FFF Week One Update

This is my first week update for my Fight Fat February month and so far so good.

Food

All week I ate very well. Breakfast and lunch were pretty standard. I typically have granola and yogurt for breakfast. For lunches this week I made a black bean chilli and ate it a bunch this week. I had a few small snacks throughout most days. Usually something like an apple or carrot sticks. For dinner I just ate what ever the family was eating, making sure to have proper servings.

Five Fitness Workouts

Monday through Friday each night I did the first week of Jillian Michaels 30 day shred. It was rough at first but by Friday it was getting better.

Forty Kilometers

This week I ran 45km! Five days of 9km each. One day was really rainy and I was drenched by the end but it was still fun.

Fifteen Pounds

So far so good on this front too. I’m down five pounds so far. That’s down to 192lbs. The first week of pushing always seems to be the easiest for weight to come off, but if I keep pushing it I’m in good shape to hit the 15lbs lost.

Icy Morning

We were supposed to get a snow storm yesterday but it ended up being mostly freezing rain. We did get some snow on top of it after, but this morning when the sun came up it had everything glistening.

Fight Fat February

For the past little while I’ve been doing pretty good health wise. I’m been running quite a bit and usually eating well. There have been some setbacks in eating though where I for about a week recently regressed and ate way to many snacks especially at night. So far though the scale has been going in the right direction, even though if it has been slower than I like.

In the spirit of 30 challenges I’m going to make February my Fight Fat month. There is still some weight to before I’m happy so I want to set out a series of goals for this month which will hopefully end me up where I want to be. They are going to be ambitious goals and there are some especially that I’m scared already I won’t be able to do, but we’ll see how it goes.

Food

The first thing is food. I’m going to do my best to eat healthy for the whole month, with no snacking on junk. Also make sure my serving sizes are proper portions. This should be one of the easier ones for me to hit. As long as I stick my mind to it I can usually do good at eating well.

Five Fitness Workouts

Starting a workout program again and aim to do it at least five days a week. Jillian Michaels has always served me well so I’m starting with her Ripped in 30 series. I like it because I can do it in my house and all I need are some hand held dumbbells and my own body.

Forty Kilometers

This is the one I’m most scared for. My goal is to run forty kilometers each week for the month. I have done it a couple weeks, but my legs get sore and tie it in with the other work outs, not sure I can keep up this distance each week for the whole time. I’m going to try though.

Fifteen Pounds

By sticking to these other goals, I’m hoping the end results will see me down the last 15 lbs that I want to lose. That will put me basically at the healthy BMI for my height. Even though I know that isn’t a perfect indicator I felt very good the last time I was there and want to get back to it.

So far, one full day in and I’m on track to hit my targets 🙂 Even though February is a short month there is still a long way to go. I haven’t done well at hitting these goals I’ve set for my self the past little bit so I’m going to work especially hard this time to make it happen. Wish me luck!

Wintery Walk in the Marsh

Yesterday was such a nice day we couldn’t not get out an enjoy a little bit of the above zero temperatures. It was just Caile, Noah, and I so we went for a walk at the marsh and enjoyed a little treat afterwards.

Winter Backyard

We had a beautiful snow fall the other day where the snow stuck to the trees and left everything bright white. The snow didn’t seem to stop the birds from coming out an enjoying the seeds in the bird feeders that were put out in the backyard. Today the squirrels were coming and enjoying them as well.

Noah and I

Yesterday Jen took all the girls to Moncton on an overnight trip so they could watch the So You Think You Can Dance tour which came. They all love the show and love dancing in general so it was awesome this opportunity came up for them to go.

This left Noah and I home alone for the evening and night though! As they were having a fun get away we decided we would have our own fun here. Instead of coming right home after school we decided to go get our selves a little treat. I had an awesome coffee while he had a peanut butter brownie treat. The weather was awesome for this time of year so we decided to make use of it and head out for a walk around the marsh as well.

By the time we were done it was pretty much time to eat. Noah had a few different ideas for what he wanted for super, but finally decided on going to Boston Pizza. He worked hard on the activities in the kids menu until his food arrived and even beat me at a few games of X’s and O’s.

It couldn’t be all fun and games though. Once we were home from supper we quickly did the things around the house that were needed for the next day and did his reading homework. With those things out of the way we had the rest of the night to relax with each other. One of his favourite things is to play Go Fish using the Jetpack cards I picked up while at the Grand Meetup for work. While we were playing he made me laugh. I’ve obviously set some different expectations in him by my past actions. He asked me if when I change jobs if I would have to give the cards back to work :-). He remembers cell phones and other things I had to return previous employers. Not this time little man. For one I have no intentions on going anywhere, and I’m pretty sure they’ll let me keep the cards.

We finished off the night with a bit of a snuggle on the couch with some carrot sticks as a snack and then off to bed.

I had a rough night sleeping, I’m sure from a combination of not used to sleeping alone and being worried about over sleeping or not waking up if Noah needed me in the night. As it turns out he slept all the way through. I told him in the morning Mom would be mad because he slept all night. He was confused and asked mad at me or you? At you I told him. She’s going to say, how come when Dad is here you sleep all night for him, but when I’m here you get up and come see me in the night? His response was, Dad you told me to stay in bed all night. HAHAHA!

Favourite Winter Activity

Today we are visiting Ross Farm Museum for their annual winter frolic event. As we were walking from the car into the snow we were talking to the kids about the different activities that were on.

There is sledding, snow shoes, horse sleigh rides, and hot chocolate. At the mention of hot chocolate Caile pipes up:

That’s my favourite winter activity!

Making Progress

If there is one thing I can take away from today is that I finally think I’m making progress. For the past couple weeks the scale has been seeing a steady decline, although not huge. I’m putting in lots of km’s running, and tracking my calories has helped me stay on top of my eating. But this isn’t the main progress I’m pleased about right today.

For some reason today I woke up with a poor attitude. Without even knowing the reason I’ve just felt down all day. These days happen sometimes and they go away fairly quickly thankfully. Normally when these days happen though my default to get through them is by eating. Eating a pile of food that is not good for me and not needed. In the end it always makes things worse because then I feel down about all the food I just ate for no good reason.

Today, even though I still feel the same way, I stuck to eating the way I should. Just a few minutes ago I came very close to grabbing a bag of chips along with a homemade muffin and cookies, but instead I grabbed a little container of yogurt and am now done eating for the day.

The plan is to wake up tomorrow feeling like myself and make sure I force myself out for a run, as that in itself has a way of clearing my head and making me feel better. All the while keeping my eating in check so the progress can continue.

Winter Rain Storm

Awoken shortly after getting to bed
Winds from the winter rain storm trying to get in
Windows rattle and the whole house sways
All glowing lights suddenly flash off

Laying here awake, thankful
Thankful for a warm safe home
Thankful for a still sleeping family
Thankful it’s all rain and not snow

Morning will come soon
Hopeful sleep will as well
That dawn will bring peaceful weather
And the lights and heat will once again be on

Early Morning Run

This morning I was awake right about 5:30am because I had managed to get to bed at a decent time last night. It looked like a beautiful morning out even though it was a bit chilly I decided to start my morning the way I used to all the time.

Early morning used to be my favourite time to run but I had fallen away from that. Granted that used to be in the summer and warmer periods where it was pretty much light out already and I didn’t need a bunch of layers to stay warm. However this morning reminded me why I liked it so much. The world is still fairly still and quite that time of morning except for a few people likely making the commute to work. It also gives me quite time in the morning to just clear my head and start the day on a positive. The sky was very clear with the moon and the stars still out so the scenery was nice to take in as well.

Not sure I’ll keep this up especially as the weather gets even colder, but if I do it’s also a great way to get my Fitbit steps in. This morning before 7:30 am I had over 8000 steps in!