first time we started running on the field, I couldn't even make it one length and I hurt my knee!  It actually pissed me off to be entirely honest.  I mean, here I've been training and I couldn't even run as long as I have been able to EVERY other time I've set out to run?  What the hell?  Maybe it's because the kids set the pace and clearly my "wogging" can't keep up?  I don't know, but the anger (and embarrassment) is there.  And because I couldn't keep up, there's also now this stupid fear that I WON'T be able to.  I hated that as I "ran" past the parents sitting in their cars, I was struggling so much...I'm sure they were thinking, "Oh, look at this chick thinking she can keep up..."  In my mind, I think, "Shut up - at least I'm out here."  Then the insecure chick inside me hates that they are probably judging me.  Thinking about it makes me anxious so I keep trying to put it out of my head and think about other things. 

I keep repeating this to myself:  No matter; I'm going to conquer this.  I'm stronger than my fear.  I want to challenge myself.  I want to step out of my comfort zone.  I want to continue to work on being a strong person physically and mentally. 

So tonight, I'm going to try again.  Wish me luck.

5K Challenge Linkup March 12, 2013

So remember how proud I was of myself last week for being able to complete the first week of my C25K training?  You may recall that I thought I was pretty hot stuff by being able to run for 60 seconds at a time, even adding in a bunch of extra runs after the workout was complete (It starts out at only 30 minutes and I went for 60)...In my mind I became a marathon runner last week...oh, yes, folks it finally happened.

Enter Week TWO:  In week two the app adds in an additional 30 seconds to each run...sounds pretty easy right??  Psshhhh...Hell yes, it's easy if you're a runner like me!

Um, yah, well...it's NOT.  It's freaking hard!  Reality kicked in.  What's THIRTY seconds you ask?  It's 30 seconds of pure HELL waiting for that voice on your phone to trill her little bell and say, "Start Walking."

At one point my heart rate got up to 174 and I was like "Are you kidding me??  It's been an HOURRRRRRRRRR...Oh, please dear GOD, how much longer before she tells me to walk????  I think I'm gonna die right here on the road, and who will find me??  I'll just be a lump that someone will stumble upon and how will they let my dear, sweet husband know that he's just lost the love of his life???  Will the person who finds me look at my phone and search my contacts for the fancy 'In Case of Emergency (ICE)' contact that the Internet told me to put there for just this purpose??  Will C25K Week 2 really be the death of me???  I just KNEW running was the root of all EVIL...I didn't think I'd go out this way...please, someone, tell my family I love them..."

And then I heard it...her sweet, sweet voice..."Start Walking..."

It was like a cheer went up - applause erupted everywhere!!!  Of course, in reality it was my heartbeat pounding in my head and my hot, sexy rhythmic hacking breath...but it sounded like applause to me.

But let me tell you what I did...when the next 2 minutes passed and her little bell went off and she cheerily said, "Begin Running"...I did...and I did it again...and again...and again.  I bet you want me to tell you that it got easier?  Nope, it didn't but I did it and that's what matters, right?

Week 2 completed - Boom.  Yah, I said Boom.

Sooo, I just checked out the workout plan for Week 3...guess what Week 3 holds?  A 3-minute running session - WTH???!!  What happened to 2 minutes??  We go straight from 90 seconds to 3 minutes???  Lord, help me.

Non Scale Victories March 7, 2013

It's NSV Thursday!!!

I'm not quite sure why I "yelled" that since I actually don't have many to share this week?? But I do get really excited to share the little victories from my week.  It helps ME to remember that it's not all about the scale.

My biggest NSV from this past week is continuing to use my C25K app on my phone.  I'm truly trying to push myself to see if I can actually DO this running thing.  I'm even "signed" up for a virtual 5K with my blog buddies hosted by Katie and Kim - check out my button over there on my sidebar.  We're all going to train to do our own 5K's - isn't that so fun??  So, with my short little stumpy legs, it's probably more like a combination of walking and jogging if you ask my longer-legged friends...I'll call it wogging.  But for me, it's SOMETHING.  You cannot understand my intense hatred for running up to this point.  I think it stems from being on the Track team in HS.  Yes, I am a hater of running but I did run track for most of my HS years.  I started off running the 100m and then gave up running altogether after my 2nd year when I decided that I loved the long and triple jumping best.  What I honestly didn't like was my coach.  I feel a little bad saying this after ALL these years (we won't get into numbers), but she made practices horrible.  She was mean and rude and condescending.  If you weren't one of her star runners, she pretty much didn't have time for you.  That sounds super whiny, but there's no animosity here, truly.  It was a fact.  Every day we were expected to run 8 miles to train.  And even though I was not overweight in HS, I could not run 8 miles.  I don't think I even tried to run 4 miles.

The craziest part of this little training program I'm doing is that it WORKS.  I honestly never thought that after only 2 days of doing it that I'd be stronger, but I was!!  And now that I'm on Week 2, I'm even stronger!  I can run for 90 seconds every time that little lady on my phone tells me to.

So, now I'm on my way to becoming a faster wogger!  It feels SOOO good to say that!

 

Hope you had some of your own great NSV's this week!

 

Monday Weigh In 3/4/13

Hello everyone!

Now that the Biggest Loser Challenge with Java Mama is over, I thought that I'd still continue to post my weigh-ins on Monday.  This week was a great weigh-in, however, it was a confusing one!

We all know how a gain on the scale feels when we have a great week and work hard for a good number.  But don't you ALSO (love to) hate when you haven't had a great week, but you see an unexpected loss??  Well, I know that I hate it for the reason that it just doesn't make a whole lotta sense...and I like things to make sense. OBVIOUSLY, I'm incredibly happy, but there's still my confusion of knowing WHY?????  and HOW????

I'm going to chalk it up to my body possibly needing a little change up...I don't know what else to contribute it to!??  I mean, last week, as I mentioned in my NSV's, I ate the best breakfast I've had in a long time (mmmm, banana bread french toast!) and I ate funeral food for 3 days straight...and yet...

I lost 2.2lbs!

Hey, I'm not giving it back; I'll keep it but it just makes me shake my head.  I did do well for the rest of the week, so the whole week wasn't shot.

So here we go:

Weekly weigh-in:  -2.2
Total on my journey:  52.9 lbs lost

Like I said, I'm certainly celebrating it...but it just goes to show that our bodies are going to do whatever the heck they want to...and when I get to a week in my future in which I've busted my butt and don't see a budge on the scale, I'm going to try to remember that I got a little freebie this week.

How did you do??