Lisa

This week’s assignment from The Monday Project is to have your future 2011 self write a note to your 2010 self.  I started off with a vlog but had trouble uploading my video, so you get a letter instead.  This was actually emotional for me to do and in my vlog, I started crying.  Of course, by the time I found some MORE time to write this letter, the tears were gone but the resolve was not.

Dear Lisa:

I am here to tell you that lots of good things are in store for you this year.  2010 is going to be an awesome year for you, for lots of reasons.  But first, I want to tell you something very important, so critically important that you need to stop all that you are doing, pull up a chair, and read this with an open heart and mind.

You, Lisa, are a wonderful and awesome person- you are a mom, a wife, a sister, a runner, a cook, a maid, a housekeeper, a taxi driver, and many other things.  The best gift that you can give yourself this years is this:

• To love yourself through and through
• To forgive yourself for not being able to do EVERY THING all of the time
• To let go of the mom guilt

I believe that you are doing the very best that you can.  Now YOU have to believe that you are doing the very best that you can.  Just BELIEVE.

Like I said, 2010 is a big year for you.  You will accomplish so many things!   You will go from running 3 miles in January to training and running a half marathon in June with Team in Training.  You may think that raising $2900 for Team in Training is a daunting task right now but I’m here to tell you that you will raise that amount and then some.  You will finish that marathon in your goal time and you will feel GREAT.  Pay attention to your body during your training runs though.  You only have one body and you have to take care of it.

Also, I am here to tell you that you have inspired others around you to “get fit”.  Because of your passion for running, you have ignited the fire in your husband to get back in the running game.  He ran the San Diego FULL marathon.  You also inspired your brother-in-law to start running again and he, too, ran the San Diego FULL marathon.  You have inspired some IRL friends to get back to exercising regularly.  Look at how many people’s lives you have touched.

You will consistently start training to run a women’s triathlon sprint (swim, bike, run) for the Fall 2010.  You will surprise yourself with how well you do.  Swimming will be your strongest section!  Hold on though- don’t get ahead of yourself and start planning for the next level up in triathlons- finish your first sprint before you start thinking about the next one.  There is plenty of time, there is plenty of time for the next step.

One more thing…..go ahead and get that physical that you keep thinking about getting.  You will have great blood pressure but your cholesterol will be a little on the high side.  If you need the doctor’s confirmation to live even healthier, then this is it.  You have only been blessed with one body, one heart and you have to take tender loving care of it.

Also Lisa, I am here tell you that by this time next year, you will have lost an additional 15 lbs, you will be wearing a Size 10, and you will be in the best shape of your life.  ENJOY IT!  You will have more energy than ever, you will be able to keep up with your kids even better, and you will feel AWESOME.

You are loved.  You are appreciated.   You can do anything you set your mind to.

Stay focused, stay disciplined, give yourself a break from time to time, look for the positives, and believe in yourself.

You, my friend, are truly special.

Love Always,

Yourself

My kids have a message for all of you, my sisters (and brother)…..

Aren’t they the cutest when they aren’t driving me crazy?!

Make sure to check back later….I may or may not be posting more videos of me exercising yes me, they are forcing me to do it, isn’t this exciting!

Our project this week is to toot our own horn, to talk about how wonderful we are, in essence, to share with you why I THINK I ROCK.

Reasons why I rock:

1. I’m not afraid to poke fun at myself.  Some of the best laughs at come at my own expense but yet, are things that I found hilarious, regardless of me being the one embarrassed.
2. Even though at the time, I had a huge chip on my shoulder about running, I sucked it up and joined the 5K challenge here at the Sisterhood.  I have always been resistant pig-headed to running, and now here I am, on the cusp of beginning my 1/2 marathon training.  No one is forcing me to do it, no one is twisting my arm.  Shhhhh, come closer, I have to whisper a secret to you…… I LOVE RUNNING.
3. I ran 4 miles straight yesterday, WITHOUT STOPPING.  I may not be the fastest runner, I may not be the most elegant runner, but hey, my 168-170 lb body is running 11-12 minute miles and I am going to claim it- I EFFING ROCK.
4. I like to sweat, I mean really sweat, when I exercise.  And for that- I ROCK.
5. I had three kids in five years time and my husband is gone during the week quite a bit.  For that, I think I ROCK.
6. I love to cook.  And eat.  I’m pretty good at it, too.  Might this be part of the slow-Shrinking Jeans problem?!
7. In the past two weeks, one two three four separate people have told me that “I look good”, “I look skinny”, “I can tell you have been exercising”, “You look like you are losing weight” and so on and so forth.  This makes me feel so good!  The scale is moving so slowly for me, but hearing these compliments just motivates me to “keep on, keeping on”.  Even better, for once, I ACCEPTED these compliments and said “thank you” instead of coming up with excuses as to why I am not skinny or whatever.
8. I have the most awesome, jet black, thick hair ever known to man.  Hair stylists love my hair and so do I.
9. I can touch my tongue to my nose : ).

I don’t spend a lot of time in my daily life thinking about ways I rock.  In fact, a lot of times, my positivity is spent lifting others up- my kids, my husband, my family, my friend, you sisters…..when looking at myself, I am thinking “I would have, could have, should have”……it feels great to think about myself in a “I ROCK” kind of way.

All through school- elementary, junior high, high school and college- I have NEVER turned in my homework late.  Never, ever, ever.

Yes, I was THAT goody too-shoes.

But not anymore.

Thea gave us homework on Thursday and I am just now getting to it.  I hope I can still get an “A”.  I can barely keep up with my daily work so this homework thing, it’s HARD.  Blah, blah, blah.

1.  3 Goals for this challenge

• Drink a minimum of 100 oz of water per day.
• Eat five servings of fruits and veggies per day.
• Exercise 5 days a week.  Specifically, 3 days of cardio and 2 days of strength training.  Anything extra is just that, extra, icing on the cake.  Chasing my ever busy, non-stop toddler around the house does not count.  Neither does running around with the 3.5 yr old and the 6 yr old.

2.  Track my goals.  WTH?!  I have to track it?  For realz?  OK, I understand WHY I need to track it, but can someone come up with the chart for me?  This is so not my comfort zone.  If I come up with the chart, it will involve construction paper, a black sharpie, and leftover Disney Princess stickers from my daughter.  THEAAAAA????????????????????

For the exercise portion, I will continue to use www.dailymile.com…..LOVE IT!

3.  Non-food reward.  OH, this one is so hard for me.  I rarely reward myself.  So this will be it.

I love to cook and I love all things kitchen-y.  So many things I want, so little time.  How do I ever pick from the 8 million items I want for my kitchen though?  I want a new coffee pot, a Kitchen Aid mixer (too expensive though), The Flavor Bible (for cooking) or an online membership to Cook’s Illustrated, or an 8 inch chef’s knife.  Personally, I want ALL of these things : ).

How will I ever choose?

Today is True Confessions Monday.

Here are mine:

1. The good…..I ran 5 miles today in 59:30 minutes.  I didn’t even have any plans to run today but my friend Amanda coaxed me into it.  I felt pretty sluggish the entire run and never achieved the runner’s high that I get pretty often, but I finished the distance.  Not too shabby for an unplanned run day.
2. The bad…..I have been busy making all kinds of sweet concoctions in my kitchen for the holidays.  In fact, I am entering a blog baking contest.  This is NOT good, because I had to try out several recipes before deciding which recipe to go with.  And someone has to eat all those sweets, right?  In reality, I gave a lot of the sweets away and then I trashed the rest.
3. The ugly……Even though I cleared my kitchen of the old sweets, I made new ones tonight for dinner.  MUST. get. rid. of peanut butter. chocolate chip. cookies.  STAT.
4. I’M TIRED and want to go to bed right now but have way too many things to do to just lay my head down and go to sleep.
5. My 14 month old is into everything, and I do mean EVERYTHING.  It is literally impossible to get anything done while he is awake and as of late, he is more and more awake.  Doesn’t he know it’s the holidays and mommy has too much to do?  Oh, he also broke my power cord to my computer and hid the TV remote control.

That is all for me!

Today is the last day for the Lose for Good campaign and I’m ecstatic to report that I have lost a total of 6.5 pounds in 7 weeks.

Like some of my fellow sisters, I am going to donate MORE than 6.5 lbs of food, because I can and because it is so very much needed.

My son’s pre-school does a food drive for a local food bank every year around this time- I am going to give my pounds and pounds of food to that effort.

I, too, like having a challenge tied to something so positive and GOOD.  I think Weight Watchers has an excellent idea with tying weight loss to giving to others.  Awesome.

Maybe we should do this again?!

When I stepped on the scale this morning, I was slightly disappointed with this:

Last week’s weight: 173 lbs

This week’s weight:  173 lbs

No change

I mean C’MON!  I was careful with what I ate (but I did not journal religiously), I exercised and even did a double workout yesterday (one hour pilates/core combo at the gym and 30 Day Shred at home, level 3).  Nighttime snacking was cut way down and completely OUT for the last 3 nights.  I thought for sure I had a weight loss in the bag.  But alas, it is not to be this week at least.

But that’s OK, I have decided.  My clothes are feeling better, my legs are strong, and I know I am doing the right things.  It does appear that I will have to journal Every. Single. Thing. I. Eat in order to really understand what is going on food-wise.  I have the exercise portion under control, meaning I am now exercising on a regular basis and will continue to do so with the upcoming 5K challenge.  Now I just have to get a true handle on my eating.  I think I am eating right and the right portions but apparently my perception is a little skewed and I must be eating more than I should.

So yeah this week, the name of the game is to journal, journal, journal.  Drink drink drink (water, that is).  Exercise, exercise, exercise.

Today was Shred Day Whatever.  I don’t even know what Day today was.

My heart just wasn’t into it today. 

I am ready to take a break from shredding.  I will finish my 30 days but then will move to something else for a short while.  Or maybe not.

I am having a hard time today.  Not with shredding as that is hard every day.  But with motherhood, and the trappings of having 3 kids 5 and under. 

I am THAT mom that likes to keep busy with her children- going to the park, having playdates, swimming, reading, playing games, exploring different things around town town, DOING, GOING, SEEING.  I do not like staying home for long periods of time.  A day here, a day there is allright.  Afternoons are allright.  Or mornings are allright.

But right now, I am home ALL THE TIME- mornings AND afternoons, every single day- due to my baby and his schedule.  His awake times are filled with eating, diapering, playing a little bit, and then back down to bed.  He does NOT nap anywhere else but his crib.  We get out to run the necessary errands, the things that have to be done, that cannot be ignored

I AM GOING CRAZY.  I FEEL TRAPPED.  I AM BORED OUT OF MY MIND AND I KNOW MY OLDER TWO CHILDEN MUST BE BORED TOO.

I feel so very guilty for even having these feelings although I know they are normal and that this shall pass.

I do know that my baby is well, A BABY, and this phase shall pass.  And I will miss having him BE A BABY.

I understand all of these things.  I really do.  I do not fault my baby for being a baby.  I LOVE HIM.  I do understand.

BUT today, I just want to be able to GO DO THINGS with all of my children without having to rush back home for a nap.

So I cried during Circuit 3.  The whole circuit.  And my daughter looked at me like I was crazy.

I am an ‘effing sweating mess.

I can’t decide what hurts more- my quads or my shoulders.

This level was definitely a challenge, but it felt GOOD.  There is no way I could have STARTED at level 3, back on Day 1.

I am proud that I was able to make it though Level 3 withouth passing out.

ALTHOUGH, I feel like I am cheating by doing the alternate method on some of the exercises. 

Does anyone feel like this is NEVER going to end?  I mean, I know it will come to an end in a short 9 days, but right now, I feel like I have been shredding for eternity.  I am already looking forward to being done with the DVD, but I’m also wondering “what’s next”.  I know that has been talk about possibly starting another DVD challenge and I would be all for that, as long as it is challenging, and good.

What about you?  How’s it going?  Are you STILL shredding?  I know some of you have gotten sidetracked in your exercising efforts, but that’s OK, you can jump back on the bandwagon at any time.

I missed True Confessions last week…where was I?  Probably shredding!  Anyway, here are my true confessions, boring as they may be.

1. Last week, I had horrible snack munchi cravings in the evenings.
2. I gave in almost every night to those cravings.
3. Except for last night.
4. I ate dinner at 5:30pm and then only had an orange in the evening.
5. I really wanted to eat a whole bag of Doritos.
6. Why do I love Doritos so?
7. I have been “shredding” with Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred exercise DVD now for 14 days.
8. I am beyond sore, but I feel awesome for sticking with it.
9. Sometimes I love Jillian and how she is shredding my body.
10. Most times, I don’t.
11. I really would like to add in some additional cardio later in the day, after shredding.
12. BUT, I am so low on available free time.
13. I’m going to try and make that extra cardio happen this week, at least a few days.
14. I really really really really really want to lose at least 25 lbs.
15. Like, yesterday.  

You guys know the drill by now.  Go write a post with your own true confessions and come back here and leave the link in the comments section.  Or if you like, leave your true confessions directly in the comments.  Go ahead ladies (and men), let it all out!