Accountability Friday: December 11, 2015

Nothing like a little accountability to start off the weekend!

In short, my last week was pretty dang awesome. Weight Watchers revealed a new program (Beyond the Scale), I completed training in Dallas, TX to become a Weight Watchers Leader, and I lost 2.8 pounds- even while I was traveling, which is usually challenging for me.

So... about that new program....

I've actually been living with Smart Points and Beyond the Scale for about two months now (as Service Providers we got a sneak peek at the program) and I can honestly say that I think it's the best change Weight Watchers has made in a long time. I plan on writing about this a bit more in detail in the coming weeks but overall, even though I struggled at the beginning, I am super excited about this program and how it will benefit so many people.

Also, look for an upcoming post with all the fun stuff that happened at leader training this past weekend- in short, it was a transformative and developmental experience with some of the most inspirational women I've had the privilege to meet.

Future Weight Watcher Leaders: Rachel, Jennifer, Wendy, and me.

Training:
Saturday- 8 treadmill miles in Dallas, 12:08 pace
Sunday- Upper body weight circuit, planks, one mile run: 9:34 pace

Galloway's Princess Half Marathon training plan called for eight miles on Saturday and even though I had to get them done on the treadmill, I felt confident in getting another long run under my belt. And the next day, my legs felt so good that I decided to crank out a 9:34 mile!

But you'll notice that I've been a big-time slacker the rest of the week. On Sunday night, I ran up the opposite way on an escalator (long story) and I whacked the top of my right foot on one of the steps as it was coming down. Ouch. It's bruised and sore so I've been babying it all week. Luckily, there's only one mile on the training plan this weekend!

Proof of my fastest mile to date.

Food Find:
While in Dallas, a lot of our food was catered as part of the training. However, when we had dinner out on Sunday night, a bunch of us split a sweet potato cheesecake. And by split, I mean I'm pretty sure I ate half. It was completely worth the Smart Points though :-)

Weight:
145.8 as of 12/9/15
-2.8 from last week.

Non-Scale Victory:
Yesterday, at one of the many work holiday parties, I successfully walked away from a tray full of cookies and didn't look back. Progress.



Happy Friday and Happy Hanukkah to all who celebrate!  Have a splendid weekend!

Mid-Week Check-In and Countdown to Philly!

Hi friends!

Happy hump day!

In just two days, Matthew and I are headed east to run the Philadelphia Rock and Roll Half Marathon. Back in 2012, this was the second half marathon I'd ever ran and my first non-Disney distance race. I love this flat and fast course- the first few miles are in historic downtown Philadelphia and then the course follows the Schuylkill River along Kelly Drive and back to finish in front of the art museum- and the Rocky Steps! I can't wait to run this one again this weekend :-)

Running Philly RnR in 2012. Thanks to Matthew for the action shot!

Also, last week, Matthew and I got our engagement photos back and I am in love with this one of our whole little family-

Matthew, Me, and our very spoiled pup.

Ok, because I wasn't able to publish an "Accountability Monday" post earlier this week, here's an abridged version of my last week.

Training:
Wednesday- Stability Ball Workout
Saturday- 3.28 miles on the trail, 11:08 pace + Runner's World Core Workout
Tuesday- 3.1 miles, 10:51 pace.

Ummmm, yup. The slacker bus has arrived in the station and I'm driving! I really don't have any excuse- work has been insanely busy and I haven't made working out a priority. But, I'm looking forward to following along with the official run Disney training plan, put together by Jeff Galloway. Look for a post specifically detailing my training plan for this race.

Food Find:
Instead of a food find, here's a recipe I created for an awesome no-bean chili. I cook a pot of this probably once a week and then portion it out for lunches. The beautiful thing about chili is that you can really do tons of different stuff with it (add a can of pumpkin, or jalapenos, or beans) and each time it's still pretty delicious!

What you'll need:

A crock pot
1 pound 93% lean ground turkey (cook on the stove top and drain off the grease)
2 green peppers, chopped
3-4 cloves of garlic
1 medium onion, diced
2 cans of diced tomatoes
1/2 bag of shredded carrots
2 squash, chopped (I prefer yellow)
1-2 packs of chili seasoning (I prefer McCormick Mild Reduced Sodium)

After cooking the turkey, put it in the crock pot with all the chopped veggies, canned tomatoes, and chili seasoning and cook for 8 hours on low or 4 hours on high. That's it!

I like to add a dollop of fat-free greek yogurt and some shredded cheese on top for an extra little bit of flavor.

Weight:
147.0 as of 10/27/2015
+.4 from last week

Non-Scale Victory:
Ok, so this is actually a scale-related victory but it's a really good one: for the last year (52 whole weeks), my weight has remained under 150 pounds!

Never in my life have I maintained my weight for an entire year! I've always done the roller coaster thing- lose a bunch of weight, gain it back, lose it again, etc. The fact that I've kept my weight within a 5-7 pound range over the last year is simply unbelievable to me. I am so proud of my progress and how far I've come on this journey of being healthier. Now, if I could just get my training back on track... :-)

That's it for last week! Hope you have a fantastic week and weekend!


Who will be in Philadelphia this weekend? Anyone running RnR?

Mid-week Check-in and Updated Goals

Good morning, friends!

Please excuse my temporary absence from the blog- Matthew and I escaped to the beautiful seaside town of Cape May, NJ for a much needed mini-vacation. I hope your holiday weekend was wonderful!

In lieu of an official "Accountability Monday" post, I wanted to quickly update the last few weeks. In short, I was up to 148 pounds two weeks ago and then I lost 3.6 last week. I weigh-in for this week later today so we'll have to see what news the scale brings!

I've also decided to adjust my goal weight. As you may know, I originally declared that 139 pounds would be my goal weight. But after working at Weight Watchers for the last few weeks- and following my recent struggles with the scale- I've decided that 139 is a bit unrealistic for me. Initially, it was important for me to have a weight with a "13" in front of it. After years of seeing a "19" or a "18" or even "20" as the first two digits of my weight, I was eager to finally see a "13"- a number I never thought I'd get to.

But now, it doesn't feel doable. I mean, is 139 really the weight that I'll be able to maintain the rest of my life? In looking at the last few months of my weight record, I've been hovering between 140 and 145 for almost six months. I think my body is trying to tell me something- it's happy in that range.

At my meeting later today I am going to re-declare my goal weight at 150. The way it works with Weight Watchers is that your goal weight should be something manageable within the healthy range for your height. For me, that means between 128 and 160 pounds. Why am I choosing 150? Because I think that 150 (and under) is a weight that I can maintain for life. I'd still like to be right around 140 and will continue to strive to get back to that weight- but I'm ok if I don't get there.

I'm slowly learning that my health and how I feel about myself is much, much more than a number on the scale. My actual weight is just one piece of feedback- it's not the whole picture. Even though I've been in a bit of a funk, I'm working on being at peace with who I am and where I am in my journey. Progress, not perfection. :-)

"The cure for anything is salt water; sweat, tears, or the sea." - Isak Dinesen