Happy New Year/ Whole 30 Eve

Well, I have to say, it's been a tough year. Whether it's the acrid nature of everything you see on TV, the horrible Midwest weather, or being in a job/position that is not what I want, I am ready for 2018 to be over. All cards on the table. I have really not been a good steward of myself this year. I have drank too much, eaten too much, not always been as active as I wanted... And so I start the new year in a physical and metaphysical deficit. My whole being could use a much needed break. And so it is with that intention in mind, that I have decided to start the year doing the Whole 30 program in January, which will actually make it the Whole 31 for me. Since I had not knowledge of the "program" until last week, I thought I would share how I have prepared for it. I started by searching the internet for information, which there is no shortage of. I found some very helpful sites that I believe will make this month easier than if I went into it winging it. First I started with a couple of blogs that offered "30 slow cooker Whole 30 compliant freezer meals".  I found them by searching Pinterest for "Whole 30". I decided to go through the ones I had found (Family Freezer and New Leaf Wellness were two) and chose 14 that I though best suited our tastes and needs. There is no point in making something I know we won't like. I then made a shopping list, and looked through my local circulars to find the best(cheapest) places to fill it.

  Even though I had not intention of buying the book with all of the information online, I was at Costco, and decided that having a reference, as well as some additional recipes couldn't hurt.

  It took me about 6 hours of meal prepping to do all 14 freezer/crock-pot meals. When you think about it, that is a very small investment to have meals ready to go on the days I may not feel like cooking and would otherwise, possibly, make bad decisions that would derail the program. I numbered each bag, along with the recipe name, to make it easier to find the corresponding recipe. I then put all of the recipes I planned to use in a binder, making it effortless for me or my boyfriend to have the information we needed at hand. I then made a calendar to hang on the fridge, so there was no reason to ask "What's for dinner?".

The last thing I did was make the homemade spice blends and sauces (mayo, ketchup, Sunshine sauce) to be ready to go tomorrow morning. I will be keeping myself accountable by blogging how each day went, along with what I ate and how I feel. I hope if you have questions or are on the same journey this month, you will contact me and we can help support each other through our healthy goals.

Day 7

So, today is day 7 of my 24 day first Advocare challenge. I can't believe how fast it is going by and that I still have not broken down and had coffee or cheese. I was so afraid that I would have terrible cravings or walk around in a stupor without my usual three cups of coffee in the morning, nothing like it!

I also managed to run not one, but two 5ks this weekend, one on Friday night and one on Sunday morning. I had really slacked off on my running over the winter, and I managed to have my best time in months on Friday, and only be slightly behind that on Sunday.

 Today I set myself up to finish the Cleanse phase strong by prepping meals for my boyfriend and I to eat for lunch and dinner. A couple of days ago I was getting a little discouraged, the fiber had my abdomen in knots and I felt like giving up, then I got on the scale. I was 6 lbs down from day 1 and I have maintained that 6 lbs off. That has really motivated me to go for it in the Max phase and get the most I can out of the program.

Yummy breakfast wrap!

Starting Again (and again and again) Day 1!

So many restarts and fails since my last post. Two weeks ago I ran a half marathon at Disney, and although I finished, I finally knew things had to change. I was 25 minutes slower than the last half I ran 4 years ago, I was so tired, and the pictures(eek). Things need to change and I have to change them.   

So today I started Advocare's 24 day challenge. No matter how much I worked out, my nutrition was not in check and I know you can't out workout a bad diet. 

I've seen some very positive results from people on this challenge and am dedicated to changing myself.   I got my pack in the mail last Thursday, but decided I needed to plan so that I could meal prep before starting it.     I spent a couple of hours figuring out what my meal plan would be and prepping the meals, snacks, and bags with my supplements.

I am glad I did! Today went so smooth. I was most afraid of not having my coffee, I was shocked that I didn't even miss it. I had appointments today and was stuck in traffic for an hour, so glad I packed my snacks, no temptation to stop somewhere. I really think I can do this. I stuck to the plan, got 60 mins of exercise, and feel good about the day.   I'm not quite ready to share the before pics I took, but I want to be accountable so I will post my highs and lows. Wish me luck.

Epic Fail......for awhile, but I am back at it.

I was really "Gung Ho" about everything in my last post.

Ready to go! No one could stop me!

.......Except myself :(


After all that planning, one bad day(extremely bad night really) sent me crashing back into old (bad)habits and off my plan.


So, don't tell my other self this, but I quietly started a new plan. And guess what, I'm sticking to it.


I decided that one of the things that I have really missed is my regular running. We lived in an area for 2 years that was not very conducive to running, and the gym was 30 minutes away, so most days I could come up with a hundred excuses not to run, and did.

You see, I never ran as a kid, or in high school, or in college. I started running when I was 38. Very slowly obviously. The year I turned 40 I completed 12 half marathons, one a month, all over the country. It was a huge win for me after my divorce. It was my way of telling myself "I had this". I still have all those shirts and bibs and medals and lots more.

Mine are on the left, the boys are on the right(because I sometimes make them run with me).

But this past year, I've only run a couple 5k's, and some months I didn't run a single mile.

So two weeks ago I programmed my trusty Nike Running app(it has tracked all my miles all these years and I love it) to coach me for a 10k coming up in November. Ask anyone, Nike coaching for anything is not exactly a Couch to 5k. They come out of the gate serious. But so far......

I am rocking it!!!

I've also cut my portions by about a 1/3 and have at least one fresh smoothie a day in place of a meal(because I am terrible at getting my fruits and veggies in otherwise).

I decided one little change at a time is how I am going to accomplish this. Every time I try to make 50 big sweeping changes at the start of a week or the start of a month. I fail. So this time I am concentrating on one day and one decision at a time. Sometimes I make the right ones and sometimes I don't, and I'm trying really hard not to beat myself up when that happens.

Wish me luck, again. I'm off for my scheduled 4 mile run today. I got this!

Like a turtle through mud...

So, it's been almost a week and although I haven't started all the changes I have planned yet, I have implemented at least some of them.

I have been able to make sure I work out almost everyday, in some form at least. I have been very careful about what types of food I've been eating(except for a few lapses in judgement involving potato chips.

I did do some meal planning for this week so that I had everything I need to at least make healthy dinners. And next week I will be do meal prep on the weekend to make eating healthy a no brainer.

So far I am down 2 pounds, but I figure that is mostly water weight, and I can feel the difference 50-100 squats are making.

Grinning and baring it.

Where to start.

I am starting this blog because I am tired of trying to improve my health, body, and stress levels and failing/quitting over and over again.


A little about me. I have one horribly failed marriage behind me, two great teenage boys(so I guess this isn't baby weight anymore), a wonderful man to share life with that makes me laugh every morning when I wake up and before I go to sleep at night, and a career that is very stressful but often rewarding.

I am a very creative and handy person.  I have made furniture, sewn quilts and clothing, love gardening all summer long, crochet obsessively, rehabbed old houses, and pretty much anything else that strikes my fancy.

The year I turned 40 I ran a half marathon every month, which was probably the best shape I've ever been in. And it has been all downhill, physically, since then. In the last 3 years I've gained 40 pounds and am at my heaviest ever(excluding when I was pregnant). I have been trying for the last year to get back to the active and healthy lifestyle I managed in my "year of running". I have tried infomercial DVD and diet plans, Pinterest 30 day challenges, crazy cleansing rituals, and have not been able to stick to any. So I have been reading and gathering lots and lots of information and want to try to incorporate what seems like a plan I can actually stick to.

Where does this blog come in?

I need accountability. My boyfriend tells me it doesn't matter what weight I am, I am beautiful. I can still run a 5k in under 30 minutes. But I know that I need to lose some of the weight and improve my eating habits for me. As I get older, it will only get harder and the health ramifications of excess abdominal fat as well as weight are things I'd like to avoid. So I will post my progress here, and even if no one comes to my blog to read it, it is out there and if I fail, I fail publicly. Maybe that is what I need, to stop hiding behind baggier and baggier cloths and put it all out there for everyone to see.


So here goes. Here are my measurements from today:

Weight: 163.6 lbs
Waist: 36 inches
Hips: 41 inches
Chest: 40 inches
Thighs: 25/24 inches


I have a exercise plan in place that includes weight training as well as cardio and an eating plan that focuses on eating non processed, whole foods.

So, if you read this I hope you cheer me on, if not in the end I have to cheer myself on to really make it work anyway.