CHRISKENANDKIDS's SparkPeople Blog

WARNING-Cranky Rant Coming

Wed, 15 May 2013 23:01:44 EST

I am so crabby today! It started with my having to go back to work yesterday after my knee surgery. I get to work and there's a bunch of stuff that didn't get done while I was gone (not necessarily anyone's fault - it's just when someone is gone things pile up sometimes). Not many people do my part of the job regularly so they don't know how to do certain things like I do. Plus there aren't many patients this week so I wasn't kept as busy as some weeks.

The knee is fine - of course...

It's Been a While Since I've Blogged

Sun, 5 May 2013 11:30:11 EST

Lots of changes going on in my life lately, some good, some bad. You all know of my mom's passing if you read my previous blog. That was very life changing and I continue to work through day by day. Her apartment is finally cleaned out and the thank you notes written and now we have to get on with our lives. There is a huge hole that was once filled with her presence but I truly believe her spirit is still with me and I am okay with that.

I signed up as a Beachbody Coach this week!...

This Week-Sickness was NOT in my Plan!

Fri, 19 Apr 2013 22:38:22 EST

I was really looking forward to getting back to normal this week after my difficult week last week but my body had other ideas. Sunday evening my stomach started feeling a little off. Monday all day I had diarrhea and stomach cramping, took 2 naps and had a major headache in the evening. Ugh! Good thing it was my day off this week!

I was hoping for it to be a 24 hour thing and I did feel a bit better on Tuesday with no diarrhea but since I missed all last week due to work along wi...

New Sense of Normal

Sun, 14 Apr 2013 15:59:57 EST

Wow. It has been a very stressful and eventful 2 months. My mom was in and out of the hospital with pneumonia since January that was just too powerful for her body to handle and she passed away last week Sunday evening. Her Multiple Sclerosis just complicated things and her body wasn't able to handle the infection. She was so sick and miserable that she just couldn't do it anymore. We really did not expect this to be as bad as it was, but it became apparent in February that it could go either...

Need Newsletter Subjects

Thu, 21 Mar 2013 22:25:03 EST

I'm going to be getting my email newsletter going soon and am making a list of subjects that people want to read about so I'm going to my awesome Spark friends and Spark community for suggestions. List what sort of weight loss/health and wellness subjects or questions you would have so I can compile ideas for upcoming newsletters. Here are a few subjects I have so far:

Ways to start liking vegetables (I'm a sort of reformed veggie hater myself!)
5 small steps to start your wei...

Rough Week - Warning - Rant Coming

Thu, 14 Mar 2013 23:10:21 EST

This week has been rough. My mom has been in the hospital for two weeks as of yesterday and she's been very sick with MRSA pneumonia, which is a bacteria that is resistant to many antibiotics. She was in ICU for 4 days and has been having nightmares from her MS because they stopped her MS meds so her immune system can fight the pneumonia. Long story short, she's finally almost ready to be discharged to the rehab place. She was in the hospital in January and went to rehab for 4 weeks. She was ...

I RAN for more than 2 minutes!

Fri, 8 Mar 2013 23:27:38 EST

Once in a while I've been doing run/walk intervals on the treadmill. I would walk for 5 minutes to warm up and then run for 2 minutes, walk for 2 minutes until I was done. Last week I actually ran 8 minutes straight to Bon Jovi's "Runaway," which is the only song that I really get the urge to run to! I saw my trainer at the gym and told him (since I was so proud of myself) and he said it's all in the mind.

So today I decided to run for as long as I could without stopping. It ended...

Ayurvedic Experiment Day Two Results

Mon, 18 Feb 2013 22:16:34 EST

I did a little better today but still needed two snacks although they are a lot smaller. The only reason I needed the first snack was because I did a workout at 9 a.m. and had breakfast at 6:30 a.m. so I needed something after my workout to tide me over until lunch. Most of the time I do my workout right before dinner so it shouldn't be a problem the rest of the week. AND, I am much closer to my calories for they day than I have been in weeks! Woo hoo! Here are the details:

Breakfa...

Ayurvedic Experiment Day One Results

Sun, 17 Feb 2013 23:01:23 EST

This morning my breakfast was a smoothie with almond milk, Shakeology chocolate vegan mix, PB2 powdered peanut butter, frozen peaches and 1/4 of a frozen banana. Then I had 1/2 cup buckwheat cereal and another 1/2 cup of almond milk with a sliced banana. That kept me full for a while.

Then I got a little hungry before the Blue and Gold dinner for cub scouts and knew there wouldn't be healthy food there so I had the other half of my chicken breast Subway sub with added red leaf lett...

An Experiment in Ayurvedic Diet

Sun, 17 Feb 2013 11:57:00 EST

This past week's lecture was on the Ayurvedic way of eating and there were several ideas that made sense and I'm going to try out. One is to eat only three meals per day. According to the lecture here is no other culture that eats 5-6 small meals a day. The concept is this: Eat enough at breakfast to get you through to lunch and then eat enough at lunch to get you through to dinner. Lunch is the largest meal of the day and dinner is a supplemental meal, which is the smallest meal of the day. ...

Closer to Real Coaching!

Thu, 14 Feb 2013 22:18:13 EST

I'm starting to get really excited about April and being able to really start seeing clients! I know I will be a great Health Coach and it's really exciting that we're getting closer. I can coach anyone from anywhere. Over the phone, in person, via Skype (if I can ever get it downloaded on my computer but that's another story). I can do Health Histories any time so if anyone is interested in that, it's free and is just a getting to know you session. Let me know!

Of course, it's re...

Not Much To Say

Sun, 20 Jan 2013 19:54:57 EST

I guess winter is a REALLY boring time for me! I haven't felt like blogging about anything because it's just the same thing over and over again. I LOVE my new lectures every week but we don't have new ones tomorrow due to MLK day so I'm bummed. Took my first test and entered my three health histories that we are supposed to do by February so I'm good there! Ordered and got my new business cards and finally figured out how to edit the brochure IIN gave us so I'm good there! Now I have to figur...

My Story-Why Are Some People Successful And Some Aren't?

Tue, 1 Jan 2013 23:24:40 EST

Hey everyone!
I'm just getting used to this new website for my nutrition school and posted this blog there. I thought my SP friends would be interested in reading even though it's very similar to the feature SP did on me a couple of months ago. Disregard the plug for my services if you're not interested - just a fun read.

http://chris-kramer.healthcoach1.integra
tivenutrition.com/blog/2013/01/my-stor
y-why-are-some-people-successful-and-s
ome-arent

Enjoy! <...

Bodybugg vs. Fitbit

Tue, 25 Dec 2012 23:34:15 EST

I got my Fitbit a few days ago and have had my Bodybugg for a year. I have been wearing both of them for almost a week and my subscription for the Bodybugg website expires tomorrow. I got the Fitbit specifically for the link to SparkPeople but there is a HUGE discrepancy between the two. Today my Fitbit says I have 3800 steps and the Bodybugg says 5700. The fitbit says I've burned 1839 calories and the Bodybugg says I've burned 2300. So what do I believe? The Bodybugg has the sensors that att...

Life Happening = Change of Plans

Sun, 16 Dec 2012 20:21:42 EST

Today I was supposed to go to my Mom's house and make Christmas candy. We were also supposed to go to my niece's graduation party since she just graduated from Nursing School. Well, life happened and plans had to change.

It all started last week Saturday when we came home from Black Belt testing to my daughter saying her chest hurt while she was coughing and sniffling, etc. Started her on a nebulizer treatment and her asthma protocol. Then Sunday I woke up with the start of what I ...

Black Belt Testing - DONE!

Tue, 11 Dec 2012 22:40:30 EST

I know I haven't been blogging too much lately but have really been focused on school and work and the upcoming holidays in addition to training really hard for my tae kwon do black belt test that I had this past weekend.

I got there at 4:00 p.m. Friday because they said we were going to do the run/cardio portion early and then didn't end up starting until about 5 p.m. I did the inside cardio because the last time I ran outside in the cold (it was barely 40 degrees) I needed my inh...

What is Health Coaching?

Sun, 2 Dec 2012 12:30:41 EST

Hey everyone!
I don't get to blog much since most of the time it's just life as normal and nobody really wants to be bored with work, kids, workouts and school but I'm so excited to be attending the Institute of Integrative Nutrition. I am SOOOO glad I made this decision and didn't go to school to be a dietician or nutritionist. It's not that being a dietician or nutritionist is bad - it's not. I just love the focus behind being a Health Coach. I am learning to help people take control o...

My Hiking Experience Today

Sun, 11 Nov 2012 21:37:55 EST

I got to sleep in this morning and when I got up, my husband asked if I wanted to go find a 7 mile hiking trail we had seen while hiking last summer and I jumped at the chance! I really liked the trail and thought 7 miles sounded good today. So after breakfast (which was at 11:00 because I slept in and showered - DUMB to shower before a hike but I didn't think about it until AFTER I was in the shower) and got my snacks ready to go. Took some coffee and extra water since the drive was about 45...

And The Winner Is.............

Fri, 9 Nov 2012 22:30:57 EST

ADVENTURESEEKER!
I finally chose a name for my business:
Living Lighter Health Coaching

It embodies everything I wanted and suggests weight loss AND reduced stress, which is part of my curriculum. YAY!

THANK YOU to everyone who gave me suggestions! Now nobody steal it! :) :):):)

Need a Health Coaching Business Name - HELP!

Sun, 4 Nov 2012 21:09:40 EST

Okay everyone, when I started thinking about becoming a weight loss coach it was all due to my success with SparkPeople. I started making friends and helping others by just being encouraging and soaking up all of the tips everyone else had for becoming healthy. I had lost weight before, but never really knew how to be HEALTHY. Now that I've become successful at weight loss, I want to share that knowledge with real people and make a living doing it. Part of the first chapter in my IIN (Institu...

Started Module 1

Sat, 3 Nov 2012 22:16:21 EST

It's FINALLY here! I got my first module this past Monday and was so excited I finished it ALL. We are given a week to do each one. I can't wait for this Monday, but this is not my Monday off so I will have to work it in and probably won't be able to finish it in one day.

Didn't get as much activity in this week as I'd like but got parent/teacher conferences done on Tuesday, Trick or Treating with the kids done on Wednesday and got in a 30 minute workout and went to a jewelry party...

The Institute for Integrative Nutrition-Can't Wait to Start!

Sun, 7 Oct 2012 23:07:02 EST

I got my box for the Institute for Integrative Nutrition the last Thursday in September (a little over a week ago) and have been poring through the book that comes with it since then. I read more than half of it the Friday I had off and have been reading it here and there when I can find time. Today I started listening to the fundamental classes online and it's getting me excited to start! One of the things they encourage us students to do, is to go over a Health History with someone to get a...

MS Challenge Walk - DONE! I DID IT!

Mon, 24 Sep 2012 14:33:57 EST

Oh my gosh! How long can you make a blog? This is going to be a long one! This past weekend was exhausting, difficult and challenging and also rewarding, emotional and awesome. Where do I start?

THURSDAY:
Took off for the day so my sister, her sister-in-law, Jackie, and I were getting ready. I waited for them to get to my house. I also gave a ride to Cindy, who I met through the doctor's office where I work. She assured me she wanted to walk the entire 50 miles (I wasn't sure...

Podiatrist Appointment

Mon, 17 Sep 2012 18:30:37 EST

Today I had my appointment with the podiatrist and it went about how I expected. She took a look at my toenail and said she thinks there's a new one growing underneath the old one and the old one feels loose. She thinks the old one will fall off pretty soon and agreed with me that we shouldn't take it off right before my walk.

She said it looks like I have sort of a bunion but not a true bunion since the bones are centered but I do have a bump there that she thinks I was born with....

One Week to Go!

Sun, 16 Sep 2012 22:42:01 EST

One week from today I will be DONE with my 50 mile MS Challenge Walk. I can't wait and yet I'm fine with it being a few days away. I walked my 8 miles yesterday and 10 miles today (10.6 actually but that's my husband's fault for wanting to go a certain way since he came with me and it's his birthday). Anyway, It felt EXHAUSTING! I did a Bob Harper Kettlebell workout on Friday and had no idea there would be so many lunges passing the 15 pound kettlebell under each leg as we lunged so my hamstr...

18 Mile Walk - CHECK!

Sat, 18 Aug 2012 23:22:48 EST

Got my 18 miles in today! Did a little at my youngest son's football practice. Had to use the bathroom and they don't have a port-a-potty there so I walked the half mile to the park bathroom and back and then around the school. - 1.67 miles done then. Rested for a while and then when we got back from practice, Paul and I walked to Subway for lunch (about .75 miles) - got to 2.6 miles or so. DH got home from Evan's football scrimmage and came to pick up Paul since he insisted on wearing his fo...

Ready for a Change-A Bit Whiny.....

Fri, 17 Aug 2012 21:58:10 EST

Did you know that 18 weeks of training for a 50 mile walk is a LONGGGGGGGG time????? I've been doing this training now for about 14-15 weeks and I'm ready to get this walk over with and get the variety back into my workouts! I haven't made it to Tae Kwon Do for a long time and when I did make it, it was only for a couple of classes. I really wanted to test in September (the week after my walk) for my next level of black belt but with the walking 4-5 days a week and three kids in stuff it just...

This is Why I'm Successful

Sun, 5 Aug 2012 20:32:05 EST

It's called good old-fashioned German stubbornness. Don't have a walking partner? Fine. I'll walk by myself. Nobody to go to the gym to motivate me? Hubby tired and sitting in front of the TV? Kids all too good to spend time with me? Fine. I'll work out by myself. Nobody wants to go to Tae Kwon Do with me anymore? Fine. I'll go by myself, get my black belt and continue going by myself because I like it. So there.

Today I had a 16 mile walk on my MS Challenge Walk training schedule....

Sometimes You Just Have to Rest

Fri, 27 Jul 2012 21:33:00 EST

I had every intention of walking for 5 days this week. In my walking program I'm now in the part where there is a 4 day week and then a 5 day week and they alternate. The past two 5 day weeks I have only gotten in 4 days. This week was going to be different. I was supposed to rest last night but we have an event to go to tomorrow and we're working the Brewer game on Sunday so my long 12 mile walk has to be in the morning tomorrow. I was going to go to the state park with my friend at about 8 ...

14 Mile Hike - Check!

Mon, 23 Jul 2012 14:54:35 EST

This walking journey has been a hard and fun one so far. I still have a few weeks to go but the walking just goes higher from here so it will definitely be a challenge. Thus, the name - MS Challenge Walk! Hee hee!

Yesterday my sister couldn't go with me so I found a friend who has a park pass to a state park nearby that has a TON of hills! Many of the trails are very hilly and hard to navigate but we had no problem getting around and that felt awesome! I actually had LESS muscle s...

Dude! What is UP with that??????

Sun, 22 Jul 2012 12:03:06 EST

I did SO great this week for four days and was really looking forward to a good weigh in. I was at 154.8 on Friday morning and did GREAT on the eating front. Then at 10:36 p.m., just as I was getting ready to walk upstairs and get ready for bed, my sister called asking me to go to Denny's with her, my BIL, my mom and two of her daughters. I SHOULD have said no, but my mom never gets to go out (she has MS and is homebound unless a bus is running or we have a lift van. My sister got the van so ...

Doctor Visit-The Verdict

Fri, 20 Jul 2012 17:00:57 EST

So I've been having some tingling in my neck that goes down the center of my neck, across my shoulders and down the sides of my back periodically. It started once when I woke up with it at night and it really hurts but subsides after a bit. I finally got it checked out today along with my knee, which has been feeling like something is moving around in the outside back part of my knee. It hurt for a while but since I got better shoes and have kept up with my walking it has gotten better.
...

Random Thoughts for Sunday

Sun, 15 Jul 2012 12:23:24 EST

Yesterday was a great day for the most part. Got up early (7 a.m. - not TOO early), ate my Herbalife smoothie for breakfast and hit the gym with my sister. We did walk/run intervals on the treadmill for an hour and it felt great! 9:30 a.m. and I was done with my workout and on my way home. Yay! Then I got to take a shower and relax a bit before cleaning the house for the boys' birthday party. It wasn't too dirty, so it was just cleaning a bit and organizing. Getting food ready, etc. A coworke...

Day Camp and Camping Weekend Fun

Sun, 1 Jul 2012 16:50:11 EST

Last week was Girl Scout Day Camp. My daughter has been going to Day Camp for 8 years (including this past week) and this was my 7th year as a five day volunteer. Most of the time I was the Unit Leader for her group but sometimes I would do other things. This time, she was a PA (Program Assistant) at the Games station so she was responsible for helping run the station and teaching the girls (and brothers under 13) games and such. Our day camp is the largest all volunteer run day camp in the e...

TEN Mile Walk - What a Journey!

Sun, 24 Jun 2012 23:10:30 EST

I've been following my training program for the MS Challenge Walk pretty religiously, not missing a day to walk during the week - just maybe doing it on a Tuesday instead of Wednesday or something like that. Today we had a 10 mile walk to do. I waited for my sister to get home from spending the night at her friend's house about 50 miles away and she came over. I had mapped out a route and when I was trying to figure out where to go it was REALLY starting to seem like a LONGGGGGGG walk! What r...

Fundraiser was not very successful....

Sat, 23 Jun 2012 21:16:40 EST

I've spent the last two days cleaning like a madwoman (with DH helping a LOT!) and baking last minute stuff for the bake sale. We brought out all of the PartyLite product and sent a few Facebook reminders out preparing for the day. I knew my mom was coming and my sister said she would stop by. I had 8 people attending according to Facebook but I knew one person wouldn't be able to come because there was Black Belt testing today. I never know what's going to happen since it's a Saturday in sum...

Walk Training Progress

Sat, 9 Jun 2012 13:35:12 EST

The last three weeks have been a challenge and also a great change for me. I LOVE walking outside in the spring and summer! This week it was 4 miles Tuesday, 4 miles Thursday (which I did yesterday in two 2-mile increments due to time constraints this week), 3 miles today (DONE!) and 6 miles tomorrow. Tomorrow it's supposed to be HOT and a little more humid so I'm determined to wake myself and my sister up around 6:30-7 a.m. to get it done before it gets too hot. Laurie - GET READY! I'm comin...

Move Over Insanity - I'm Training For a WALK!

Wed, 30 May 2012 22:41:27 EST

I made the decision yesterday to stop doing the Insanity program and focus on my walking training for the MS Challenge Walk. I need to walk 4 days a week from 3-20 miles so that will take up way too much time to continue to do Insanity well and I'm not really in love with the program anyway. I'm a little bored and spoiled with the huge amount of variety I have with my other workouts. So the plan is to do my walking on my walk training days and do something else the other days. I usually use S...

MS Challenge Walk 2012

Thu, 17 May 2012 21:48:45 EST

I have seen this walk advertised on the National MS Society website and wanted to sign up last year but didn't have anyone who wanted to join me and I was really not in the right shape or mindset to do it. Fast forward to this year. I told my sister about it and that I wanted to do it this year and she said she would do it with me! Her sister-in-law (her DH's brother's wife) also has a mom with MS and she asked her to join us and she said yes too! ACK! So we signed up!!!!!!!

HOLY ...

My Mother's Day

Mon, 14 May 2012 14:02:34 EST

Got to sleep in yesterday and logged my 3 pounds weight gain in without really sweating it. I wasn't happy, but really took it in stride better than I would have even a couple of months ago since I still got two dresses - both in size 8 - shopping on Saturday so I didn't even care as much.

Got my presents - a pull up bar (with no real good place to put it but we're working on that), a 15 pound kettlebell and a new fitness mat that is really cushy and feels awesome! I also got the n...

Happy and Not Happy at the Same Time

Sun, 13 May 2012 11:19:58 EST

First, I'll start with what did NOT make me happy today and end with the positive stuff. That way I can vent the stuff that's annoying and end up happier.

I gained 3 pounds this week. Started Insanity on Monday and have had some muscle soreness - especially in my calves from all the lower body work and jumping - but nothing that bad. Some might be water from the DOMS.

To be truthful, I had a little extra to eat at work because we celebrated a coworker's birthday but ins...

Rethinking My Goal Weight

Fri, 11 May 2012 22:37:56 EST

I've been pondering lately how much I really want to get to my goal of 145. I think I have this mental block that is telling my head I can't get down that low. I just am not believing it since I've been on this plateau since July.

Everyone has been telling me how amazing I look and I know I look a lot better than I used to. I look healthy to myself but there's still this extra weight in my belly and thighs I would really like to get rid of. But does that matter? Am I at a healthy ...

Random Sunday Stuff

Sun, 6 May 2012 11:57:26 EST

Today is rainy and yucky outside so my walk is out for the day. DH and I went on a long walk yesterday and I really could have gone longer but we cut it short because we had to go to the grocery store.

Yesterday I ate too much. I had breakfast and then had my niece's bridal shower. Since I had eaten breakfast I wasn't that hungry when lunch was served but I ate anyway. Should have had a LOT less to eat but it is what it is. It's over now. That was at 11:30 a.m. I wasn't hungry unti...

I Ran on the Treadmill and Didn't Die!

Fri, 27 Apr 2012 19:25:10 EST

This morning started off normally. Take the kids to school, go to my sister's house to spend time with her before she went to work, go to the gym for my strength training session with my trainer. I hopped on the elliptical to do my 5 minute warm up and he was there right away so we talked while I was warming up and I asked him what we were going to do. He went over the list and started saying, "run a half mile on the treadmill...." And I just looked at him and said, "Okayyyy....." I have alwa...

Never Quit Pledge (shared from SUNFLOWERGAL40)

Thu, 26 Apr 2012 21:22:33 EST

Today, I promise I will not quit.
I pledge that no matter, how many ups and
downs I pass through,
I will continue on my journey.
I pledge to make a NEW START today,
and forgive myself for my past,
and to stop being so critical of myself.
I pledge to take control of myself,
To Stop making excuses,
And stop blaming other people or situations.
I pledge to treat myself as I would my Best
Friend,
Because that is who I am.

Gold's Gym Challenge Results

Mon, 16 Apr 2012 19:18:17 EST

I should be happier but for some reason I'm not. I lost a total of 6 pounds in 12 weeks, which is good in my book. Lost a couple of inches off my hips and waist, nothing off my thigh but who cares. I felt pretty good! Then I looked at the picture. Ugh. I feel like I still look pudgy! I don't know why - I just do. I hate myself in pictures even though I look and feel so much better than I used to. The good news is that my husband said I don't look pudgy so that means something.

I'm ...

Vacation Was Fun But Glad to Be Back

Sun, 15 Apr 2012 15:58:49 EST

As some of you know I'm a creature of habit. I like my routines and really get uncomfortable when I'm out of them. I really needed this vacation with my family and loved being gone. I love road trips and we drove to Florida since it was a lot more expensive to fly the 5 of us than to drive.

We left around 8:30 p.m. on April 3rd and drove through the night to Atlanta, where Ken's best friend lives. Stayed that night in a hotel. We went to dinner and then went to Stone Mountain to se...

"I'll Feel Better When I'm Done......"

Sun, 8 Apr 2012 10:22:54 EST

The alarm went off at 7:15 this morning. Rather late for me since I usually get up between 5-5:30 every day during the week but since we're on vacation we've been staying up later. I REALLY didn't want to get up. I REALLY didn't want to do my planned strength training workout my trainer gave me to do in my hotel room. But this tiny little phrase kept going through my head.......

"I'll feel better when I'm done."
"I'll feel better when I'm done."
"I'll feel better when I'm...

There's a Reason WHY I Don't Eat Out A Lot!

Fri, 6 Apr 2012 21:56:00 EST

Good news! Today I stayed pretty well within my calorie range but not perfect. I'm happy with today. AND I got in my hotel room workout this morning. So I'm happy with THAT! Found out the fitness center at our hotel is only open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. So I can't go early OR late and might not be able to use the treadmill if it's busy or we don't get back in time. The hotel room workout is for strength training and I can't/shouldn't do it every day so I need me some cardio! Ugh! I just might have to...

Vacation Workout you can do in a Hotel Room

Sat, 31 Mar 2012 11:44:51 EST

I know everyone LOVES to hear me talk about my fitness minutes (do you hear the sarcasm here?) but I just felt like blogging. I'll also get to whine a little while remembering I did this to myself. :) I had to take a rest night on Wednesday night so I was a little behind. It's my last week of P90X and it's my "recovery" week. Although after yesterday and today there's nothing even closely remembering recovery!

It started with Thursday night. I got the Jillian Michaels Kickboxing Fa...