Move along, move along...nothing to see here...

As I thought about today's blog entry, I realized that I (conveniently) forgot to post the results from last week's weigh-in. I don't remember actual numbers, but I do remember that I lost (not weight) and Katie won. While Katie's "before and after" pictures will be drastically different...mine will not, LOL! And since I was only on my diet one day in the last seven days, tomorrow's weigh-in is gonna be a stinker too.

Thank goodness for the marathon training though. If it wasn't for my dedication to that, then I am certain I would have gained back any weight this week that I have lost in the last 6 months!

Some notable Chubby Entrees include: The MOPS Breakfast Buffet on Wednesday, 2 separate occasions of fast food, All-You-Can-Eat Pancakes at Ihop, frozen yogurt WITH toppings, these...



Oh, and then these (Streusel Cupcakes)...





But back to the running...

For the most part that is going good. I ran a total of 19 miles last week. And, just 20 minutes ago, I completed my 200th mile since the start of our training! That's a neat accomplishment!

Saturday's long run was the big 9 miler. I was hoping to do that outside, around my neighborhood. But it was raining. There are 2 things that this marathon training has made me fear: illness and injury. If I obtain either one of those, then my training will serve a set-back. Soooo, since "Elizabeth" and "falling" are not distant relatives, I never increase my chances of (slipping and) falling by running in the rain.

On Saturday morning, I first "carbed-up" and met my mom for the previously mentioned pancakes at Ihop. Then, to the gym I went. The first 5 miles were a breeeeeeeze. I was surprised at how well I was keeping my breakfast down, LOL! But miles 6 and 7 were a little less breezy. ;0) After I had ran 7 miles non-stop, I did 5 minute intervals of walking and running, until I completed the 9th mile. While its disappointing that I can't say I ran all 9 miles, I'm still pretty proud of myself for the effort I gave it. The fact that just 16 weeks ago, I occasionally would run a long distance of 3 miles, compared to what I am accomplishing now, is not lost on me. :0)

Stay tuned...

In 2 weeks from today I will have participated in my first Half Marathon!

A Week in Review

Monday: The day I was back in action! I ran 3 miles in the morning, then immediately did my "Pump It!" class, and then went back to the gym and did 45 minutes of cardio while Wyatt was in his "Kid Fit" class...



Tuesday: The day I won week 3's weight loss challenge against Katie! (Yeah, I need to milk that for all it's worth...who knows if I'll catch another win, LOL!) From now on, our mid-week runs start to increase. I will be running 4 miles on Tuesdays instead of just the 3 miles. I didn't get a morning workout in becuase it was my morning to work in the office. However, in the evening, I powered through my 4 mile run in under 40 minutes, and then I immediately did an hour of Zumba. I'm loving everything about Zumba. I'm mastering (slight exaggeration, lol) some of the moves, its an incredible workout, and I'm starting to make acquaintances with some of the other regulars. Also, as a matter of note, I acquired my first piece of "Zumba" paraphernalia. "Zumba" is quite the brand, and it seems that everyone is rocking a Zumba headband, tank top, hat, or WHATEVER! I've started with a single rubber bracelet...it was given to me...I have forgotten to wear it since...HAHAHAHA! :0)

Wednesday: The day we didn't have MOPS so I was able to get in a 2nd "Pump It!" class for the week. Wednesdays are my rest day from the run, so I was able to go back to the gym before Awana, and do just (well, not "just"...that's a burn of over 1000 calories!) an hour of cardio. :0) Wednesday (and Thursdays, for that matter) are my new favorite TV nights! After taking a few years off from this show, I am now back to watching American Idol...and I LOOOOOOVE IT!!! I love the new judges! I love (most of) the new talent! And I love my chaxting sessions during the show...shout out to Pam! :0)

Thursday: The day I squeezed in an hour of cardio in the morning, then watched Wednesday night's premier of Survivor with Katie (I don't think I'm jumping on board the Survivor train this season), and then went back to the gym at night for a 3 mile run and an hour of Zumba.

Friday: The day the Brumbaugh-Edwards Sleepover-Swap was canceled. :0( Besties, Brady and Wyatt were gonna sleep at Auntie Jenni's house, and besties, Zachary & Bea were gonna have a sleepover at our house. Unfortunately Zack got sick, so the plans were off. The kids had been counting down the sleeps to this event for over 2 weeks, and so I had to think of a way to make Friday still super exciting for them. I knocked out an our of cardio in the morning, an hour of cardio in the evening, and then we hit up my ole pal Chuck-E-Cheese!





Saturday: THE DAY I RAN 7 MILES! Our big run this week was only supposed to be 5 miles, but since last Saturday's disaster, I HAD to get 7 miles out from under me! Not only that, we have a 9 mile run scheduled for this coming Saturday, and I did not want to go from 5 miles to 9 miles, without having accomplished a 7 mile run at some point. So I did it! I rocked it! 7 miles...in 71 minutes, 32 seconds. It felt amazing!

Sunday: The day of a HUGE accomplishment & MAJOR downfall, LOL! So after my big week of exercise, I was so disappointed to be only 1 pound down from Tuesday's weigh-in. Each day I was just hitting this road block on the scale. My eating was mostly on point...my efforts in the gym were obviously noted...but to no avail. EXCEPT, after Saturday's long run, I weighed in on Sunday morning, and I had broken that weight loss barrier! I was the lowest I had ever gotten to on this journey, and I was stoked! But emotions are fleeting. :0) We went to church, and after running to the van to stay as dry as possible from the rain, I looked at my gym bag sitting in the van, and it didn't look appealing. I asked the kids if they felt like skipping the gym. There was mixed reviews. :0/ I upped the ante by asking if they felt like skipping the gym, AND drinking hot chocolate together!? The vote was now unanimous! Although, I didn't stop there. The only thing better than hot chocolate, was...hot chocolate AND donuts! We had one more stop to make before we got home to our hot chocolate fest. ;0) And that's pretty much what I did for the rest of the day...drank hot chocolate (from scratch) with whip cream (from scratch) and snacked on donuts...all the while we cuddled with the kids on the couch. It was wonderful. I knew I would regret my decision in the morning, but for the moment, it was a nice a break. I fed my current obsession with Savannah, GA (where I will be vacationing in just 2 months and 27 days, but who's counting!?) by finishing the non-fictional novel "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil." A day of rest indeed.

But as I suspected, I gained 3 pounds, sigh, and so now I am UP 1 pound since Tuesday's weigh-in. I'm hoping to at least break even by tomorrow. We shall see. :0)

Week 3- Winner, Winner, (Low-Cal) Chicken Dinner!

Short and sweet...I won week 3!...WOOHOOO! I did great on my eating for (almost) the entire week, and with the family being healthy again, I was able to rock it at the gym too.

I lost 6 pounds this week, for a weight loss percentage of 2.94%, and Katie lost 3.6 pounds this week, for a weight loss percentage of 2.05%.

I have lost a total of 11 pounds since the challenge began, and Katie has lost a total of 15 pounds! She is incredible and I am SO proud of her! Her team at the YMCA won the 1st and 2nd week weigh-in's...I'm hoping they sweep the entire competition...how exciting that would be! :0)

Here's to hoping, and praying, and working towards history repeating itself next week! ;0)

Happy Valentines Day!

I love little holidays like Valentines Day and St. Patricks Day! Rick and I don't usually do much for Valentines Day...so there is little expectation on a day like this...which means, the little things mean a lot. :0) And the same goes with the kids...Christmas demands gobs of presents...even if you don't have the funds to provide said presents, the expectation is still there, and so disappointment awaits. That's not fun. But today, on Valentine's Day, Rick and I put together little bags for the kids from "Cupid", and surprised them with a cup of pink hot chocolate this morning at breakfast...they were THRILLED! :0)





Last week, the kids and I enjoyed our annual Valentine's Day party with our mommy & me group. One of my favorite memories about Elementary School was the holiday parties we would have in class, and especially the day we got to exchange valentine's with the other students. I'm excited that even though my kiddos (well just Wyatt for now) are home-schooled, they don't miss out on the opportunity to celebrate occasions like this with their friends, and come home with a big bag of fun little cards from their friends. :0) My favorite part of that day was spending it with my littlest sweetheart, my niece Samantha...



Another great thing about holidays are...baking orders! :0) Last week I got to bake a bunch of super fun Valentine cookies!

















The only problem with a holiday is...celebrating...and for me, celebrating usually equals...EATING! Tomorrow is the weigh-in for week 3 of the weight loss challenge, and things are looking pretty good for me to be the winner this week! :0) I.JUST.NEED.TO.HOLD.ON.

I told my husband that he didn't need to buy me anything for Valentine's but that if he did, it just couldn't involve food...NO CANDY! He said that if he couldn't buy me chocolate, then he didn't know what to get me, and so he says, "How about we just go out for lunch?" Ummmmmm, HELLO Hunny!?!?...that still involves food! I cannot be trusted at a restaurant on a holiday! HAHAHA!

7 Miles

I debated in my head as to whether I should share the following update, as I made a questionable health/fitness decision, but in the end, this is my Chubby Diary, and I want to record the (good and bad) journey of this marathon.

So after my adventure at Boot Camp on Friday night, I was scheduled to run 7 miles with my dad on Saturday morning, at Lake Miramar. Unfortunately, for whatever reason, I started to not feel well at about midnight-ish, and I ended up puking at 3am. I felt 100% better after that. But then from 5:30am-6am I had the #3's...if you know what I mean. ;0) But luckily the kids slept in until 7am (WHAT!?), and when we all got out of bed, I was feeling quite a bit better...not 100%, but OK. I was going back and forth as to whether I should cancel the run with my dad, but I decided to eat some Cherrios, and see if I could hold that down/in. And sure enough, a half hour later, nothing was going on, so I decided to continue on with my plans. I have completed a 6 mile run the 2 previous Saturdays, so 7 miles shouldn't be too bad. I grabbed my water, and becuase I felt a little under the weather, I bought a couple of bottles of Gatorade on the way also. I was set.

We started out, and the first mile is always the worst, until your body gets warmed up. I told myself, "OK, you just have to do this 6 more times." We got to 2 miles, and I wasn't feeling so good. But I told myself, "OK, just 5 miles to go. YOU CAN DO THIS!" And then, we got to 3 miles. I was dying! (Not literally) My stomach was bugging, I wasn't feeling the run. At the 3.5 mile marker my dad suggested we stop...I NEVER want to stop, but whatever, I did. We stopped for a minute, and then we started running again. I didn't have it in me. I told him to go on ahead and do the 7 miles, and that I would walk and meet him at the truck (the 5 mile marker). He went on ahead.

As I was walking, I was beginning to hate EVERYTHING about this trip. I hated the 10am sun reflecting off of the lake and beating down on my face. I hated that I had chosen to wear a 3/4 length sleeve shirt...I was longing for something cooler. I hated the smell of nature...the trees were making me sick. I was annoyed by the little caterpillars that were out in full force...I had to focus on not killing them as I ran by. This was the worse run EEEEEEVER.

I walked for a couple of minutes and as I could see my dad distancing himself even farther and farther from me, I asked myself, "Are you in or are you out!? Get GOING! YOU CAN DO THIS!"

So I started running again. I caught up to my dad, and I was just fighting through the run. I hated it. I felt sick. After about a half mile, I had to walk again. :0( We made it to the truck (5 miles) and I said lets keep going, we are making it to 7 miles. But I was dying. My dad kept encouraging me, as he knew my desire to keep going. But pretty soon even walking sucked. My dad had suggested a couple of times, "How about we run just from here to there for a little bit." But I responded with, "Yeah, that's gonna be a no-go!" Because we didn't run the whole thing, and since walking takes longer than running, time became the issue. I needed to get Wyatt to his drum lessons. We turned around, and we only ended up going a little over 6 miles.

I felt defeated. I didn't do it! I didn't do the 7 miles! I suck! I felt HORRIBLE! The only thing I wanted to do was go home and lay in bed for the next 48 hours. But instead, I took Wyatt to his drum class, and then we went home. I was so achy and nauseous. I laid down to take a nap, but my body was too uncomfortable to actually fall asleep. I tossed and turned for 3 hours. When Bea woke up from her nap, I was grateful for the excuse to get out of bed. Resting was not restful.

The rest of the day was pretty sketchy, but by evening time, I felt up to eating a little bit of food, I took an IBprofen, and I felt MUCH better. I had a great night of sleep, the kids slept until 7am again (WHAT!?) and I felt like a million bucks this morning. My body feels 100%, but my mind is still sore from the events at the lake. My joy from/about running is deflated. I never wanna run more than 3 miles again.

We showed up at church this morning, and what was on the cover of the church bulletin!?:



God is so faithful. Of course there will be tiny little beads of doubt until I actually complete the full 7 (or more) miles...but for right now, I need to "forget the former things"...I need to forget about yesterday's run. I was sick. "I need to not dwell on the past"...I need to remember that I completed two 6 mile runs just weeks before, and I did that with little issue. I need to focus on the positive achievements I made. I started out at, and love a good 3 mile run, but that's not the end to Elizabeth's running..."See that I am doing a new thing!", says the Lord...I have comfortably accomplished 7 other runs that exceed 3 miles. I WILL be able to do this! (I hope. HAHAHA!)

Boot Camp - Shmoot Camp

Along with Zumba, Boot Camp appears to be the "cool thing" in fitness these days. My girlfriend Katie is a regular at her gym's Boot Camp, and my mom has been urging me to attend private boot camp sessions with her as well..."Cheech, you will LOVE it!", she says to me. I always respond with, "Mom, who the frick LOVES boot camp!?"

But for some reason, Captain Fitness had it out for me on Friday. On Saturday, my dad & I were scheduled to run our 7 mile run together at Lake Miramar. But on Friday, he texts me and says, how about we do 10 miles instead!? Instead of texting him, I immediately called him, to which he responds, "I knew that was the way to get an actual phone call from you!" HAHAHA! I was shaking in my heels (I was at work) at the idea of running 10 miles, but I don't know how to back down from a challenge. However, it turns out he was just joking. We were sticking with the 7 miles. I escaped the big one!

So I continue with my day on Friday, and as I was running errands with the kiddos on Friday afternoon, I was chit-chatting with Katie. We were talking about our solo plans to workout that evening. And then comes the question I have been WAITING/DREADING her to ask of me for the past 5+ months..."Why don't you skip your gym plans, and come with me to my Boot Camp!?" UUUUUUGH! I gave a couple of excuses about not wanting to pay for it, but she had free passes! WAAAAAAA! I REALLY did NOT want to do this! But, again, I don't know how to back down from a challenge. I accepted. I was nervous. I know I run a lot. I know I go to a hard-core strength training class about 2x a week. I know I'm a very active person. But, I also know what these peeps do in Boot Camp, and I did NOT think I was ready for it! Before we got off of the phone, Katie told me not to wear anything "showy" (like knee-high argyle socks), and then hopefully I would just blend in with the crowd and the trainer wouldn't pick on me. Even-though I was nervous, I decided to put my game face on, and I told her, "OK, it's just an hour. I can do ANYTHING for just an hour."

So I show up to Boot Camp, and of course, I am the largest person in the room. I realize I am slimming down, but that doesn't seem to matter...in almost all of the fitness classes I take, I still seem to be the largest person in the room. Whatever.

We started off running in a circle around the gym. (I can do this for DAYS!) Then the running graduated into random drills...we did bear crawls, we did those side-ways-running-where-you-cross-your-legs-over-the-other-like-football-practice things (that was fun, I had never done that before in my life), we did jogging with high knees, and then they did these things where you are in push-up/plank position on the floor but you move your body across the gym floor by walking on your hands side-ways...I couldn't do it...I did lunges instead (before the class, Katie told me that if there wasn't something I could do, to just break out in a lunge, LOL! That was the only time I did lunges). All of that took place in about 15 minutes...I then asked my friend if the hour was over...I was done. It was exhausting. But that was just the warm up.

Then we did jumping jacks, which are always my least favorite thing since having children (bladder issues...if you fellow mamas know what I mean), and then we moved on to the most challenging part of the night. Half of the class was rowing with resistant bands for 1 minute, while the other half of the class was doing push-ups non-stop for 1 minute. After the 1 minute was up, you switched with the other half of the class. We did 3 sets of these. Push-ups are not my thing. I LOATHE push-ups. I can row all day long, I love it. I loved every one of those 60 seconds. But then came push-ups. After like 3 girl-push-ups I collapsed to the ground. The trainer had some kind of radar or something! He stopped what he was doing with the rowers, and he came and got in my face, "How are you doing!?" he asks!!! "Ummm, apparently not so good." (crying inside). I continue fighting for every weak attempt at a push-up. My girlfriend looks at me while we are doing push-ups and she says, "Oh crap, you have been made." HAHAHA! And sure enough, I had. :0( From then on, when I was rowing, he was correcting my posture, when it was time for more push-ups, he was correcting the position of my rear, when it came time for high-jumping before a resistant-sprint he got in my face and asked me, "Is that as high as you can jump!?", and at the end when we were working on abs, he of course had to come over and correct the position of my feet. Meanwhile, I didn't notice him correcting ANY OTHER PERSON in the class! Oh well. To be honest, he wasn't REALLY mean about it, and what did I expect!?...IT'S BOOT CAMP! I probably would have been disappointed if he didn't get in my face a bit!

All-in-all, it was a crazy good workout! I was super happy that I did it! And most importantly, despite all of the corrections the trainer was doing for/with me, I was quite impressed with my Boot Camp ability. There were a select few people that seemed to be "perfect" at Boot Camp, but generally speaking, everyone else had their strengths and weaknesses. Most everyone struggled just as I did, and I saw others with worse form than I had...the trainer just wasn't picking on them.

After Boot Camp, we headed to the jacuzzi for awhile, and then jumped in the indoor heated pool. It was an incredible ending to my day. I had so much fun, and I definitely plan to return. :0)

Week 2- "Dag-Nab-It!"

So. Week 2...again goes to my deserving friend, Katie. I'm afraid "Slow (well, in her case, "fast") & steady" is going to win the race. She lost just over 3 pounds this week, and I GAINED 3 pounds this week. Booo!

She has lost over 11 pounds in 2 weeks! I'm 95% excited for her, and only 5% jealous. Alright, alright...I am more like, 5% excited and 95% jealous! HAHAHA!

But not next week girlfriend!!! Watch out, I'm coming for you! (All said while eating a giant bowl of popcorn!)

It's Me Against the World...the World is Winning!

Grab yourself a hunk of cheese and a handful of grapes, becuase you are in for the "whine" of your life...

What a week. Sigh. It seems like the world is working against me. Everything that could go wrong diet-wise, did.

1. 2 words: "Aunt" - "Flo"....nothing good on the scale happens when she is in town.

2. 2 words: "Date" - "Night"...I had the BEST time out with my hunny on Friday night! We enjoyed a DELICIOUS dinner at Olive Garden (or as my sister Anna calls it, "The O.G.") and a movie...complete with snacks. I ordered the following...Lasagna rolls stuffed with ricotta, mozzarella, asiago, parmesan and romano cheese. Topped with mozzarella and seasoned breadcrumbs, baked in five cheese marinara...seriously, AMAZING...Oh, and 1170 calories! And that's not counting the 2 helpings of their standard house salad (700 calories) and 2 bread sticks (300 calories) that I ate! I did order water to drink though, HAHAHA!



3. 2 words: "Super" - "Bowl" (I'm pretty sure it's one word though, LOL)...I had planned to not indulge, but after the cards had already been stacked against my week of weight-loss, I decided to go "all in" on Sunday. We had nachos, pizza, chips, dip, and the most deliciously rich chocolate cupcakes that I made!



4. 2 words: "Sick" - "Beatrice"...again!...or, ummm...still! She was sick for about 2 weeks, but then was getting WAY better. But then all of sudden, her cold reared it's ugly head again! I took her in to the Dr. and it turns out she had the beginnings of an ear infection, and bronchitis in her chest. This time (unlike 2 weeks ago) they prescribed antibiotics, and she is doing SOOO much better! But when the kiddos are sick, it means my gym time is limited to when my husband can watch the kids so I can go solo.

5. 2 words: "Sick" - "Husband"...waaaa! Rick was so helpful watching the kiddos a couple of weeks ago when Bea was sick, but this week he was down for the count too. He's not crazy sick like Bea, but unfortunately every time I planned to squeeze in a trip to the gym, it was optimum hours for him to catch some Zzzzz's as well. :0(

So that's my whine fest!

Heavy on the calories (2 days) + light on the gym (several days) = I will be LUCKY if I break even on the scale at tomorrow's weigh-in. :0(

And Week 1 Goes To...

In my previous post entitled "Bring.It.On." I announced the start of a new 6-week weight loss competition I was participating in. My girlfriend Katie is doing the official competition through her YMCA, and I am unofficially competing against just her. :0)

Not that it was even an option, becuase my YMCA does not offer this competition, but I'm beginning to realize that she will have the edge between the 2 of us...becuase she paid the money. I told myself that I could burn comparable calories by just working out on my own (verses the 2 private training sessions, and all of the exercising she is doing on the side) and eating a low cal diet in the same parameters that she is doing. However, there is a difference when you sign-up, and put-up the money to participate in the real deal...she has an invested interest, she is SO much more committed than I am! I am REALLY proud of her will-power and determination.

She had copied the daily food journals for me that were given to her by the YMCA to record our daily food intake. On 1 of my days, all I wrote was, "I SUCK!"...and on a 2nd day, I wrote, "I SUCK EVEN MORE!"...but you won't find those comments on Katie's journal...that girl is FO-CUSED! It's not to say that she is never tempted to indulge in high calorie foods, but her response to me is always, "But, I can't. I literally can't do it." REALLY!? Because some how, I am still finding a way to do it! HAHAHA!

So the results...

You should first know that "Week 1" did not consist of 7 days...the official starting weigh-in was on a Thursday...January 20th...but the regular weigh-ins will be on Tuesdays. So actually, week 1 consisted of 12 days. From here on out though, each week will be 7 days (duh!).

Ok, so reeeeeally, here are the results...

In week 1, we both lost 8 pounds!!! :0) BUT, she weighs less than me, so her weight loss percentage is higher than mine. :0( This morning my weight loss percentage is 3.83%, and hers is 4.28%.

Congrats to the big winner Katie! She is MOST DESERVING!

But...may it never happen again! ;0)