Bring it on 2014!! Running...Budgeting...Organizing..LET'S GO!

Every year MILLIONS of people sit down on January 1st...or 2nd depending on the level of hangover you may or may not have.......................and make their "New Years Resolutions"...Things they are going to improve in their lives in the upcoming year.  There are a bunch of lists out there of the top 10 New Years Resolutions...Guess what 3 are on EVERY>SINGLE>LIST.....

1. Lose weight
2. Get out of Debt
3. Organize my life.

Guess what 3 are also on every.single.list. of UNFULFILLED resolutions....................................................

Up untill last year I was part of that statistic...I would say...this year is it...I'm going to lose these 50 pounds of left over children I'm hanging onto...

Then life happened....please read...we could not stop making more children..........................................and I was never able to fulfill the ever popular WEIGHT LOSS resolution.

This year I can look back and finialy say....I FREAKIN DID IT!!!!!!!!!!!

I FINIALLY changed my life and the quality of life of my family....

Left: April 2013 after running my first mile

Right: December 2013 after running my 300th mile about 40 pounds and a shit ton of inches lighter!!

It's no secrete I'm incredibly proud of how I've changed my life in the past year...Having 3 kids under 4 is no freakin joke....and I knew I needed to be fit and healthy to give these little gremlins the quality of life they deserve...So I committed to it...and I did it...And I can FINALLY look back and say without a doubt I did everything I could to get me to where  I am.. 

I ran my ass off...literally... 

I ate better.

I put my need to be healthy way high up on my priority list.

And it happened.

I made a goal and worked my ass of to meet it...Yes I missed out on nap times to go for a run...and nights out with friends because I was running early in the morning the next day and I just wanted to go home, drink hot tea, and not wear pants............................

But I tell you what...accomplishing this goal FEELS AMAZING!

So I was thinking the other day...what if I could look back on 2014 and say the same thing about more than just my health?

What if I could organize my house like I've always wanted to...What if I could formulate a budget for our family that accelerated paying off our college debts...What if I could join the minority of people that actually stick to their "New Years Resolutions?" 

I've been searching Pintrest, Google +, and reading quite a bit lately on how to accomplish said goals..I've found some AWESOME resources...

I found the blog A Bowl Full of Lemons while I was pregnant with Tyler and I remember thinking...Yeah...that'll NEVER happen. Well my friends it's happening in 2014...I've already combined my TWO junk drawers into one organized one. Boom.

What am I going to do with my now empty other junk drawer? I don't know....there's just so much room for activities... So many possibilities!! 

Also happening in 2014....a wicked family budget...and by wicked I mean freakin awesome.  I have quite a few friends that follow Dave Ramsey and have had a lot of success.  I found this Debt Reduction Calculator that lets you list your debts and interest rates...then you can chose to continue paying the minimums, start a snowball, add extra money to your snowball...there's a bunch of different options and scenarios...and my favorite part...it tells you when you will have things paid in full and shows you how much you will be paying in interest over the coarse of the loan...  It's awesome. 

How can you write about paying off debt? That's such a personal thing!?! Yeah so is weight loss and I kicked that in the ass...I don't need to keep up with the Joneses...I am the freakin Joneses. 

I kid....But seriously...It all comes back to the quality of life I want to create for my kids...I wanted them to have a fit, healthy mom that can chase them around for hours, climb snow mountains, give piggy back rides home from the park, and pull their hefty bodies up gigantic sledding hills just so we can go down again. 

I also want them to live in a peaceful home...which includes not having to hunt for 15 minutes for ONE FREAKING GLOVE...............................I crave organization....like twizzlers.

I have a lot going on in 2014... 2 half marathons, a 25k (that's 15.5 miles for those of you grabbing your calculator), and MAYBE....MAAAYYYYYBE my first full marathon... MAYBE. 

My baby sister is GOOOOING TO THE CHAPEL AND SHE'S GOOOONNNA GET MAAAAARRRIED....I'm writing one hell-a-ba speech. I.cannot.wait.

My baby turns 1, my monster turns 3, and my big boy turns 5!!!!!!!!!!!!

Dana and I will celebrate 6 years of wedded bliss, 8 years of owning our own business, and make countless new memories of this life we love so much. 

All while staying healthy, organizing my life, and getting out of debt. 

Bring it on 2014....Bring.It.On.

Complete Randomness and the Holiday Hustle Race Recap!

It's been awhile!! But I haven't been sitting around eating twizzlers and mashed potato sandwiches

................... I've been BUSY getting our home sweet home ready for Christmas!! 

This is was last weekend's Christmas with my sister and her finace...Christmas 1 of 4.

I've spent A LOT of time sewing a quilt for said sister's Christmas present...I'm SO thankful for my crafty friends that literally do everything but cut and sew my projects together.  They tell me how much fabric...draw my pattern...come over when the friggin RUBIX CUBE of a pattern is IMPOSSIBLE to put together...And Max...don't forget Max...he didn't help the project go any faster. 

TA DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA Chevron Rag Quilt. I will be doing a HOW TO but not unitll AFTER Christmas. You can tell by the lack of blogging going on that this time of year is nudging me closer to that comfy, cosey,  padded room.

One of my biggest fears of the winter is how stir crazy I've gone the past few years... But I'VE BEEN PREGNANT for the past 4 years of my life which in my world is not all roses.............................

So I'm actually looking forward to this winter with the crazies...Partly because I'm doing things with them that I previously wouldn't...

The best advice I've ever been given is to take my boys outside for 30 minutes every day.  Even if that's as simple as a walk to the market that's 2 blocks from our house or driving around town searching for the biggest snow piles to play on.  Not only is it good for the babes but it gives me and GUARANTEED 30 minutes when we get home of hot chocolate and snuggles while we watch Wreck it Ralph...Then Max gets his second wind and we're off again. 

I've also been busy schooling all the kids at the Treehouse.

BUT in all seriousness this time of year is a double edge sword.  It's a time when some people jump off the healthy bandwagon and say EFF IT! It's the holidays and I'm eating mashed potato sandwiches...................................................But I'm sticking to my everything in moderation mantra.  The first week of December was B-E-A-utiful in Michigan! 45 degrees and perfect running conditions.  I rocked the shit out of my lunch hour run. NEVER have I ran over 5 miles with an average pace in the 9:30's. 

Then Mother Nature decided to catch on that it's December and we live in MICHIGAN and we got 7 inches of snow over the weekend. But I've just kept running. It's hard. Like running in sand hard. 

Though the highlight of December...The holiday hustle.  Not because of my time. Not because it was my first race pushing Tyler. Not because it was 20 degrees and I still ran. This was by far one of my proudest moments of my entire fitness journey because last year at this time I was 9 months pregnant with our 3rd babe in 3 1/2 years... I could hardly go from sitting to standing without help. I couldn't get out of bed without help. I was incredibly depressed. I hated playing with my kids. I was a very unpleasant person to be around. Everyday was a challenge and every morning I woke up and nothing had changed. As I've wrote about before...Tyler's pregnancy was horrible.  That was the first time in my life I've felt helpless. LIke there as nothing I could do that would make my days easier.  

For the finial event of this year  I thought it was only appropriate to push the little human that taught me so much before he was even born. So we packed up the entire circus and off the the race we went!

It's about 70 degrees in that little tent...He was warm as toast.

The highlights from this race: 

1. Ugly cried the first mile because....I can't believe my baby is turning one. I can't believe my baby is turning one. I've came so far in a year. I can't believe my baby is turning one. I can't believe my baby is turning one. 

2. There was NO passing people. This course was TIGHT and really hard to even just run with a stroller let alone pass people. So after I finished crying I gave up my goal of finishing under 30 minutes and just enjoyed the race.  

3. My hair COMPLETELY fell out of it's ponytail at mile 2 so I had to stop and put it back together. I need new ponytails. 

4. That was the hilliest 3 miles I've ever ran!! Not just bunny hills but nearly HILL OF DEATH hills the ENTIRE TIME!! I swear Ty gained 40 pounds by mile 2.5.

5. I will never forget seeing my sweet big boy waiving like a crazy person yelling GO MOMMY!! as I crossed the finish line. Priceless. 

We crossed the finish line at 30:44...Not the under 30 I was hoping for but 4 minutes faster than my last 5k pushing a stroller !!!

 Tyler was sound asleep. Max was MISERABLE and had been crying since I left because he wanted to "Run-to-Run with MOMMMMYYYYY".

We took some pictures and retreated to a toasty warm mini van. Yeah I rock that baby with PRIDE! 

Hubby was so excited to be there. Really he's amazing. Corralling 2 restless babes while I run for 30 minutes. In FREEZING weather. He is such a love. 

I apologize for the randomness that is this post.  But I wanted to make sure you know I'm still running. Still kicking ass and taking names. 

I'm working on a really big project for you all that will kick off your New Year in a seriously badass way. Stay tuned!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

 
Left: December 2012...8 months pregnant with baby number 3
Right: December 2013. Just. Keep. Going.

Monday Motivation!!!!!!

Thanksgiving is OVER and in 3 short weeks we will be celebrating CHRISTMAS!! I love the holidays for so many reasons but what's the best is the new traditions we are starting with our kids.  Elf on the shelf, Christmas Eve jammies, baby Jesus's birthday cake, making cookies and ornaments for friends.....Pintrest is the best.

I said this week was going to be a look at my 2014 plans BUT I spent all last night sewing a new rag quilt for Tyler so no the 2014 preview isn't quite ready...BUT here's some MONDAY MOTIVATION...on Tuesday...I know............................................................

One of my goals in November was to run 55 miles.  When I started running in April I ran about 6 miles a month.......Someone asked me the other day how I went from NOT running to running a half marathon...I'm not kidding when I say one block at a time.  I would start out walking and then my goal would be to run to the stop sign on the next block. Then the next time I went I would want to run to the tree past the stop sign...then the driveway past the stop sign past the tree...it just kept building.  When I was setting my November goals 55 miles seemed just outside of my comfort zone.  I consistently run about 12 miles/week.  So that would have put me right around 48...I thought with Thanksgiving adding a few extra miles would be a good idea since I was going to eat my weight in mashed potato sandwiches.....what...you've never put mashed potatoes on bread????????? You haven't lived.......................................................

On the Saturday after Thanksgiving we were staying in our hometown so I bundled up Tyler and out for a run we went.  Our home town had the first snow of the year the week before but by snow I mean 2 inches....and NO ONE shoveled their sidewalks..........................so I'm pushing a stroller through snow and ice packed sidewalks and streets for 3.7 miles. It sucked. I was so glad it was over and was excited for my Sunday morning run with NO stroller and to finish the last 4 miles of my 55 mile goal.

We went to Thanksgiving at my sisters house...ate food...including mashed potato sandwiches...took naps...and then we were talking about something and someone said...."Well since tomorrow is December 1st...."

WHAT THE HELL WHAT!?!?!? ?TOMORROW IS DECEMBER 1st!??!?!??!?!???!?!?! NOT MONDAY!?!??!???!?! How the hell did I eff that one up!?!?? I blame the gremlins....they mess with my mind.

So here I am...45 minutes from my moms house where all my running clothes are...celebrating Thanksgiving with my family...with 4 miles to run before midnight.

I had 2 choices.

1. Don't go and eat another mashed potato sandwich.
2. Leave a little early and run really fast so we could still go to a movie with my sister like we had planned that night.

I polled my badass running friends and the consensus was...I'm so close...4 miles away...and I would be really disappointed if I din't finish what I started. So we left a little early and I ran really fast and finished those 55 miles!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

BADA-BINNNNNGGGGGGGGGG

55 miles in November!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Then we went to the movies and I ate some buttery popcorn with absolutely no remorse what so ever!!!!!!!

Now onto December!! My goals this month are:

1. Log every ounce of food I put in my mouth....I'm on a 16 day streak of literally adding everything I've ate into MyFitnessPal...the good...bad...and ugly.

2. Run 50 miles...This number makes me happy and if there's anything Ive learned about goals it needs to be something that makes you happy..either pushes you out of your comfort zone, beats a previous goal, something that at the end of it you will say hell yes I did that.

This was one of those days...I went out for my usual 3 mile loop with the Max Man.  THe weather was PERFECT. 40 degrees and sunny...Max and I are running a Holiday Hustle on Saturday night so I wanted to see how fast I could go to get a good idea of a goal for Saturday...When I finished and looked at my time I was UNDER 30 MINUTES!!!!!!!!!! That's huge for me while pushing that hefty gremlin!! Note his "Glubs" and how he's showing off his muscles.  That kid...he's something else.

 Monday Motivation

Left: April 2013...........Right: November 2013

JUST>KEEP>GOING!!!!!!!!

Monday Motivation...Weigh in before Thanksgiving!

It's Thanksgiving week!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I love the holidays. Since we've had kids it's become even more fun....Making our own traditions and such...

BUT before all the eating and napping that WILL happen this week I needed to measure up!! It's also the end of my 30 day Paleo Challenge...I'd say I followed it about 80% of the time and it did make a huge difference.  

LEFT: October 16, 2013

Weight 177.0

Left Over Baby Belly: 38

Waist: 41

Hips: 45

Thigh: 25

RIGHT: November 19, 2013

Weight 169

Left Over Baby Belly: 37

Waist: 37

Hips: 43

Thigh: 24

That's a total loss of 8 pounds...and the MOST IMPORTANT PART.....8 INCHES!!!!!!!! It has been a LONG time since I've lost that many inches!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

BUT the BEST NEWS OF THE ENTIRE MONTH!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!

THOSE are the jeans I wore BEFORE I was married!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And I actually wore them in public!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And pealed them off as soon as I got home but still they are ON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm also 10 miles from my goal of 55 miles in November!!!! 

I run...a lot. And it's actually incredibly peaceful to run in the early morning.  However there are a few downfalls of my love of running.  I've stopped drinking alcoholic beverages..........GASP! I know...lame...But here's why...

1. I have 3 children with the oldest being 4....there's a 100% chance that I will be up no less than 2 times each night and a 99% chance I'll be required by my little gremlins to throw some cereal in a bowl and turn on a show BEFORE 7 a.m. I have not slept through the night since our babe was born 10 months ago. 

2. My love for running and feeling my clothes get looser and looser is SO MUCH MORE FULFILLING!!!!

3. A night of boozing it up with my friends ends in standing in our pantry...eating every cracker, cookie, or loaf of bread I can find...pants optional...........................................................................

Another downfall of my love of running is I miss nap time quite often...Being as cold as it is I don't like taking the babes with me as much so I go on Dana's lunch hour...mid nap time...by the time I run, shower, and eat lunch..the babes are up and ready to gremlin it up for the rest of the day. 

But it's so worth it.

I ran the 3 mile loop I run 3 days a week with my pace in the 8's for the FIRST TIME EVER!! Being that only 7 months ago I could hardly run ONE mile in 15:30 without puking after.............................That's pretty freakin good. 

I've been doing 5-1 minute planks for the last weekish...It's the longest minute of my life. That shit is hard. And Tyler thinks is GREAT fun.  

This challenge has ALMOST made me feel bad for the 3 minute plank I may or may not have made my volleyball team do...almost.......GI Jane wouldn't feel bad for them...

This is a new game...I put each kid on my legs and do leg lifts...I start with Tyler who is about 20 pounds and end with Zack who's pushing 45........ Tyler is to easy....Zack is to hard...Max is juuuuuuuust right. And he LOVES it. But Zack is the one that calls me out if I don't do them..."Mom...you didn't do your exercises with us....come on! It will be so fun!"

Having a membership at a gym with no childcare was NOT a good idea...So I make do with what I have...which is A LOT of small children...

Up next in the running department is a Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving Day...that's totally going to justify the shit ton of pumpkin pie I eat............... Holiday Hustle the first weekend in December...This one will be fun. We're taking the kids...I'm pushing 2 and Dana's pushing 1...I'm still going to beat him don't worry..........And we run through neighborhoods that are all decorated for Christmas...our stroller will have Christmas lights and jingle bells and be BLARING some Christmas music.  Then the following weekend is my first 10K!! Who says you can't run during the winter!?!

Here's some challenges I'm currently doing if anyone wants to join in the fun.

1. Plank...They suck..big time.

2. For the next month I am counting every single thing I put in my mouth on My Fitness Pal...Follow me! Sandrewsabc

3. Running...and more running. At least 12 miles/ week to be exact.

4. Starting the day after Thanksgiving and going through New Years Day I am streaking. Get your mind out of the gutter.............................................................Every day I will run and or do 30 minutes of some sort of workout.  I would really like to run and see how much of a streak I can do BUT I ran 6 days in a row last week and my knees were NOT happy with me. I feel better going every other day and doing something more low impact on the off days.   I read a blog the other day about a man that started a running streak and just celebrated his 2 years of streaking!! 2 full, solid years. Never missing a day.  He started as a 225 pound, out of shape dad and is now going strong as a 180 pound marathon running extraordinaire. It was pretty awesome. So streak on streakers!! 

Next week's post is going to be my New Years Resolution...basically how kick ass 2014 is going to be!!

Monday Motivation
Left: 169 Pounds...Exactly 40 pounds from when I started this blog.
Right: I stopped weighing myself a few weeks before when I tipped the scales at 225...And I still had a month before that sweet babe came into the world.

And yes...almost all of my "before" pictures I'm pregnant....If we don't have any babies in 2014 it will be my first calendar year of NOT being pregnant since we were married in 2008....................................... 

Looking Forward to my 28th Year!!

Happy Birthday to MEEE!!

Happy Birthday to MMMMEEEE!!

Today is my birthday... na na na na na na

Everyone always says birthdays are more fun when you're young...I disagree.  Especially this year.  I'm SO EXCITED for what this year has in store for me and my sweet little family.

It seems like for years on end I have been making babies, feeding babies, changing diapers, and making more babies...

This year... I can say with confidence...that WE WILL NOT BE HAVING ANY BABIES!!  Now let's keep in mind that the only one of our babes that was in the plans was the Max Man...aka the busiest little body in our house... God blessed us with our other two for sure but they were not planned by us...The moral of this paragraph is we are incredibly irresponsible adults....but I'm 99% sure I WON'T BE PREGNANT THIS YEAR!!

So why is that exciting?!?! Because I've started to fill up my running schedule with some AWESOME events.  From 5k's to Snow Shoes Runs to 1/2 Marathons...My 28th year of life is going to be pretty freakin awesome.

It technically kicked off last weekend with the Ann Arbor Turkey Trot.  The last time I ran this race was in 2011...5 Months after Max Man came shooting into this world. It was my second 5k I had ran and had been actively running for about 3 months.  The things I remember about this raace 2 years ago include:

1. Standing at the start line with one of my lightning fast runner friends thinking I could at least keep her in my sight...

2. Seeing said lightning fast runner friend speed ahead of me after 100 yards.

3. Seeing the mile 2 marker and wanting to jump on the stroller that just went past me.

4. Seeing the mile 3 marker and thinking that last .1 miles was the LONGEST stretch of the entire race.

5. Crossing the finish line just under 37 minutes....Meeting my goal to just be faster than my last race which I was by almost 2 minutes.  BOOM.

6. The awesome video my runner friends husband took of me chugging to the finish line.  I can't find it...but as soon as I do I will share it with all of you...But basically it was this....

The other fun fact about this course is it's a 3 mile loop around Hudson Mills Park that my bff and I walked the spring after our first babes were born.   We would try and run from a bench to a trash can...and if we were feeling daring UP a hill...And I would think..SOMEDAY I HOPE I CAN RUN THIS. But I thought that day would be A LONG time from now. 

3/8/2010: Me and Zack on our first walk around Hudson Mills

Fast forward to November 9, 2013...I ROCKED THE SHIT OUT OF THAT 3 MILE LOOP!!! My goal going into that race was to just beat my last 5k time which was 29:31. 

I love race day...There were quite a few of us from our little town that had made the trek to Hudson Mills to run which made this day that much more fun.  And guess who jumped on the running wagon.......................................... This dead sexy man...Not only is he running semi regularly in a running group throughout the week, but also VOLUNTEERED to come run in this race with me! I'm so proud of him...Running has completely changed my life and it's really nice to be able to share some of it with him...even if he complains the ENTIRE way there and home...ENTIRE.WAY.

Do you see that number 1 he's holding up...it's because he thought he could beat me...Mr. I've-ran-3-times-to-prepare-for-this-race........Mr. I-carb-loaded-last-night-with-a-6-pack. 

RIIIIIIIIIIIIght. 

We lined up at the start line and took some more pictures because that's how I roll...Consider this fair warning friends...If I take your picture...you most likely will end up on my instagram or my blog....Don't worry...it just means you're practically famous.

I wasn't particularly nervous about this race...But I think part of that was the large group of people I knew there.  I'm telling you...there's this support system runners have that's unlike anything else I've ever experienced.  You don't know have know each other well...just know that we are all doing this to better ourselves.  I didn't feel part of this group until I deemed myself a runner...which was DUMB because as soon as I took my first step out the door I was in. 

We sang the National Anthem...crowded the start line...the gun shot and we were off. And I just ran.  I didn't think about anything really. 3 of the 4 women I started the race with were seasoned runners and I knew I wanted to keep within eyesight of them...so I just kept running.  I didn't get tired. I didn't slow down. The park we were running at didn't have any cell phone service so my Map My Run wouldn't work.  I literally had no idea how fast I was going or how far I had gone.  It was kind of nice...peaceful almost. When knew we were getting close to the only hill on the loop which would also be the end of mile 2.  I felt like I was flying.  I still wasn't tired. I still didn't slow down and up the hill I ran. 

Then I started thinking about the last time I ran this race...and how incredibly hard running up this hill was for me.  I remember hating ever step...thinking I needed to walk....thinking I couldn't do it...hating this stretch of the race but knowing how amazing it was going to feel crossing that finish line.  Then I thought back to the days of just walking this path...and coming to this hill thinking how the HELL am I going to make it up there!??! And here I am...running...RUNNING FAST...up this hill...I just kept running faster and stronger.  It felt so incredibly good. So good.

I crossed the finish line 28 minutes and 36 seconds after I started... 28:36. That's an average pace of 9:13/mile...and IN THE TOP 20 IN MY AGE GROUP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 20th out of 77 to be exact. 

About 4.5 minutes FASTER than this guy...Mr. I'm-going-to-beat-my-wife-that's-been-kicking-ass-and-taking-names-since-April.

One of my favorite parts of the race is watching the rest of the people finish.  It's awesome to see the pride they have for what they've just accomplished. I ugly cry...every time...without fail. 

So what do you do after crushing your last 5k time by almost a minute!?! Take some pictures with the awesome people that inspire me to keep moving. To keep getting better, faster, and stronger.

That Skinny Hooker that introduced me to this whole concept of running......

Some awesome women from our church....that may or may not have me convinced to do a Triathlon in the spring.........................................................................................

And a few members of the group that got Dana started on the running train.

So what else have I been doing to continue my road to fitness and health? 

1: Buying cute winter running clothes...TJ MAXX rocks my socks. Bright colors, cheap prices....One thing I've noticed about my running attire is it's gotten brighter and tighter...Dana's a fan. 

2. Buying things to deck out my stroller for the Holiday Hustle I'm running in December...It's a night time run through neighborhoods that are all lit up for the holidays...I'm pushing the Max Man who loves everything Christmas...I can't wait to see his face when I turn the lights on on his stroller.

3. Running with two goons.

4. Running in the snow.

5. And trying not to eat ALL THE CANDY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My 27th year was pretty awesome...New baby...new friendships...making big steps to a healthier life...

But my 28th year...is going to be FREAKING AMAZING. 

Left: Turkey Trot 2011...about 200 lbs Finished in 36 minutes and 41 seconds

Right: Turkey Trot 2013...172 lbs Finished in 28 minutes and 36 seconds

Just.Keep.Going.

Monday Motivation. Catching up and weighing in!!

I didn't write a whole blog post last week...It's been CRAZY. You know...3 kids...two dogs...coaching...hubby...holidays...whatvs. If you want more frequent awesomeness in your life...or to completely creep my existence. You can follow me on instagram @ sandrewsabc.

So let's catch up. 

A little over 2 weeks ago I was asked to join a paleo challenge.  If you're not familiar with The Paleo Diet Google will be happy to inform you of the ins and outs. Basically...You eat a salad or things that eat salad...Think Paleo...Paleolithic...Did they have this back before processed food consumed the world? Who doesn't love a good challenge? I was in. 

I followed a format that I found on Pintrest and committed to at least a week.  Yeah the challenge is a month but to be completely honest...I have been kicking ass and taking names in the fitness department and there was NO FREAKING WAY I was going to commit to a month of something not knowing how it was going to work with my body.  

Day 1: Take pictures and measurements and PUT THE SCALE AWAY FOR THE NEXT 7 DAYS. Fine. No weighing in for 7 days.  I had stopped losing weight and it had been a month or more since I'd dropped many inches...But I was perfectly ok with that...I truly am in the best shape of my life and I know as long as I keep working my body will keep changing. 

Weight: 177 pounds

Leftover baby gut: 38 inches 

Waist: 41 inches

Hips: 45 inches

Thigh: 25 inches

This was right after running an 8:41 mile...hence the I'm-so-incredibly-proud-of-myself smile.

So the week started. I ate a lot of fruit, chicken, and more fruit, and more chicken.  And if I was feeling daring I would mix some onions in with my chicken. 

Only once did I say, "I bet if they had this during the paleolithic era they would have eaten it." 

Eating incredibly healthy for a week wasn't bad.  And it really helped to ditch some of my remaining bad habits...like night time snacking...It's the devil. So instead of popcorn I would have pineapple and a cup of raspberry tea. 

I continued my usual running schedule and within 2 days I could see a difference especially in my stomach. But no weighing in until day 7. 

I also started to drink a lot more water.  If any of you have tips and tricks for water consumption puh lease help a sister out....I suck at remembering to drink water. Suck like..Oh it's 10:00 at night and all I've had to drink today was a cup of coffee...quick...let's drink a liter of water right before going to bed and get up 584 times to pee. 

So day 7 finally rolled around and on the scale I stepped...

175.

WHAT?!??!??! I lost 2 pound!??!?! It's been MONTHS since I've lost 2 pounds in a week!! BOOOO YA! 

I was pretty excited. 

However...even with the 2 pound weight loss in a week I was going to change up my eating for the following week.  I whole heartily believe in everything in moderation.  Remember my ridiculous addiction to twizzlers? I couldn't tell you the last time I even thought about eating a twizzlers...But as soon as I started this challenge and told myself I COULDN'T have it....It took every ounce of will power not to go buy the super king size bag and eat the entire thing...while hiding in the pantry...so the kids couldn't take any.

So..Week 2 was something like this...fruit, chicken, fruit, chicken, fruit chicken, whole grain english mufifn with peanut butter. So I would say about 85% Paleo and 15% everything in moderation.  This seemed to help with the mental battle I had the first week because the overwhelming urge to clean the dollar store out of every candy known to man subsided. 

The last day of the second week rolled around and I had finally kicked my night time snacking addiction...though  I was still eating pineapple and drinking raspberry tea...and I felt really good.  I got on the scale and...........

173!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Holy shit 2 more pounds!! So this time I wanted to check the inches...because that really is what tells me if my body is changing... 

Weight 173

Left over baby belly: 38 (same.................................... bloated..........#ladyprobs)

Waist: 39(-2)

Hips: 44(-1)

Thigh: 24(-1)

 

So in 2 weeks I lost 4 pounds and 4 inches...After a solid 2 months of not dropping any weight or inches at all.  It really is all about what you eat.  Will I continue with the Paleo challenge. Of course...It's a challenge..However  I will continue to modify some things.  Well then you're cheating...NO...I'm being realistic.  I'm not going to mess with all the good I've done. Everything in moderation.  

What else? 

Halloween...It rained. But we still went trick or treating...Like champs.

One of my biggest motivations for wanting to get healthy are my children.  They deserve a fit, active mom.  And lord knows if I don't want to be locked in a padded room I better be able to exhaust these little gremlins so they SLEEP! 6 months ago...If Zack had asked me to give his 45 pound self a piggy back ride for the half a mile we had left to walk I would have told him that daddy had bigger muscles and he could do it.  Now..I hauled that little man all the way back to our house...in the rain...up hill both ways. 

I've been keeping up with running really well.  I'm doing a race every month through the winter.  This coming weekend I have a Turkey Trot.  I ran this same race 3 years ago in about 36 minutes...Saturday I hope to be under 27 minutes. I can't wait. 

I'm also running a Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving Day back in Illinois with my hubby so if any of my friends from ILL want to join let's do it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This race is for fun and to make me feel better about the amount of food I WILL consume that day. 

Speaking of my hubby he's jumping on the running train! We ran with a group of friends last week and he went the full 3 miles! 3.16 to be exact. But he still made me push the kids...........................................This running group was awesome.  There were walkers, experienced marathoners, new runners, old runners, and everything in between.  Everyone was so encouraging and supportive.  Surrounding yourself with positive people is such an important part of being successful.  

On Fridays I run with a group of moms.  This is my favorite run of the week.  Partially because we solve all the problems of the world in about 30 minutes.  Also because some of them don't have littles to push in a stroller and are  awesome and volunteer to push my heafties.  So I usually hand them off right before we start a hill...It works really nicely.  

These two are such great running partners. 

I've set a pretty lofty goal for November but where does greatness happen..........OUTSIDE OF YOUR COMFORT ZONE! I average about 30-35 miles/month...November...I will run 55 miles. Why 55? It felt doable...but challenging. I'm 3 days in and 6 miles down. I need to run about 14 miles/week.  This coming from the girl that ran 1 mile/ week 8 months ago........who would have thought. 

I've really dropped the ball with the weight training.  But that cute little sleeping child above...Doesn't like to sleep at night. So when my alarm goes off at 5:30 a.m. and I've only slept for 3 hours...I'm not jumping out of my nice warm bed. Period. But it's a new week...and his top teeth are almost through...Here's to hoping. 

Left: April 2013 209ish pounds

Right: November 2013 173 pounds

JUST.KEEP.GOING