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.