Montana - Big Sky Country (with pics!)

Thu, 2 Aug 2012 08:21:34 EST

First, THANK YOU for all of your support yesterday. I managed to have an "in range" day yesterday, and the scale was a little calmer this morning. I think a mini-detox is in order, then back on higher protein and more freggies. The plan is developed and the ball is rolling.

Ok, the trip. First, for anyone who has been west - it's true - the sky is so much larger than on the east coast. We got off the plane and T (who has never been out there before) was like, "whoaaaa, cool!"

Back from Vacation... And back in the game!

Wed, 1 Aug 2012 19:43:46 EST

Hey there! I am back from Montana, and while I'm itching to blog about the trip (so much of it was amazing) I think I'm going to spend some time this evening specifically focusing on the food part of things, and where I need to go from here. In the coming days Ill be posting photos, possibly miss fish style, to share with all of you.

So, basically, here's what happened. I leaped, unknowingly, off the wagon of good decision making and onto the wagon of PARTY all the time, minimal re...

5k: 27:30! (with pic)

Fri, 20 Jul 2012 06:49:05 EST

As a preface to this blog, I just want to say that I have NEVER been fast. In high school, I was cross country captain, but I never made the varsity team. I was a beacon for the slow ladies!

It's also not like I'm fast now, I'm just a lot faster than I was...

Last night was a flat (I MEAN FLAT) 5k. T and I agreed that we would run it separately because I wanted to see what I could do. I had miscalculated in my head, and I thought based on my 4 miler in the fall with dog...

Not sure if it was worth it... (The pizza)

Thu, 19 Jul 2012 05:56:43 EST

I have been eating above my range for a few weeks, calling it "maintenance," but in reality, it's starting to catch up with me. I am defining maintenance as a 20 lb loss, bringing me into the low 140s, with the hard line at 144 lbs. In the last 2 days I've been creeping into the 144 - 145 range though :(

It's hard to tell what's going on. Part of it might be a lack of strength training (running is taking up a lot of time) Solution: boot camp videos with 8 lb free weights in the ba...

Pinch Me!

Mon, 16 Jul 2012 20:36:37 EST

Seriously, I DID NOT mean to have all this time off... but since I do, I will ENJOY every second of it!

This past weekend was great. My sister recently became a flight attendant, so she was in Boston for a layover on Thursday. We haven't always had the best relationship, but we were able to spend some good and peaceful time together. One of her first comments was, "wow, I don't know that we've ever been the same size before!" (She has traditionally been VERY thin and I have been ro...

It's so much easier to stay on track at home...

Wed, 11 Jul 2012 13:54:25 EST

Traveling, while fun, can really throw a wrench in a well oiled machine. At home I have my plan: zone bar for breakfast, skim milk for my coffee, lots of protein-rich foods, small portion ice cream options for dessert... but when I travel I find myself surrounded by old habits: bagels, beer, large and delicious dinners...

I'm back home now for a few days, happily consuming plenty of water and a well balanced plate of food. My body is grateful and my waist agrees. I really do think...

Settling into a summer routine

Mon, 9 Jul 2012 20:43:27 EST

I am happy to say that camp is over and I've been in Maine for 3 days. For all of you non-teachers who think that teachers have it easy... I'm not here to defend myself up and down so much as to say that it is my deep seeded belief that EVERY career should have time to sit back, reflect, relax, and catch up. We work too much! I read a good article the other day about how we wear our busy-ness, our overcommitment, as a badge of honor instead of recognizing it for what it is - unhealthy and ove...

Satisfaction and Maintenance

Fri, 6 Jul 2012 07:36:18 EST

Camp is coming to a close today, which officially marks the start of MY SUMMER! I have a few curriculum things to do here and there, but no kids, which is the key. I just need the time to not be responsible for other peoples' children.

Camp was alright overall. Exhausting, at times frustrating, but good to be outside playing, a nice little bonus paycheck, and neat to see a different age group. Would I do it again? Not sure. But I'm glad I did it once.

I made the hard d...

Real Food

Mon, 2 Jul 2012 06:22:42 EST

I was going to call this blog "whole food" but the term has bee hijacked by corporate America...

Anyway, I've been thinking a lot about WHAT I eat recently. Last Friday I was driving home past "The only working farm in Boston" (Allendale, for anyone who is interested) when I stopped at their little market store to get some veggies for dinner. I got some simple things - zucchini, broccoli, and this delicions lettuce, then all of the sudden from the corner staring back at me are the ...

I can't find it on the tracker....

Wed, 27 Jun 2012 20:01:56 EST

I've searched everything: carrying samples of pond water and bug nets back from the pond, running to carpool duty, putting up chairs and vacuuming, squatting down to tie a shoelace, going across the monkey bars, but for all of my searching on the fitness tracker, I can find nothing to indicate the full physicality of running a camp for 5-7 year olds.

And I am EXHAUSTED.

So, my calories have been higher this week because I have been starving when I've gotten home. But t...

It CAN be done - 10 week transformation

Mon, 25 Jun 2012 06:09:16 EST

DIsclaimer: I am writing this post about my wife, who is logging on SP but doesn't do her own blogging.

Anyway, she has never really been a runner. She started logging on SP and dropped 14ish lbs, but we are both still hovering 6-8 lbs above the "healthy" line for our height. She wanted to get all the way there, so she cautiously asked me about running.

To say that she was NOT a runner before would be an understatement - no sweating or pain allowed in her life!
<...

Chubby?

Sat, 23 Jun 2012 21:18:27 EST

Tonight is the first time I've looked back at old photos and really thought, wow, what a difference. My wedding photos were my lowest weight in my adult life besides recently, and until now I thought I looked fabulous. Don't get me wrong, it was still such a wonderful day and you can't ignore the true happiness and gratitude that you can see on both of our faces, but there is a huge difference between the actual shape of my face then and now.

And then there are the photos from my ...

Grumpy Hungry

Thu, 21 Jun 2012 12:58:43 EST

Sometimes I get to a state that my wife kindly refers to as "grumpy hungry," where all ability to reason, drive, or even cook goes out the window. This used to happen often, but since beginning to monitor my food intake on SP, things have gotten better.

However, this week I have been "grumpy hungry" almost every day, usually in the late morning. I think, because school has been out, that my routine has been off. No water in the morning, and a breakfast deficient of protein for the ...

5k? Check!

Sun, 17 Jun 2012 19:54:45 EST

Hello Friends!

A quick update about the 5k this morning. As some of you know, my training shifted about 2 months ago when my wife decided that she wanted to start running. Things, honestly, slowed down a bit, but I was ok with that since we were getting to spend really good time together, and she was gaining a lot of confidence.

Anyway, she started a C25K program, and totally blew it out of the water. In 2 months she was up to a comfortable 3-4 miles at 12 min pace. We...

Harder than Christmas...

Thu, 14 Jun 2012 05:42:11 EST

Over the year I've prepared myself for the holidays, my birthday, family weekends. I budgeted my calories carefully, I took it easy, and the best part was that the event was only 1, 2 days MAX.

But the end of the school year? HOLY SMOKES! It's a whole month, and the food is unending.

Here's the recap:

Saturday: Adult Graduation post-party (see last blog regarding hangover...)
Sunday: great day eating wise, but no run because of hangover...
Monday: ...

One... More... Week!!!

Mon, 11 Jun 2012 05:03:15 EST

All of you teachers out there know the feeling, the pushing through of those last few days of school, the feeling like it might never end and you could get stuck in this circle of binder cleanouts, reflections, and missing permission slips... but it WILL end, and then it WILL BE SUMMER! (well, ok, then I have 2 weeks of camp for kindergarteners, but that'll be really fun).

This year has been incredible in so many ways, not least of which is the fact that I now travel 20+ lbs light...

Long Week...

Tue, 5 Jun 2012 05:31:26 EST

So I've regained my stride, had 3 days of exercise in a row, but I'm up against a wall this week. I'll be facing three 16 hour long days in a row, which means that I may not be standing by Friday. Don't get me wrong - it's a lot of good stuff - but it will be a tough few days.

Tonight I have 2 meetings after school, then we'll be babysitting for my neighbor. Maybe I can do crunches and push ups when the kid goes to bed?

Tomorrow I have 1 meeting after school, then meeti...

What size am I?

Mon, 4 Jun 2012 05:51:12 EST

Keeping my bottom half covered has become a full time job. Just when I purchase, wash, and hem a pair of pants, I've magically shrunk and find the pants no longer usable. Don't get me wrong, I've had worse problems in my life (muffin tops, sausage thighs) but seriously, this whole dressing myself thing is challenging!

With the encouragement of a few of you ladies I have become very familiar with the used clothing stores in my area. I am particularly fond of Boomerangs, a great stor...

Back with a renewed enthusiasm

Sat, 2 Jun 2012 15:26:44 EST

Hey friends!!! I'm back! As I posted recently, things got busy, but they're starting to come around. During that time I just told myself, "hang on, don't give up. It's ok if you need to hit the pause button." I obviously was frustrated at points because my fitness suffered, but that's ok. I also had to heal from a bout of strep throat, so that didn't help my desire to get out and play. I had almost gotten to the point where I said, "ok, this is the finish line, I guess I'll just coast forever...

I'm still here!!! Part 2

Fri, 1 Jun 2012 15:40:47 EST

As I typed the title I realized that I wrote the same title a few weeks ago... indicative of the fact that things are REALLY FREAKING BUSY here in Boston. The short list: adoption classes, dog training classes, college reunion, running, lots and lots of work at school, all of these things have kept me away from blogging and commenting on blogs.

BUT...

They have NOT kept me away from tracking and running :) This is a HUGE accomplishment! I don't know that I've really los...

Adoption Class and a New Hair Cut!

Fri, 18 May 2012 16:39:37 EST

Hey ladies. A quick update. Adoption class was really tough last night... T was out of town so I had to go alone. There has got to be some way of talking about tough issues without having those of us who have lived some of them go through the memory files all over again. I get it - this kid has been through a lot - but I've already done some of my own processing, so let's not get stuck in that place.

Consequently I slept like poop, and felt like poop today. I took the 2nd half of ...

I'm still here!

Mon, 14 May 2012 05:34:03 EST

Sorry guys... didn't mean to fall of the face of the planet. Things have just gotten busy. A good week overall. Things at work are stable - lots of testing right now so plenty of time to grade and get reports done. We were up in Maine for the weekend, which was really nice. Saturday morning we got up early and took the pups to the beach, which is one of my favorite things to do in the whole world. I spent most of the weekend being like, "we need to move to Maine!" which might happen at some p...

6 Month Sparkiversary!

Tue, 8 May 2012 05:40:45 EST

I don't know what is was last November that convinced my family (yes, I have a great spouse on the sparktrain, too) that sparking was a good idea. I had thought about "dieting" a lot before (I'll just try to eat healthier) and had definitely been an exerciser (just muscle through those long runs, I can do it!) but had never put the whole puzzle together, most specifically the idea that you had to burn more than you ate if you wanted to lose weight.

But 6 months later, I think I'm ...

Coming back to center

Sat, 5 May 2012 11:09:17 EST

We can only be our best, nothing more. That's what I've been trying to come to terms with all week. Between loss, adoption classes, dog classes, and some chaos at school, it has definitely been "one of those weeks..." But the good news is that the weekend is here, and I have a fairly open schedule.

I got some good sleep last night after attending a therapy dog workshop. Got home around 10, watched a little baseball, and got almost 8 hours in bed. The good news is that my dog is al...

Exhaustion and Acceptance

Wed, 2 May 2012 18:36:56 EST

We just returned from our 24 hour trip to Maine. Drove up last night and went straight to visiting hours (my art teacher/mentor passed away over the weekend) then had dinner with T's parents. The funeral home had a show of her art work set up, so that was really neat. I was in her class when she made a number of the pieces, and have seen many of them in her home since then. It was my first time at an open casket ceremony, which was kind of tough, as silly at that sounds. She just looked so fl...

Hanging in there...

Mon, 30 Apr 2012 20:15:29 EST

I am still down from the news of the passing of my friend, and the upcoming Mother's day and having some family trouble, but I am trying to be positive, find balance, and mostly find acceptance. We will be heading up to Maine tomorrow after school for visiting hours and the funeral on Wednesday, and jump right back into work on Thursday. I will keep you posted.

In weight/wellness/fashion news, I've been doing some major bargain hunting. For a total of about $26, I've picked up 3 pa...

Lots of Loss This Month...

Sat, 28 Apr 2012 10:36:13 EST

...no, not the weight kind. I got news this morning that a dear friend, my high school art teacher and mentor, passed away on Thursday after battling Leukemia for over 10 years. This will make the 2nd funeral this month for women who have been taken by cancer, each around the same age as my parents.

Needless to say my heart is heavy, but also full of love and gratitude that she was part of my life. She was my art teacher, ultimately encouraging me to study art in college and seek ...

First Adoption Class!

Fri, 27 Apr 2012 05:38:03 EST

I have been anxious and excited all week, looking forward to our first adoption training class (mutual approach to adoption parenting - MAPP) The class ran from 6-9 last night. It took us over an hour to get there with traffic, and about 40 minutes to get home, so it's shaping up to be a big commitment (obviously not as big as having a kid, but still a lot for a weeknight).

The class was good. Funny, government bureaucracyish, but really good. The trainers are one woman from the a...

Finding myself slipping... So I'm setting realistic expectations

Thu, 26 Apr 2012 05:41:24 EST

I had three really good days - Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday, but I went way above last night (Wednesday) when I went out to dinner! I'm so annoyed... I really like the accountability of the tracker and the weekly report, but it's so frustrating to see things get so out of whack after one meal. GRRRR. And the crazy thing is that it's still so much LESS food than I ate before I started tracking, but it's still too much food if you're trying to lose weight. Darn you, buffalo queso dip and beer!!!...

Tuesday Update

Tue, 24 Apr 2012 16:35:12 EST

All is well here. Had a good weekend with a solid run on Sunday, and brewed some beer! Back to school yesterday, which is good because the end of the year is always sort of like a roller coaster, but then it's over! I don't think I'll be going to China this summer, which is actually ok because we have a great trip to Montana planned for the end of July (sidenote: if anyone has been to Glacier National Park and has any hikes to suggest, I'm all ears!)

I'm coming out of the PMS dark...

Gratitude (and hopefully breaking the plateau)

Sat, 21 Apr 2012 14:04:43 EST

I can't get over the high of being this fit, of loving this body, and of feeling like I'm giving myself the things I need to be healthy and happy. I am still frustrated with the scale, but I think I'm starting to see the light at the end of the PMS tunnel. In the meantime I had a great run with my wife this morning. Her endurance is increasing and she is doing longer intervals. I haven't been doing my proper triathlon training, and strength training has taken the back burner, but the quality ...

If I never lost another pound...

Fri, 20 Apr 2012 16:12:46 EST

I would still...

...be a registered, competitive athlete in local races
... fit into a whole bunch of clothing that hasn't fit me for years, most of which is size 10
...have lots of extra energy
...have great skin because of all the water I drink now
...have a happy digestive system because of reduced carb intake
...not have to go above the 150 marker on the old school scales
...be closer to "healthy" than "obese" in the BMI scale
...like the way ...

I Survived Road Biking!

Tue, 17 Apr 2012 14:47:47 EST

Now that I have calmed down a bit about swimming, I'm on to conquering my next element of terror: the biking portion of the triathlon. To say that I'm not really a biker is an understatement. I've rented a bike once or twice, most memorably on the roads of Japan with my sister in law, where I looked death in the face.

But last night I went over to my friend's house, and together, in the dark, we rigged up her super fast and light road bike. I loaded it in the trunk, and this morni...

MARATHON MONDAY AND PLAYOFFS!

Mon, 16 Apr 2012 06:12:13 EST

It is a very exciting time in Boston. Today is Marathon Monday, one of the most inspiring events of the year! There will be 30,000+ runners barreling from Hopkington MA to downtown Boston, including some elite American and Kenyan runners, Joan Benoit Samuelson (a personal hero of mine from Maine), Teddi Bruschi (a former NE Patriots Player - another amazing athlete), American troops in full gear, wheelchair racers, and my friends Mark and Cory. It is SO INSPIRING and fun to watch the race! O...

Getting Tired of Tracking...

Thu, 12 Apr 2012 05:58:06 EST

I try to be really positive about this process (after all I feel great and am looking pretty good too!) but I have to admit... I'm tired of tracking and I'm tired of not being in maintenance mode yet. I've lost 18 or 19 lbs. I have 10 more lbs to get to a healthy BMI and 16 more to get to my maintenance goal. I keep fluctuating between 145 and 146 (145 is one of my goals so I'm frustrated that I'm not there.)

Don't get me wrong, I don't want to give up on what I've learned, but I ...

Half a triathlon!

Tue, 10 Apr 2012 19:59:49 EST

I've been warned that the hardest part of a triathlon is the transition from bike to run, so tonight's workout was a 6 mile bike and a 5k run, the 2nd half of a sprint triathlon.

I did the bike in 22:15 and the 5k in 34:20. I could definitely feel that my legs took a few minutes to adjust to the running - a 12 min pace felt about right for the first mile.

Bonus - the whole thing was a 500-600 cal workout, and I even lifted arms at the end for about 10 min!

...

Running Buddy!

Tue, 10 Apr 2012 05:40:47 EST

So after a tough talk with my wife, she came to the realization that for her own mental and physical health she might need to start doing some intentional exercise. It's not like she doesn't move, we walk the dogs all the time, but she doesn't often get much of a cardio burn. So we discussed what her first course of action should be, and she decided to pick out a 9 week C25K program.

We did the first workout together yesterday, and I'm happy to say that she did great! It was suppo...

Back... and time to get in the game

Sun, 8 Apr 2012 19:37:30 EST

Back from a weekend in Maine... Since starting on SP 5 months ago (whoa, sparkiversary!) I've had 3 high (as in multiple 2,000-3,000 calorie day) weeks: Christmas, my birthday, and this past weekend (Easter). And you know what? I'm totally fine with that! I look at my tracker since the beginning, and there are the spikes on these weeks, but in between are many weeks of level, 1,600-1,700 day average weeks with plenty of exercise.

Even when I have days or weekends when I eat a lot,...

Removing the distractions

Sat, 7 Apr 2012 10:44:52 EST

For me, food has always been a distraction. Feeling down? Have a treat. Want to celebrate? Have a feast. One of the hardest things about this journey is to find something else to do when food used to fill that space.

I think the same is true about other distractions in my life. I have always listened to music when I've run. But recently it has become less necessary, and today I did a comfortable 4.5 miles in silence, listening to the birds, ocean, and my breathing. Removing this di...

April Goals... or not!

Mon, 2 Apr 2012 21:02:08 EST

I know that goal setting is a major part of the SP routine, but I think I need some help. Last month I set up a few goals: reduce sugar, reduce the number of times I eat out, break the 1,000 fitness minute line, register for a race. While I'm happy to report that I both registered and completed the race, my other goals went by the wayside. And, frankly, the race was due to the friendly support of another SP, completely independent of the goal.

So now it's time for April goals... do...

Working Harder vs. Working Smarter - A Reflection About The Race

Sun, 1 Apr 2012 06:55:10 EST

Running isn't new for me. I ran XC in high school, took a 5k fitness class in college, and have since run a 10k and a half marathon. During each of these periods in my life I've worked really hard to build endurance and strength in the weeks and months before the race.

Then I would run the race, congratulate myself, and quit running for a bit, "as a reward."

What SP has helped me see, though, is that what I really need to do is work smarter. And "smarter" for me right n...

We Did It!

Sat, 31 Mar 2012 16:39:05 EST

All three of us had awesome races today!!! Both DOGLADY and I surpassed all expectation by rolling in UNDER 10 minute pace! Woohoo!

I am stinky and in need of a shower, but I wanted to share a few pics. The deeply reflective blog post will have to wait until tomorrow.

Before:

And after!!!

The free beer was a ...

This story has 2 parts

Thu, 29 Mar 2012 18:18:46 EST

I don't know if it was my exhaustion, my excitement about China, or just the spring air, but this morning I made a rash decision - I will be running my first road race in almost 2 years this weekend.

The best part of this decision? I get to meet a SP friend IN PERSON! Like, the actual human on the other side of the blog! Woohoo!!

That's right, DOGLADY, I'm looking at YOU!

On Saturday morning we will meet at some bar in Salisbury, MA and head out on the pave...

YDAVIS23's SparkPeople Blog

Half results!

First double digit run!

But it tastes SO GOOD!

Moving Forward

A very difficult decision... the countdown begins (nothing to do with weight loss)

Sometimes you have to go up to come down

Critical calorie analysis of the past 8 months