Monday, April 29, 2013

MMM- Week 39

Not much to report... was sick most of the week.

Chad and I did go to the timeshare over the weekend, but we were both sick so we slept and watched movies most of the time.

Looking for better days in may.

Friday, April 26, 2013

Fitness Fridays-

I love sparkpeople.com  If you are trying to lose weight or need some help living a healthy lifestyle, check it out. 

Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Wednesday Words

Amen.


In honor of my sister, who has a birthday later this week.  I love you Julie and couldn't imagine my life without you, you have done so much for me and I thank you!

Monday, April 22, 2013

Week 38- MMM

Well the week started out pretty rough.  Still no exercise and the Xanax stopped helping me sleep.  I went to the doctor on Wednesday and he changed me to Ativan.  Had high hopes for it, but alas it has taken me 2-3 hours to fall asleep and I wake up at least 5 times during the night since I started taking it...Probably calling him Monday morning.

The weather has been icky all week-lots of rain and even some snow flurries.  Ick.  However the weekend turned out to be pretty nice.  Chad and I went bike riding.  On Saturday we were going along great, the first 3.5 miles just zoomed by... then we decided to take a scenic off trail... it was beautiful... then my chain broke.  Boo.  Chad was able to fix it, however he put the chain back together before he put it on the bike, so we weren't able to reattach the chain to the bike. Double boo.  He walked with me back to the main trail and then I walked to the nearest trail access spot while he rode the 3.5 miles back to the car and came and picked me up.  We took the bike to the shop right away, but won't have it back till Tuesday.  So we are planning on going again today, so I borrowed his mom's bike... no padded seat so I am sure I will be even more saddle sore than I am already.  Oh well it was fun.

We decided next weekend to head down to the Timeshare for a few days.  Chad starts back to school the first week in may and I start later in the month (I think I might actually start in june but still), so we decided it would be nice to have a quiet relaxing weekend away.  maybe do some horseback riding, or bike riding.

Friday, April 19, 2013

Fitness Fridays- Dental Health

Dental Care is super important to your overall health... if you haven't been to the dentist in awhile, consider making an appointment ASAP.

Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Wednesday Words

This is adorable.  The LDS website has a lot of cute printables, even if your not a member of the LDS church (which I am not).  And this one has elephants! 

Remember you are a child of God... and he will not leave you.

Love yourself! 

Monday, April 15, 2013

MMM- week 37

Hmm not much to report on the weight loss side of life... haven't worked out all week.  Been sleeping really badly.  Having lots of nightmares and doing a lot of tossing and turning.  While fighting ninja warriors in my sleep the other night, I kicked Chad out of bed.. he is now sleeping in the other room and the cats either sleep other places or at the very far end of the bed :-(  I see the doctor again on Wednesday, so hopefully we can get something figured out.

Had a fairly busy week/weekend for being off work for most of it.  Worked monday through wednesday.. can't seem to remember what I did thursday.  Friday went to the zoo with my mom, 2 of my nephews, my cousin and her daughter, and chad.  It was fun- but cold.  THen I worked a few hours that evening.  Saturday we had game night with 2 other couples.  We had a taco bar and it was a lot of fun.  Sunday  I didn't do much of anything besides stuff around the house, then worked a few hours as well.

I met one of my goals for 2013... my blog has over 10,000 pageviews :-)  Only 10 more goals to go this year!

Friday, April 12, 2013

Fitness Fridays- Breathing while Running

Breathe Right
Here's how Mindy Solkin, a New York City-based coach, teaches runners to engage their diaphragms.

Open Your Mouth
Your mouth is larger than your nostrils, so it's more effective at taking in oxygen. Also, keeping your mouth open keeps your face more relaxed, which makes it easier to breathe deeply.

Breathe in Patterns
Coordinating your inhales and exhales with your footfalls develops diaphragmatic strength. Start with a 2-2 pattern-breathe in while stepping left, right; breathe out while stepping left, right. Advance to 3-3 (breathe in, step left, right, left; breathe out, step right, left, right), and then a 4-4 pattern.

Breath Enhancers
Cross-training exercises that reduce huffing and puffing
These three Pilates moves strengthen the diaphragm, stretch tight muscles, and improve posture-all of which help you run longer with less effort. Practice each exercise two or three times a week before you run.

1) THE HUNDRED
Lie on your back, knees bent, feet flat on the floor. Keep your arms at your sides, palms down. Inhale and lift your head, neck, shoulders, and arms off the ground. Lift your knees and extend your feet so your legs are straight and at a 45-degree angle to the floor. Take five short breaths in and five short breaths out. While doing so, pump your arms, moving them in a controlled up and down manner. Do a cycle of 10 full breaths-each breath includes five inhales and five exhales. After you do 10 complete breaths, you will have completed 100 arm pumps.
> The Payoff: Teaches controlled breathing, so that your inhales and exhales are balanced. Bonus: Builds strong abdominals.

 2) THE SWAN
Lie face down with your palms flat under your shoulders (as if you were going to do a pushup). Look down so your neck is in line with your spine. Inhale and slowly lift your head, neck, shoulders, and chest as you press your hands into the ground. Keep a slight bend in your elbows. As you exhale, slowly lower yourself back down, chest first, then shoulders, neck, chin, and head. To avoid discomfort in your back, concentrate on pulling your shoulders back to open up your chest. Repeat 10 times.
The Payoff: Opens up the chest and deepens your lung capacity to correct shallow breathing.

3) STANDING CHEST EXPANSION
Stand up straight with your feet shoulder-width apart, your knees slightly bent, and your arms at your sides. Inhale and sweep your arms out and up so that your biceps are near your ears and your palms are facing each other. Exhale and lower your arms back down to your sides. Repeat four times, concentrating on breathing deep and opening your chest.
The Payoff: Stretches the intercostal muscles (which lie between the ribs), relaxes the shoulders, engages the diaphragm and pelvic floor, and helps balance breathing between the left and right lungs.

To see the original article or videos of the Pilates moves.... visit: Runner's World

Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Monday, April 08, 2013

MMM- Week 36

Had a pretty decent week.  Did 3 workout days.  Not a full week, but better than previous weeks.  Stayed within my calorie consumed goals and met my calorie burn goals.  Lost about a pound, which I will take.   Did well with water as well.

Had a busy week, worked every day.  Took the kids to the nature center one day and then to a park that has animals and a great playground area this week.  They were on spring break so I didn't want to be stuck inside all day, all week!  Finally the weather is warming up enough for us to go outside.   Thinking I will move our letter activities to the morning, so that after lunch we can go outside till nap time.  They will like that alot.

Chad and I went out with some friends Saturday after church.  Unfortunately one of the friends had to leave almost as soon as we got there for a family emergency, but we still had a great time.  Saw some amazing trumpet players at a jazz club.  Probably should of stopped at one drink since they have so many calories, but we don't go out too often, so I let myself enjoy two :-)

Saw some family on Sunday for lunch, which was nice.

Emotionally I am doing ok this week.  Started out kind of rough, just really frustrated and tired.  My cold is attempting to come back so that isn't helping matters either.  But our church message was really good and gave me some things to think about.  My new quote was said by our Pastor, Greg Holder.... "It will take longer than you want, but it won't take longer than you fear."  Everytime I feel myself getting frustrated and beginning to worry, I am repeated this phrase to myself.  All of our problems and issues and stresses will take longer that I want to work, but since I fear they will never be better, they won't take as long as I fear.  God has a plan for us.  And God's timing is perfect, I just need to trust him and let him handle it all.  This too shall pass.


Friday, April 05, 2013

Fitness Fridays- Strength Training

  

Number 5 is my favorite... with more muscle mass (as opposed to fat mass) you burn more while resting... that means you are burning more calories while just sitting, or sleeping, which means you can be actively burning calories (think exercise) less and still see great results!

Wednesday, April 03, 2013

Wednesday Words


Smile, Pray, Love.... much better than the Eat, Pray, Love saying... since I am trying to control my eating :-)



Not necessarily supporting NIKE here... but I do love alot of their catch phrases lately.  This one is great. 

Monday, April 01, 2013

MMM- HELLO April

Finally starting to get over this cold!!!  March was very unkind to me with regards to illnesses.  Ready for a new month.  A little warmer weather (please not too warm... dislike being hot!) and hopefully some better energy levels.

Have my menu and workout plan all ready to go for the new month.  Ready to start making some big progress again.

The morning anxiety meds are still making me tired... but starting to find ways to handle it.  Mostly trying to be busy the first few hours after I take it so when Zombie mode hits I have gotten done most of what I need for the day.  Also continuing to schedule reading and puzzle time to help lower my stress and anxiety.  Still sleeping good... though I probably have 2 nights a week where I don't sleep well at all... those type of nights when you just dont feel like your brain shuts off and you toss and turn all night.

Other than that, not much more to report.  This weekend was rather busy with Easter and all.  My parents came over and had Easter dinner with us.  If I get a weekend where I don't have quite as much to get done I do have some extra blog posts planned.  But if I don't have the time I will continue to still stick with just my Monday, Wednesday and Friday posts for this month.  Hang with me... I am slowly getting extra projects done and things taken care of that will help me be able to have more time to focus on my blog.

Hope you all have a great week!

Current weight 156.6 (finally saw a loss again)