Well I stayed on track the last two days. No time to post yesterday as my daughter was quite sick. I am currently sleep deprived but following my exercise and nutrition plans out of habit ;-)

Tuesday: Breakfast: grapenuts 210, coffee
Snack: cheese 100
Lunch: tunafish and a banana 270
Snack: cheese 100
Dinner: leftover spaghetti and two meatballs 350
Snack: cashews 140
Total: 1170
Ran 4 miles
Wednesday: Breakfast: Grapenuts 210 coffee
Lunch: bologna and cheese sandwich on wheat 350
Snack: italian ice 60 calories
Dinner: chicken 180, 1/2 serving rice 100, peas 80
Snack: peanut butter 1tbsp on slice of wheat bread 190
Total: 1170

Ran only 2 miles, it was late and I was exhausted.

Today I am planning on lifting ( upper body) and running four miles. I am definately noticing progress this week. Abs are the toughest I think for me, I have had the pleasure a twin pregnancy and a cesarean section. All in all I think I look okay, but would love to see my abs, I am thinking much of it will come with fat loss, but some of it I have to accept as battle scars I wouldn't trade for the world :-)!

Oh, four kids..............ah, gotcha.

I'm a little older than you are, have two teens, and weighed a little less to start off with.

I'm also happier when I exercise and weigh less !

Some of my battle scars I don't want to go away either, so I know how you feel.

Here it is Saturday. I will weigh in tomorrow again. I am using scales at the gym my hubby works out at. We swim there on Sundays, I am able to be consistant that way and avoid the "scale obsession". Regardless of what it says my clothes are looser and I can tell I am making a difference. Nutrition wise I am holding steady averaging 1200-1400 calories a day and not feeling hungry. I am also not having as many nighttime cravings ;-). Exercise wise I ran 4 miles last night I am averaging an 8-9 minutes mile with a half mile or so being up hill in the middle. I did upper body on thursday and had a great workout. Definately feeling stronger and have much more ENERGY! I have a samll frame and would love some muscle definition to square up my shoulders a little. Overall, I am feeling great and appreciate all your support.

I'm so happy for you. I'm glad you are doing a good job and having so much energy. Don't obesess with the scales, they are evil..very evil. Go by your clothes. They are the best way to tell.

Saturday was great! I stuck to my niutrition plan, with the exception of a small icecream. I bought Bryers light Vanilla Bean which is only 100 calories in a 1/2 cup, cones are 15 calories ...so for about 100 calories I had a small cone that was wonderful ;-) Overall calories for the day was a little low at 1200, but I was really busy. We also took the kids to the PA Grand Canyon (yep I said PA lol) and hiked the Turkey Trail which goes from top to bottom, and we made it with all four kiddos lol. We got some great pictures of the trail and kids. My dog Lucy led the way and thought she was in charge stopping to make sure we could keep up lol. I had to piggy back back my 4 year old on the way up at times as it is steep ( great strength training). Takes about 45 minutes each way. Excellent cardio and strength training. Today is my weigh in, wish me luck!

Edited to add that I weighed in at 138.5 lbs, same day, same time, same scale! I am now down 2.5 lbs ;-).

I had an awesome run last night, it seems to be getting easier. I also did lower body weight training in the am. Nutrition wise I did okay with the exception of a glass of wine. I don't think one glass once a while hurts though. Here is my food diary:

B: grapenuts, coffee 210
s: cheesestick 100
L: one slice homeade pizza 300
S: missed
D: one light hotdog on wheat bread 2oo
salad 100
S: one half glass of wine with low fat yogurt: 200?

total: 1210

Once in a while won't hurt you.

Nope, it certainly won't hurt - in fact you need that balance so that you don't feel deprived, get frustrated and quit all together. In the same sense you don't want to be "That Guy"/"That Girl" when it comes to being overweight - you also don't want to be "That Guy"/"That Girl" when it comes to training (i.e., the one that is ALWAYS training and NEVER eats anything unhealthy).

Hmm well yesterday I did well on my nutrition plan except for the serving of baked chips I threw in. They were 140 calories of sinful pleasure lol. Took a break from working out yesterday as I hadn't done so in almost two weeks. I did clean all day, so no sitting around for me. I am definately seeing some definition in my muscles, Casey (hubby) even noticed . Overall staying on track. I did an upper body workout this am and it felt great. I plan to run 4 miles this evening. I am a little worried about keeping this up when my classes kick in two weeks from now, but I am definately going to keep at it.

Boy do I feel tired today, got up late at 8:30 and felt like I could sleep another couple of hours. I only ran 2 miles last night as it was 9:30pm before I could get started and it creeps me out to run in the pitch dark. However since I lifted yesterday it was ok. Here is my food for the day:

B: grapenuts, coffee 210
S: banana 100
L: tuna with olives and cucumbers 280
S: low fat yogurt 100
D: Chicken, rice, veggies (stir fry mix) 380
S: Chocolate chip cookie and 1/2 glass of milk 200

Total 1270

Yesterday was a bust. I didn't run like I wanted too, since we took the kids school shopping. I ate breakfast and lunch at home, but dinner at the Outback. Even with behaving I know the calories were high. Then I through in the towel and had some baked tortillas and cheese in the evening. I guiess I have had my cheat for the next month.

B oatmeal coffee 200 calories
S skipped
Lunch tuna and luttuce 290
S: skipped
D: 1/3 portion of steak 280
sweet potato with butter 400?
salad 100
S: tortillas and cheese 350
2 beers lol 200

Total: 1820 calories Oh my!

Well today is a new day..............

Just remember that.

Now that I survived my circus act I am doing better. Today I have ate very nutritiosly. I weighed in today at 137, down 1.5 lbs from last week! I think I will measure myself tomorrow just to see what I have lost in that measure or maybe even gained.

Here are my stats:

8/7/06

bicep: 11 inches
chest: 36 inches
waist: 29 inches
hips: 37 inches
thigh: 22 inches
calf: 13.5 inches

8/21/06

bicep: 10 3/4 inches lost 1/4 inch
chest: 36 inches no change
waist: 28 inches lost 1 inch
hips: 37 inches no change
thigh: 21 inches lost 1 inch
calf: 13 3/4 inches gained 1/4 inch

Total weight loss 4 pounds in 3 weeks. I wish it would go faster, but I think it is healthier this way. I am loosing 1.5 pounds a week. I plan to get my weight down to 128lbs and go from there. That is what I weighed before my last baby was born, it was a good weight for me. I wouldn't mind weighing more if it was muscle, so time will tell. I guess I'll see how I feel when I get there. At this rate it will only take about 6 weeks or so. My clothes are already fitting better and I think I might make it back into a size 6! Right now the size 6buttons, but a lttle snugger than I like.

Last night I ran 4.5 miles and it felt great. I at well, although I think I came in low calorie wise. My husband will be in Asia for two weeks in September, so if anyone reading knows a good cardio DVD I am open to suggestions as I can't leave my kiddos to run :-( My husband has been trying to be more fit as well and he has lost 9 lbs in the last 3 weeks!

B: oatmeal 120
S: granola bar 120
L: Turkey on whole grain bread with tomato 300
S: missed
D: Tukey on wheat 300
S; Mozzarella stick 100, carrot sticks 60

Total: 1000 calories