Top 10 Reasons I'm Still a Life-er!

I'm celebrating an anniversary! A year ago yesterday - the Saturday of Thanksgiving weekend - I became a lifetime member with Weight Watchers - for the third and final time in my life! After a year of maintaining at your goal weight as a Lifetime member, you get another key. Very cool. More than earning another trinket (even though I love getting the trinkets), was the fact that I've maintained at my goal weight for a year! This is the first time I've done this. The other two times I've reached lifetime with the program, I eventually quit going to meetings, quit tracking and just thought of the whole thing as "done". Slowly, but surely the weight came back on.

As I shared in my meeting yesterday, the following things have helped me make it to this new milestone.
1. Going to my meetings - this has been such a huge support and way for me to hold myself accountable. The people who attend the 7:30 Sat am meetings are top notch people and top notch motivators and friends.
2. Exercise/Activity - This has been absolutely critical to my success. It not only helps keep me trim, but also helps my stress level so I'm not driven to want to mindlessly eat anymore.

Thinking more about this over the weekend I've come up with 8 other things that I do on a regular basis that I would say contribute to my success:
3. Tracking - I still write everything down that I eat every day - that accountability piece is really important
4. Variety - I like to change up my menu, try new things and cook!
5. Limit the processed foods - I try to eat lots of "filling foods" - whole grains, fruits, veggies and limit the "foods" that come wrapped in paper and are found in middle of the grocery store.
6. Week Management - I plan my menu a week at a time and do my grocery shopping accordingly. I use my 35 extra points to treat myself to things I especially like or want.
7. Understand real hunger - I understand when my body is actually physically hungry and when it is hungry from emotional hunger instead and can make informed decisions that way.
8. Drink, Drink, and Drink - water! Enough said.
9. Recognize that this is a lifelong journey and NOT a destination. It is work (but fun work) to do for the rest of my life and I'm worth spending the money on good and healthy food!
10. Understand I'm not perfect and forgive myself! This is one of the other keys to my success. It is not about if/when I screw up, but it is ALL about what happens next that really counts.

So, there you go. That is my top 10 for tonight. Here's to starting my 2nd "Lifetime" year!!! I look forward to the challenges and rewards along the way!

A New Discovery

So I stumbled onto something new today...edamame. No, you did not stutter - it is pronounced...ed-a-ma-may.

Before I go any further, let's start off with a quiz.
What is edamame?
A. An ancient religion
B. A hip new baby name for 2011
C. A new drink for the holidays
D. None of the above.

If you answered "D", you are right! Edamame is basically soy beans! I had no idea that you could eat soy as the bean until I found them at Trader Joe's today. But, I soon found out - yes, yes you can! I was very intrigued so I bought a package of pods and made them for dinner. First I had to look up the cooking instructions so I wouldn't screw them up. I rinsed them, boiled them in the pods in a pot of boiling water (salted) for about 5 minutes and then cooled them a tad on a cookie sheet. You kind of just pop the bean in your mouth. They have a really good flavor and of course are very good for you. One serving (about a half cup) is 2 points. Lots of fiber and protein!

Anyway, just had to share my new discovery.

The Perfect Storm

I'm sore. I mean, my body is sore. More to the point my leg muscles are sore. Now, I'm not talking, I-pulled-a-muscle sore, or, I-over-did-it-at-the-gym sore. I'm talking sore as in I-went-on-a-white-water-rafting-trip-yesterday sore. Because I have done that before and ouch.

Now to what can I attribute this muscle discomfort at every step? Well, as far as I can determine it was the total impact of three activities that culminated in this pain. First, as you may recall, I went to a cool boot camp thing bright and early last Wednesday am. I felt that the next day and still felt it on Friday. Then, to add insult to injury I did my first Jillian Michaels DVD on Saturday am. I felt that workout a bit the next day, but just in time for my nephew's birthday party at "SkyZone" which is a gianormous trampoline place. This was the icing on the cake. Truly. I jumped, of course. Duh. But not just your standard jumping. Oh no. Once I realized that this was definitely a workout kind of thing, I began to get really into it and jumped higher and higher and did the splits more and more, showing off a bit in front of the teenage "staff" people on duty. They were ultra-impressed by my gymnastic ability. I could tell by how they were staring at me. I know they certainly didn't think I was a creepy 40-something hooting and hollering like a lunatic. No, they were really impressed. That must have been why they were encouraging all the little kids to stay outta my way. Yeah, that was it.

Anyway, I digress...

So, cut to this am as I wake up sore as sore can be! Ugh - I was a victim of the perfect storm!!! The tri-fecta affect has done me in! Not to mention that I also re-aggravated my Achilles tendon injury a bit. But, hey, I wasn't running! I mean, come on, what is a little jumping gonna hurt?! It is low-impact!! Ouch. Okay, I've learned my lesson, yet again. Not gonna do any activity for another full week and two days! Thinking instead about the long term...and wishing for calmer seas!!!

"Doctor, Doctor, Give me the News..."

So I finally bit the bullet and got my foot looked at yesterday by a foot doctor. I explained the situation to him and the first thing he asked me was, "Do you stretch before running?" My deer-in-the-headlights look immediately told him the answer to that was a resounding "no". I explained that I stretched after running and he said, "Why would you do that!?" I had no good answer for that one either. So, after looking and feeling my ankle he told me I had tendinitis and that I should not do anything for two weeks. He said I should allow time for it to heal so it does not burst. After that time I could start back with low level stuff like swimming and biking. I asked him why I got injured - was it from my shoes, or what and he said..."because you aren't stretching". Duh. That makes total sense. My last 5K was very hilly, chilly weather and I didn't stretch at all. As a matter of fact, I have made it a (bad) habit to bag stretching before running for awhile now. "I don't need to do that," I thought. "That is for newbees". Wrong! So, I have learned my lesson. I will begin incorporating stretching as soon as I can start working out again.

I've decided to have a good attitude about this "time off" and look at the bright side. It is only two weeks. There are 52 weeks in the year so that is only a small portion of time comparatively. At least the tendon is still in good shape. If I hadn't talked to the doctor and instead just pushed through it, I could have really risked having it burst and then the healing would be waaaayyy longer. I also am looking at the positive part of doing alternative activity. Swimming is great exercise and I can bike too. I already found out that LifeCenter opens at 5am so I can get in the pool early before work. So, I have a plan...it is just delayed. I may even do some upper body at home, ab workouts, whatever just to have something to do that doesn't involve my lower body. So that is the update. I WILL be positive about this!!!

So, I won't be competing in a Turkey Trot this year...bummer. What could I do instead??

GO BLACKHAWKS!

GO BLACKHAWKS!

Mike and I have been yelling that phrase almost every weekend for the past 2 1/2 months. And today we wrap up Zach's first football season as a Gremlin Blackhawk as Super bowl champs! Undefeated to boot! So great. The Super"snow" game as I like to call it was played in beautiful Chardon, OH where lake effect snow is a common occurence and today, Saturday, November 6, was no exception. We arrived to a field completely covered with about 3 inches of the white stuff - the first of the season. The boys and the families were prepared with layers of UnderArmour garments, hats, gloves, boots, blankets and of course, the ever popular hand and toe warmers!

The game was just great - with the first touchdown at the very end of the 2nd quarter and the second one with less than 1:30 left in the 4th quarter. So cool. The coaches speeches and the trophy ceremony afterwards was really moving too. I'm just so proud of the boys, the coaches and the parents for such a great family experience. Because you see this whole football thing is really a family commitment.

When we signed Zach up to play back in May, I don't think I really understood the extent to which we were ALL were committing to this. I decided to figure out the stats just for fun...

Three (3) weeks of conditioning 5 days a week for two hours: 30 hours
Eleven (11) weeks of practice 3 days a week for two hours: 66 hours
Ten (10) games (season and play-offs) with 1 hour practice and 1 1/2 game: 25 hours

That comes to a grand total of 121 hours over a period of about 3 months! Now that is commitment!

But was it all worth it? Absolutely! And not just because they won the big game. That was very cool, yes, but I would say the intangible benefits of putting in all this time was the real win this year...such as...

...seeing my husband get so excited and committed to something that he was not quite familiar with. He helped out with many practices, ran the chains at many games, and even shoveled snow off the field!

...seeing Zach get excited about physical activity - wanting to run extra wolverines!

...having our family all cheer for the same thing...watching my husband spend literally hours on two different occasions designing and producing car art to cheer on the team!

...seeing the boys improve over the weeks of practice - achieving their own and their teams' goals

...being inspired by excellent, disciplined, and caring coaches who took the time and patience to actually teach the boys without yelling and criticism

...watching Nick help out and teach his brother some football basics and then cheer him on at practices and at a game

Finally, the most impressive thing for me that I took away from this experience was seeing the boys go back to encourage and "run-in" the slower players during Wolverines.

Yes, the Hudson Blackhawks stand by their values of Faith, Family, Finish, and Focus. But I would add one more: First-Class.

Time to Switch it Up!

So, I definitely have that change of attitude that I desperately needed! Thanks to my friends at Weight Watchers. This morning the topic was strength training and we talked about various types of activity, adding variety, etc. Also, one WW friend even invited me to a cool women-only boot camp class that she attends...they have a free "guest" day so I think I'll check it out.

After I had the chance to think about things (and talk it out cause that is what I usually have to do to figure out my life), I realized that I was putting all my eggs in one basket in terms of activity. My thinking was very all or nothing with it. In other words, if I couldn't run then I didn't want to do anything and I was really bummed about it. With my injury to my heel, I haven't been able to run and it has taken its toll on me - mostly emotionally. Can we say moody?! Why is it that I still have that all or nothing "stinkin' thinkin'" that comes back again and again? I guess it is one of those life lessons that I have to keep "practicing".

I realized I need to me more flexible, creative, and above all patient with myself. The bottom line is I just want to be active - it doesn't have to always be running. Now, don't get me wrong - I prefer running...and I am not going to give it up, but I've realized that I need to let my injury heel, be patient and let that happen, but in the meantime - GET MOVING! So, I ordered two of Jillian Michaels' (the scary, but motivational trainer on the Biggest Loser) DVD's yesterday and I'm going to explore using Life Center and maybe the other bootcamp class that I heard about.

So, the Grace and Wisdom of my WW meeting prevails again and I'm so thankful!

I Need an Attitude Adjustment...

Or a good run! Ugh! Today I feel like the odds are against me. I finally got up the gumption to go run and I get to the locker room and forget my combination. Seriously. Who does this?? I tried for 10 minutes and finally just gave up - defeated. I came up to get it from my purse in my office in order to give it another try and then my foot started hurting and that was all I needed to bag it entirely. Not meant to be I guess. I'm just sick and tired of a bunch of things! Maybe if I vent them all here, I can leave them here and frickin' move-on! I apologize now if this is a negative entry, but it is my blog after all so here goes:

These are the things I'm sick and tired of:
1. Coughing! I've had this annoying cough for weeks and can't shake it even though I'm on an antibiotic. Seriously at times I sound like I smoke 1 1/2 packs a day.
2. My hurting foot - heal already!
3. Paying at WW - I want to get back to my goal weight and just stay there.
4. (related to #1) Not being able to taste my food because of this sinus or whatever thing I have. That just sucks as I kinda enjoy food as you know.
5. Feeling constantly on the treadmill of life that just doesn't stop. The to-do lists just get longer and time marches on...
6. My own attitude! I'm depressing myself as I read this! I just need to get those endorphins going again!

Okay, Lisa's Pity Party of One is now OVER!

STILL Benched!

So, as I wrote in a previous post, I hurt my Achilles tendon in a race a week ago Saturday. I mean it swelled to the point I couldn't wear a shoe with a back on it for a few days. I talked to a friend-runner of mine the following Monday and she said I should just rest it for awhile and it will be fine. Runners don't go to the doctor for these types of things. Why? Because it is just a waste of a co-pay. The doctor will say, "Don't Run". Duh. So, that is exactly what I've been doing since Oct 23. Nothing. Now, yes, I should be cross-training. But, runners get so spoiled because running is really the perfect workout and takes the least amount of time. I mean, 30 minutes, done. There is no driving somewhere, etc. I can do it anywhere. It really is the perfect form of workout. That is under you are injured. Ugh. My foot is much better now...it is almost normal and I really need to try it out again - slowly. But the truth of the matter is, I'm chicken! I don't want to hurt it again. So, I'm stuck. I don't want to invest the time in cross-training and I'm too chicken to begin to run again. Wow, I am indeed a Taurus. Stubborn and with all or nothing thinking! But at least because I'm admitting it - there is hope, right?!

It is on my agenda (again) for tomorrow at noon. My goal will be to run 1 1/2 miles with a good 5 minute walk first and see how that feels. I'll report back...wish me luck!