Get Your Day Started Right

I am back on WW. And I am actually following the program, so that's always good. ;) The hardest thing for me was breakfast. I was having a light yogurt every morning, and while it was low it points, it also made me hungry by 10am.

At my WW meeting, someone mentioned oatmeal. Now I have NEVER been a hot cereal type of gal. My grandmothers both had cream of wheat every morning and I thought it tasted like paste. I put all hot cereals in that category. But I was desperate, so I figured i had nothing to lose. I went straight to the top and got steel cut oatmeal. Not instant- the kind you have to cook nearly an hour.

But man, does it work! I eat some of these, and I am full for the whole morning. I can't believe it. They are really tasty too! I make a full batch and night, and then divide it into 4-6 containers. Then I just heat it up at work in the morning for 1 minute in the microwave, add a tiny bit of chopped walnuts and craisins, and I am good to go!

I use McCann's Irish Oatmeal. You can buy these oats at many grocery stores, but I have found them cheapest at Trader Joe's. Having a filling breakfast really works for me! For other works for me ideas, visit We Are That Family.

Yoga is NOT Stretching

Last night I took my first yoga class. (an aside -- those of you who only know me from this blog may be under the mistaken impression that I am athletic or fit or something. I assure you this could not be further from the truth! I am in the process of trying to lose about 50lbs on ww, and working to get into something other than couch potato shape. Seriously.) So anyway, I thought yoga would go well with the running and help me stretch out some muscles. I did not expect the degree of workout I got...and believe me, I didn't even do half the stuff!!

This yoga studio just opened up down the street from us over the weekend, and had classes that start at 8pm. I was so excited. I wanted to join Curves a while ago -- but all the ones in the DC area close at 8. Seriously, what is that about? My kids go to bed between 7:30 - 8 (at least we try), so I need something that starts at 8 or later -- yoga seemed perfect. The class was KILLER. I mean I liked it, I think. I will go back, but man was it HARD! You don't just stretch the muscle - you hold it there til it burns, then hold it another few minutes!!! I was sweating like a dog in under 10 minutes and then my hands and feet were all sweaty making it impossible to hold poses that I couldn't really hold to begin with. Definitely not what I expected. But good, I think. The last 10 minutes made it all worth it. We did this cool down and a inversion (which is basically where you try and get as many parts of your body in line above your head - without having to do a headstand, although that is an inversion too) that were awesome. It was very relaxing and really helped calm some lower back muscles that had been bothering me. Don't think I'll be a yogi anytime soon, but I will go back.

I DID IT!

I did it. Today I ran for 20 minutes non-stop, no walking breaks...20 whole minutes in a row. 5 weeks ago I could barely do 90 seconds. Seriously. I am so proud of myself. I have no idea how far I went (the program suggests time OR distance -- not both). I just run in random zig zags around my neighborhood, so there is no way to know. Think I'll wait a few more weeks til I worry about that. For now I am too pumped (although I'll probably be a little sore later)

And my $135 running shoes that I went to the specialty store to get and end up totally hurting my feet? The store says I can bring em back and they'll figure out what is going on and replace with something else, if necessary. yayy!

Now if only I could work on the eating. In the 5 weeks I have been doing the running program, I've gained 4lbs. URRGHHHHH. I am afraid to go weigh in at ww. But I probably need to in order to get back on the wagon.

Help! I'm being followed!

So. I have been doing this exercise program for about a month now. It is called Couch Potato to 5k (CP25K), and was designed by some experts on Cool Running.com. Now before you get the wrong idea -- I am not a runner. My whole life I lived by the mantra "I only run when chased". Seriously, even as a kid, I did not run. But for some reason this program seemed compelling. And, I realized something. I AM being chased. By a big old butt that I can't believe belongs to me. So, with my big butt chasing me, I have started running. The program is cool. Each week it alternates running and walking at increasing intervals, until, at the end, you can run for 30 minutes.

Currently I am up to running about 5 minutes alternating with three minutes with walking in between. It doesn't sound like much, but when the program started, I couldn't imagine running for 90 seconds, so this is big for me. The program is helped hugely by these free podcasts. They tell you when to walk and when to run. I can't imagine how people do it without these -- you would have to keep looking at your watch or pedometer constantly!

So..I can't really imagine myself running a 5k in a few months, but who knows? If you'd have told me I could run for 5 minutes without stopping (much less do it 2x in a 20 minute period, along with 2 3-minute runs), I'd have said you were nuts!

So far my funniest moment came about a week into the program. I hoped on the scale, figuring there should be a big loss, given I am now actually exercising. But nope. My first thought? What the (*#$, I'm not doing this for my health! Then I laughed, and realized, I am doing it for my health!

Hopefully, combined with weight watchers, in a few months, nothing will be following me.

Blueberry Pie

So last Saturday we decided to go blueberry picking. It was so fun. We went to Butler's Orchard, about 35 minutes from us (depending upon which of us is driving at breakneck speed). Anyway, when you get there you weigh your containers (we had beach buckets) and get on hayride-type truck to get you to the blueberry fields. The girls and I went, as DS was asleep, so DH stayed in the car with him (not being a big blueberry fan anyway). We got out there and started picking. The kids really liked it and there were blueberries as big as a quarter! My 3-year old kept eating the berries, while me and my 5-year old focused on filling our buckets. After only about 15-20 minutes we had all the buckets filled, and hopped back in the wagon to the parking lot. After weighing all our loot we paid for the blueberries and it was $10!!!! We easily had $40 worth of blueberries there. I was psyched!

This farm also had a flower garden you could go picking in too, so we stopped there on the way out. The girls insisted on ONLY picking pink flowers. No red, yellow, or even purple. Just pink. okey dokey.

When we got home we made pie. My oldest must have done this at preschool, as she rattled off the ingredients from the top of her head when I suggested it. Weird, especially because she won't eat fruit -- OR pie. We used store-bought roll out crust, and cut hearts in the top. The girls loved making it. We served it the next day at a party we held to meet other kids in our neighborhood who were going to Kindergarten in the fall. It was a HUGE hit. I had three pieces. So much for WW that week.

Now I have about 4 pints of blueberries frozen to make pies into the winter. Can't wait!

Food...or not...weight watchers...

So I have rejoined weight watchers. It was VERY successful for me before I had kids. I also had lost over 25 lbs before we found out I was pregnant with #3 on ww, so I know it works. But..I am not convinced it works while breastfeeding. I am still nursing (and pumping, ughh) for my 6-month old. WW has a specific program for breastfeeding that basically gives you an additional 10 points a day. This seems excessive to me. So far I am losing weight...but I am not eating those 10 points. So far my milk supply is fine, so I am not worried. If I start to see a drop-off, I will definitely add more points.

So now I am on the quest to find the best low-point foods. My all-time favs are FF Jello Pudding, Sugar Free jello, and LF Cool Whip. I also have this recipe where you bake a banana (in the skin) for 45 minutes then take it out, sprinkle with cinnamon and top with LF Cool whip -- YUMM! I am currently addicted to edamame. I really love this stuff. My 2.5 year old tried some last night and loved it as well. She was eating it faster than I could shell it! Of course neither my incredibly picky 4.5 year old or my husband would try. Actually, he tried one, but quickly downed a cracker to kill the taste. Oh well..more for me! I also LOVE the ww one-point chocolate/caramel bars. YUMMY! DH suggested that I could eat almost a whole box every day for my extra 10 points...he should NOT suggest such things...