Running back to Weight Watchers....and still loving Isagenix

It's Tuesday again!  That means Tuesday Night Running Group is tonight!  Woo hoo!

I'm a little worried...my knees have been super sore.  I'm so glad I found this group, because Chrystal said she's not going to progress the runs until she thinks we're all ready for that.  Which is wonderful, because I've never been able to move through one of these programs as fast as most people.  

Oh...and I joined Weight Watchers again yesterday. Boo!  I hate you Weight Watchers, and I love you.   I love the results, I don't love the tracking.  I don't love realizing how much food I've been eating, and I don't love being hungry.  Haha.  

I've been doing Isagenix on and off for months, and I haven't lost a pound...ya know why...cuz I've not been doing the plan.  There isn't really much wiggle room.  There are no built in splurges, and when I say splurge, I'm not talking about a teeny square of dark chocolate, I'm talking about a big splurge.   I think that's why I always fail at these more strict plans, or eventually go off of them.  I need wiggle room, and I also need something to pull me back, so that the wiggle doesn't turn into an all out boogie.  On WW, I get treats.... I can have little, or big, splurges, and if I keep everything else in check then it all stays on plan.  On Isagenix, or other plans, I break the rules, and then I'm just off...rolling down the hill stuffing my face with potato chips and chocolate bars because "tomorrow I'll start again" so I go all out on that splurge.   Moderation has never been my strongpoint.

I'm still using Isagenix stuff, because seriously...it's so easy, and I really, really do love the shakes and the Isalean bars.   A shake is 6 weight watchers points, and it leaves me feel full, way, way longer than a normal meal with 6 points does.   I was recently criticized rather unexpectedly from someone who I really thought would be supportive, for starving myself on a liquid diet.   I have so many things I want to explain about that, and how it's not true, but really, does it matter.   I hadn't even had Isagenix for breakfast that day!   As I've learned, aside from the weekly splurge points, the Isagenix plan leaves me feeling more full, and I'm pretty sure would top out at more calories than what I'm getting on Weight Watchers.   So, if I'm starving myself at all, it's not because of the Isagenix.  I'm also finally getting protein, fiber and CALCIUM when I drink the isagenix shakes, which I pretty much never, ever get when I'm just eating regularly.   

Anyways.  Weight Watchers again...the one I always come back to.  I always do well for awhile and then I lose steam, then I try other things, then I come back.  ha.   I'm glad it's about the cheapest structured weight loss system you can get.  

Isagenix is helping me have easy access to meals with all the "stuff" I need to keep me going, at low points values.  I'm using them when I need them, but just eating "regular food" if I have something suitable that won't blow all my points too.  

About 30 or 40 more pounds to lose.   I'm hoping it makes my knees happier when I'm running, and that running helps the weight loss along.  

Oh, and I'm ditching Runkeeper, because I'm so frustrated by it.   It usually doesn't log most of my info and I have to go back in and redo it from memory.  Now I'm trying to decide between MapMyRun and Strava.   

Strava seems....complicated.... but I want to like that one... 

I guess neither matter if I can't find a way to carry my phone with me, since I don't have anything else to use, and it seems a bit presumptious to buy a Garmin when I'm only running a total of 8 minutes a workout!

What do people do?  Carry their phones?  Does everyone have a running watch?  Are there smaller devices that can be used for this?  I like to log and track things.  I know it's not necessary, but I love it. Help me.

Edited update Nov 2015:  When I finally fully followed the Isagenix plan, everything changed.  My energy soared, I slept better, I was happier, I was less hungry, and had less cravings.   I finally did it a few months after this post, and I've never looked back! 

The Tuesday Night Running Group

I've been on this "I want to run" kick lately.   I found a post on kijiji about a running group that is free, and it meets at 8:30pm on Tuesdays.   Which is pretty much the perfect time for me.  I can get the kids to bed, or at least 2 of 3, and then go.  Which leaves Harold with just one bedtime, and then some free time for himself (assuming that the last bedtime goes well, and also that the other two stay in bed...it's a gamble).    I found the add, and messaged her, and BAM!  the first night was starting just a couple of days later!  I made it on time for the first meet up!   The timing was really kind of perfect.  I'm so happy that it worked out this way.

The first session was last night.  I was pretty nervous.  I've done a "learn to run"f before (years ago) and it felt hard, and it progressed much faster than I could progress.  This was great!    We did a 5 minute walk to warm up, and then we did 8x (1min run, 2 min walk).   It was perfect.  I was tired by the end, but I could have squeezed out a bit more.  My tummy was getting tired near the end though, and I don't think I'd have been able to do much more while keeping my tummy tight.  I kept trying to remind myself "tummy tight".

Now the best part.  Before we started, we were talking about our history and telling Chrystal our running background/history/lackthereof, and I thought I should tell her about my diastasis.  I was a little hesitant.  I've really not met many people who know about it, and if they do, they don't think it can be helped.   I said (and I hope it wasn't insulting.... I just really didn't expect that she'd have a background in this) "I'm not sure if you know a lot about diastasis?"  AND SHE DID!!!   Then words are flying around like "transverse" "holds you together" "no crunches" "bellybutton in" "tummy tight"  AHHHHH!   I was floored!  And SO happy!    Getting near the end she was actually reminding me a couple of times to hold my tummy tight.   She's fabulous!

Oh...and perhaps really motivating... pardon me for noticing, but she's long and lean and gorgeous, so...it's a bit of a kick in the pants to be jogging next to someone who looks fantastic.  It's kind of like posting a picture of your goal weight (except... she's way beyond my goal weight...and height) on the fridge to remind you throughout the day...except... the picture is running beside you.  Haha!  Ok..I'm weird.

Anyways, the running felt great!   My knees really hurt the first running minute...then we talked a little about form, and to try not to heel strike, but do more of a forefoot landing pattern, which I knew, but wasn't really getting.   SO. MUCH. BETTER!   My knees thanked me almost immediately, also,...I kind of felt like I was flying.  It was so much easier.   I felt light and bouncy...well..as light and bouncy as one can be at 40lbs overweight.  

About half way through, I knew I'd hit that happy point.  I felt amazing. Perhaps that's one small benefit of being so out of shape, you don't have to do nearly as much to reach that endorphin rush. :P

My knees are complaining a bit today, but overall I feel pretty good.   I hope I can keep it up.  Knowing we're meeting up again in a week will give me the kick in the butt I need to actually get out on my own, so that I'm not the only one who hasn't kept up.  

A Good Father

So, Father's Day slipped by.  With a card from the kids, lot's of snuggles, and...well...a lot of being a Dad that day.   That's how Harold got to celebrate Father's Day.   It's kinda fitting, since I celebrated Mother's Day in the ER with Jude.   Harold celebrated Father's Day by hanging out with our family.  Taking Ruby and Jude in the pool, and loading and unloading a minivan.  :D

A few oldies but goodies:

He's pretty amazing.   He went in a little bit late to work yesterday so that he could help get things ready for Ruby's birthday party.   He had to come home for a couple of hours today, because I had to go have an ultrasound and we don't have anyone to watch our kids, other than us.  He's got a lot of stress at work, and boy, does he ever need a vacation, but he doesn't come home and "check out" he never, ever does that.   He's the most hard working, involved dad I know.  He changes diapers, feeds bottles, plays with, cares for, disciplines, and everything in between.   

I saw this on Facebook today...and I grabbed it.   It's perfect.

I am so, so, so, grateful that my children have such a good father.  

She's 4!

This incredibly sweet, smart, funny, caring, sensitive, fiery, beautiful girl, turned 4 years old yesterday.  To say that I think she's amazing, just doesn't quite cut it.   I just don't have the words to express the feelings I have towards this little peice of God's perfection.   

She had a pretty HUGE birthday party.   Few things have left me more stressed leading up to it.   I felt totally unprepared, and worried that the whole thing would be a gigantic disorganized mess.  Then.... it was calling for rain, not just rain, but thunderstorms!  Ahhhhhh!!!!   If you saw the size of my living room, you'd know why I was panicking a wee bit.   There just is not space in my house for that many people. Outside?  SURE!!!   I was counting on outside.  

I prayed...lol...I prayed for sunshine, and no rain, and Thank you, Lord!   It didn't rain!   

Even with all the wonderful friends we had over, I was really missing a few people...  I found myself saying all the time to myself that I really wanted to invite "this person" and "that person" and it was making me feel both a little bit sad, and a little bit bad, because I just don't want anyone left out!...  but then I had to remind myself that I really didn't have all that much room, and I really wasn't organized at all, and I really didn't have anything planned other than "people come over, children play, we give them food and cake".  That's the extent of my epic party planning skills.   There have just been so many things going on.  If you'd have told me when I was working full time, that I'd be so busy when I was staying home, I don't think I'd have believed you.  

Alas, the party seemed to be a hit!  It was hot.  There were wonderful little children running and playing everywhere.  There was a bouncy house (for a little while) and a sprinkler, some popsicles, cake and cupcakes, and wonderful gifts from Ruby's friends.   Some moms got a chance to sit and chat, between running after kids, taking pictures and administering popsicles and freezies.

There were overcooked chicken fingers, and undercooked (and some overcooked) fries, sugar laden juice "cocktail" and ketchup as far as the eye could see.      

I, of course, sent them home with noisemakers in their goodie bags.  Sorry parents.  

I wanna quit the gym.

All Harold and I can think of when we talk about this is the Friends episode where Chandler and Ross end up with a join chequing account.  

So, I joined the YMCA way back in October.  It was AMAZING!!!  ...for a week.   Then we got sick (obviously that was going to happen).   But we didn't just get sick.  Well, we all just got sick, Olive got so sick that it took her months to recover.   She was in emergency a few times, and it was weeks of my little sweety unable to eat without vomiting and having the most horrible diarrhea and bleeding, not just bleeding from the diaper rash, she had that too, but blood in her poop, bleeding from her poor baby intestines because she was sick for so long.  It took her poor little tummy so long to heal.  It was months of titrating her back onto a formula that had some lactose in it.   

Anyways, I think that's what did it.   I was all over the gym idea, until she got sick.  Then even when she was better, I was advised to keep her out of there for a bit longer.   Then the colds started, and those never end. I know it was a bit of a psychological thing for me, there was a bit of fear of seeing my baby so sick again, and not being able to do anything to help her.   It kind of felt like a rational fear.  And then it was months... months of paying for the membership and not using it.   

I felt OK about that because the kids would get their swimming lessons included with the membership.  Then I went to register them for the swimming lessons, and... WE COULDN'T GET IN!!!  That was the reason I was still holding on it the Y membership.  So... we're done.

Now I'm trying to actually USE the Fit2B membership that I have.  Instead of $110 a month, it's $11 a month (once you exchange the US currency for Canadian, it ends up being about $11 for me in Canadian funds).  Now it's even cheaper, because I bought a year membership on sale, for a little more than half the price of one month at the Y.   

...and now I'm actually using it.   I'm doing a video almost every day, or going for a walk.  I don't have to spend an hour packing the kids up and getting there, I can just sneak in 10 or 20 or 30 minutes (Ok, I have yet to do a 30 minute video), while the kids are distracted playing.   I love the lack of rush.  It's calm, relaxed, and fits in whenever I need it to.   I just did a challenge at shower time.  I've done a quick workout on my bathmat before hopping into the shower, or a few exercises while I'm waiting for something to cook on the stove.   

So, I quit the gym.  

She's got LEGS

Check out our tadpole progress!  Legs!  They're growing legs!!!

A momentary spurt of motivation.

So, I want to run.   I don't know why.  I don't like running.  Running doesn't like me.  I've always been slow.  It's always hurt my shins.  It gets hot out.  I don't like being hot.   I don't know when to run.  I don't know how I'll do it.  I don't know if I can run.  I don't know if I should run (due to the diastasis).  

I got these shoes:

They are perhaps the most comfortable shoes in the history of shoes.   They are from Altra, and they are "zero drop" meaning that they don't have a heel the way most shoes do.  Basically my toes, and heel are the same distance from the ground...there is "zero drop", from the heel to the toe. 

I got this book:

I haven't read it yet.   I've only had a chance to read a few pages from the start.  It seems like it's written for...runners...of which I am not.   I still can't wait to get a chance to read it.   

Perhaps I'll be a walker?  Nothing wrong with that.  It is perhaps healthier for my body at the moment, and nearly guaranteed not to do damage and undo all the work I've done with the Tummy Team course.   Regardless, I need to find the time to walk for a couple of weeks before I try to do any running anyways, so that's where I am right now, but "running" just sounds better, feels more motivating.   Maybe it's the idea that I can't really do it with the kids.   I'd HAVE to sneak out on my own for a wee run.  

I don't know.  Not sure this running thing will get off the ground.  I'm not exactly the most diligent or consistent person I know.  I'm a fabulous starter, and we'll just leave the rest of that senten....

Cozy

I've started working on a little blanket for the living room.  Now that we have a new (to us) pull out couch, we have a space for guests, and a couch that seems to fit without needing a slipcover!   The colours in it will go with our new paint, but we do need a little blanket for the living room.   The kids and I are always using my little pink/red shawl, or Olive's knit baby blanket from Auntie Nica (which totally coordinates in the living room, but is a wee bit small.  

Seeing Olive's blanket in the living room made me think about making a blanket for us here, and since Nica gave me the two balls of that yarn that she had leftover, it seemed an obvious place to start.   I started pulling out odd balls of yarn from the stash.   (See!  It's GOOD to have a crazy amount of yarn at your fingertips!)   I have added new colours, and taken some colours away, but I've ended up with this pile of yarn to make a blanket out of:

I'm making the African Flower Hexagon crochet motifs.   (note:  I'm not actually using this tutorial, but it seems to be the most popular)

Here are the few little hexagons that I have so far.   They don't take long to make, but I will need  a LOT of them!

They are kinda fun, and a little bit addicting to make, especially since I want many different colour combinations so it's fun to pick the colours for the next block.  

Hmm, now....will I ever actually finish a whole blanket?  We'll see!  Ha!  Since I'm sooooo good at finishing.  :P