Chasin' Graham & MapMyWalk

  Let me start this by saying when I decided at the beginning of the year I wanted to work on my health it was in no way a "New Years Resolution".  I think they're pointless!  The Biggest Loser Competition I started with the Halliburton guys happened to start on January 5th and I thought, why not?  Graham had also gained a bit of weight in the last year or so and he decided he wanted to start eating healthier too. 

When we started I weighed 15lbs more than he did.  I knew I weighed more, but what woman is comfortable weighing more than her man?  I sure as hell am not!  So not only was I wanting to lose weight, one of my main goals was to weigh less than him.

Over the course of 3 months I have logged every bit of food I eat and every workout I've done (I'll get to how and where in a minute) and Graham... well let's just say he cut back on his cokes and beer consumption.  That's pretty much it.  I measure his food on his plate every night... and then he goes and get's a second helping.  So he pretty much hasn't made much of a dent in his eating habits.  He is drinking more water though, I'll give him that.  He lost a good 14lbs just doing those things. 

So last Friday I weighed in for the week and I was 1 lb above him. 1 freaking pound!!!  We got home from our little Lubbock trip on Sunday and either he ate something bad or contracted one hell of a stomach bug, but that boy was sick!!  We both weighed Tuesday morning and I'll be damned if he hadn't dropped another 6 pounds.  Once again.. I am chasing him.  I will weigh less than him.. but today isn't the day!  =)

I started using the MapMyWalk fitness app back in January when I started this journey.  It's absolutely awesome.  I love it!

I log every bit of food and drink that I put in my body, every single day.  It helps me keep track of my calories/fats/proteins/carbs that I take in.  When I know I only have a few calories allowed remaining for that day it helps me pay attention to whether or not I'm actually hungry or just bored.  On most days I won't eat what I call the "extra" calories that are still available.  I guess they aren't really "extra", because it's the amount I'm allowed based on my weight, but if I'm not hungry I just don't consume them.  As I lose weight, the amount of calories (etc.) I'm allowed to have on a daily basis drops.  If I remember right, the calories you're allowed are based on a 2lb a week defecit.



Yeah I still eat crap that I know shouldn't (hence the red lines on the pic above), but if I eat 3000 calories that day... I log it!  This is a journey, not a diet.  Yes I have monthly goals I intend to reach, but I don't do it by eating things that won't help me keep the weight off in the long run.  I'm trying to teach my body how to eat again.  When I'm at home I measure all of my food on my sweet Biggest Loser Scale to keep me accountable to only eat healthy portions.  I still go out to eat, but I'm learning to eyeball how much exactly I can eat a lot better and I pay attention to my body.  There will always be family get-togethers, out-of-town trips, and days that I just want a greasy ol' cheeseburger, and that's ok. 

I think part of my biggest problem my whole life is thinking that there are foods I just can't have if I want to be 'skinny' - which is not my goal at all, by the way.  The important thing is to eat in moderation.  I have however learned that I tend to pay better attention to what splurges I'm allowing myself more often.  There are certain things I just love and there are certain things that taste good but it honestly wouldn't bother me if I never wasted another calorie on them again.   Most of the time I know when I'm going out of town, or will be eating out with people and I usually eat less a few days before to allow myself a little more on those days. 

Food makes me happy, it just does.  One day I hope to change my mindset more on that, but for now it helps me to keep my sanity when I allow myself to eat what most would consider 'forbidden' on their "diets" every now and then. It's all how you balance yourself!  Again - this is a journey, not a diet.  I'm just taking it all day by day. 



The app also allows me to log all of my workouts.  It  shows total calories burned during each session, but I don't wear a heart rate monitor or anything, so I take that data with a grain of salt.  I focus on how long it takes me to run/walk those miles and use it as a tool to push me harder.  Lately, the wind has been pushing back and I'm not getting them done as fast as I was, but that's just added resistance.  =)

I can even go online and see how many miles I'm averaging a month... and before I know it, a year!!  I'm not fast by any means, I'm not striving to be at this point.  I am making progress though and that means more to me than anything!

My honey and I have 3 days off and we plan to get in some good 4-wheeler time together.  We'll be spending Easter with Graham's family this year and we're excited to see the kiddos hunt eggs.  Should be a good freaking weekend, hope it is for y'all too!!

Weekend Recap

We spent the weekend in Lubbock/Levelland, TX with my Levelland family (Paul, Kelly & Ayanna).   Graham's brother Reg and his family (Staci, Jackson, & Mollie) and our good friend Erin and her family (JJ, Kirsten, Jaylon, & Austin) also met us in Lubbock to hang out for the weekend.  Erin also just happens to be Staci's sister.  Staci, Erin, and I were all signed up to do The Color Run together on Saturday. 

We started our road-trips like we always do; with me taking pictures.  =)

We stayed in Levelland with my sister, while everyone else got a hotel room in Lubbock.  I'm cheap y'all.  I don't care how early I had to get up and be on the road to get to the race on time, as long as I wasn't having to pay for a hotel room too!

You can read all about our amazing time we had at The Color Run HERE.

After the race, I of course was famished so we went and got our grub-on at Rosa's.  Fajitas y'all!  As if that wasn't enough, my niece talked me into trying out 'A Cup Of Yo'.  It's basically self-serve frozen yogurt.  Amazing.  Absolutely amazing.  It's better for you than ice cream, but since it's like a buffet line and you can fill er' up as you please, it was definitely not good for my waist-line when all was said and done.  I mean hello, there were butterfinger pieces and crushed up peanut butter cups.  How can you say no to that?  Well obviously I can't... and I didn't.

After stuffing ourselves fueling up we headed back to Levelland so I could scrub off all that pretty color I acquired while running earlier that day.

Later that evening we all met up back in Lubbock at Main Event so the kiddos could all play together.  We tried laser tag and it was just about the funnest thing I had ever done.  I can't wait to go back again.

Oh!  And the wind was horrible that afternoon/evening.  While we were driving to Lubbock, I just kept thinking that had to be what it was like in the 'dust bowl' days.  It was kind of scary to be honest!

Graham and I are definitely home-bodies, almost to a fault, but we always enjoy spending time in Lubbock for a bit, even if it is only a few hours away. 

I leave you with this. 

She really is one of the coolest kids I know... and she get's it from her Tia!  =)

Finish The Sentence Link-Up

Today I'm linking up with Holly and Jake for "Finish The Sentence". 

I've never linked up with any blogs before because

1- I didn't know how and had to google it...

2- because sometimes it gets a little old checking out other people's blogs and seeing link-ups errrrr single day. 

This one looked fun though.  

Enjoy! 

Finish The Sentence...

1. If calories didn't count, I would eat... Green chile bacon cheeseburgers and fries with ranch.  And probably a few times a day!

2. On my Prom night... My boyfriend at the time stood me up so I went solo.  I remember going to play putt-putt after the dance and finding out a few days later that he was also there that night... with someone else.  Thank you sweet baby Jesus for ending that chapter in my life!

3. When I go to the store, I always buy... Bottles of water and usually some sort of fruit.

4. Family functions typically... I love hanging out with both of our families for the most part.  I normally look forward to get-togethers, but every family has that one person it's best to just stay away from.  Hey, it happens!

5. I think my blog readers... Are few and far between! lol!  I started this blog a few months ago but only let people know I was even doing it through our family newsletters I send out a few times a year.  More than anything, I wanted to do it so we can look back on how our lives change and stay the same for that matter!  I did notice I do have one new follower as of yesterday though.  Hi Cece! 

6. I'd much rather be...  On the back of the 4-wheeler with my hubby with a cold beer in my hand. 

7. I have an obsession with... Instagram. Pinterest. Reality TV. Subway. All the blogs I read!

8. My work friends... Are a bunch of old men.  Seriously.  I work at a gas plant and I am the only female.  Truth be told, I wouldn't have it any other way.  I love those grumpy guys!

9. When I created my Facebook account... I started it and then went back to Myspace for the longest time.  I loved Myspace.. not sure why I ever quit using it! haha

10. My least favorite word is... The C word.  It's just ugly.

11. I really don't remember... A lot of my childhood.  I look back through pictures often and always remember what house we were living in at the time (cause we moved all the damn time), but never much of anything else.  It's like I suppressed those memories!

12. Justin Bieber... My niece loves him and I never have to listen to his crap unless she's around... and she lives in a different state... so he never crosses my mind!

The Color Run - Lubbock, TX

On Saturday, I participated in my first ever 5k with my sister-in-law, Staci and my good friend, Erin (Staci's sister). 

What better 5k to start with than The Color Run??

This was the first time The Color Run had ever been to Lubbock and there was a huge turn-out... like 14,000 people signed up to run! 

 

If you're living under a rock not familiar with the concept, it's basically an untimed fun-run where you go in looking squeaky clean and finish looking like a rainbow.  You can run, walk, hop, skip, anything you need to do to get through the 5k course.  At every "k" you run through a different color station and the color volunteers throw colored powder on you.  

I don't really remember what order the color stations were in but here a few pics from those.

There were also tons of people that came to watch us in all of our colored glory as we crossed the finish line.

After we were all colorfied we hit up the after-party at The Color Run stage for more, wellll COLOR!

 



The Run-icorn was hanging out with Raider Red!



I had been using a 5k training app since the end of January to try my best to get ready for this "race".  I didn't run the whole thing by any means but I was able to run a hell of a lot more than I was able to when I first started a few months ago.  All in all, I was proud of myself and had so much freaking fun.  It was seriously one of the most awesome experiences I've ever had! 

If you want more information or want to find a race in your area, go HERE.