Canker

I am quite healthy, and very thankful for that fact. One reoccurring issue I do deal with is canker and cold sores. I've suffered from them for as long as I can remember. I HATE cold sores, as they not only hurt, but they look terrible too.  At least canker sores are in the mouth and not visible ... except for that rare occasion when they form on the outer lip. I'm dealing with this currently. Now the canker is still no where near as ugly as a cold sore, it's really not that noticeable... but on the outside of the lip it's even more painful than when it's in. When my top lip connects (as lips are bound to do) it creates a suction, which is then painfully pulled apart the next time I open my mouth. This dang canker has really interfered with sleep, eating (anything salty getting in it literally makes me dance around) and even exercise. I usually have a fan blowing on me, and it gets dried out and painful. I've had to keep lip balm stocked at each exercise station (elliptical, treadmill and bike) and at various locations around the house, car and purse. And of course ... it interferes with kissing too!

I know, it's a minor complaint compared to the issues and injuries so many have to deal with. Like I said, I am very grateful for my health. I'll also be VERY happy when my mouth is back to normal!

Weekend ShenaniGAINs

Happy Monday. I am actually one of those strange people who LIKE Mondays! I love the structure of routine and weekends really wreck the routine! They can be SO hard when you are trying to exercise and eat right.  Today, I thought I'd link up with Sami's Weekend Shenanigans as I had a not-so-nice THREE pound gain from Friday morning. I must have been sheneniganing ... or shenaniGAINing!

I do count Friday as part of the weekend ... my routine goes out the window. The middle school starts late, so we all sleep in a bit. The elementary gets out early, so that disrupts my afternoon.  Friday means friends for the boys. A bunch over at our house, and I did end up running #2 to go hang out with his basketball buddies. Hubby came home from work exhausted, so no date night ... which actually meant I stayed pretty much on target for the day for exercise and eating.

Saturday was birthday day for #1. 

He is now 18 years old! 

We had a family outing to The Cheesecake Factory to celebrate.

Ipods are great for keeping the kids entertained while we wait ...

Ipods are also great for reflecting light into poor  #2's eyes.

... and we took an entire 10" cheesecake home.

#1's request for his "birthday cake"

So .... Saturday was NOT great for eating/exercise. Sunday wasn't either. We had our usual big Sunday breakfast (Belgian waffles, bacon and hash browns) and then hubby made his fantastic steak/chicken and mashed potatoes for dinner. I made rolls but resisted eating any. And of course there was still cheesecake leftover for dessert. Now ... I don't really even like cheesecake. I don't regret the meals, but I do regret eating the cheesecake! (I did still get in a little exercise both days, as you can see here, not enough to combat all the calories though).

So ... I bumped up into the 160's again this morning. Three pounds up from Friday morning. No, I didn't eat in excess of 10,000 calories, even with my wicked weekend. I'm hoping with a few good days back under my belt this scale bump will go back down. I was just really NOT wanting to see the 6 as the middle number again!

And BIRTHDAYS are done for a while (it was #3 and #4's birthday just the week before, so LOTS of celebrating and cake lately ... my birthday is next, and it isn't until November).  Up next ... SPORTS will be monopolizing Saturdays (and weekdays too!) Basketball and soccer starting up soon.

How was YOUR weekend?

Mucho Magazines

Back when I first lost the weight (back in 2006) I was really drawn to all the weight loss/fitness magazines out there. They were motivating, they did give me some information I wasn't aware of, there were new workouts, recipes and food plans (with my eating issues, none of the food stuff really worked for me though), inspirational stories of success... The subscriptions really weren't that expensive, and they were one of my rewards to myself. I'd look forward to each new issue as it arrived in my mailbox.

Generally, I'd just read through them once and be done (I'd usually pass them on to a friend who was also into fitness). Occasionally there would be an article or recipe I would want to save for reference. Most often though, if I pulled something from the magazines, it would be a workout. I have a a couple of binders that I store things in, super easy to flip through ...

 ... and I also hang some favorite workout displays on  the 

unfinished walls of my gym

... through the years, I didn't get around to reading my magazines as much.   Life was just super busy, or when I did have those spare moments, I preferred reading a novel. My magazines were on a year subscription, some multiple years, some with auto-renewal. 

... I'm embarrassed to say I'm a BIT behind in my reading ...

As I rededicated myself to fitness and weight loss a few months ago, I decided it was time to get back into my stack of magazines. I have been making a dent in it, and enjoying it as I used to. Not just diet and exercise, but articles about everything health related (skin cancer, headaches, plants to help clean the air in your home). Some beauty and style too (although I'm not terribly stylish myself). 

I do wonder at times ... how much "new" material IS there? Every single month, year after year ... hasn't every topic been covered countless times? Back before my fitness freak, I was a scrapbooker. Back then I subscribed to all the scrapbook magazines. With those too, I wondered how long they could come up with "new" content. There actually aren't many of those magazines left now. Creating Keepsakes (who I worked for in 2003-2004) just announced they are basically shutting down paper subscriptions (still doing some direct sale publications, switching to digital for others) ... but fitness magazines still seem to be going strong!

I've found a couple interesting articles during my reading, I might share a few that impact me here on the blog in the future.

Do you subscribe to any of the magazines?

Do you feel they offer good information and motivation?

Weekly Weigh-In #8

Well ... no official loss this week, actually up 0.4 but I still call it a successful week.  With a lot of weekend plans and a holiday on Monday, I knew it was going to be a tough one. I'm happy I didn't see the 160s again, and I'm happy my MFP ticker is reading 23 pounds lost (same as last Friday, but it did slip back to 21, 22 during the week). 

So overall I'm fine with it. But when I do look at the exact numbers (calories in, calories out, total burn) I'm not quite as satisfied ... below is a section of the excel file where I keep all my info.  The first column is the date ... followed by SleepInfo (time to bed, time up, hours asleep), Weight, Calorie (hopefully a deficit). The first yellow column is Calories In, the following columns show calories burned/total burn**. Subtract the calories eaten from the total burn to get the deficit (dark green column). Total that up for the week ...

According to my numbers, I did have a weekly deficit of 4364, which is over the 3500 standard for a loss of a pound. But alas ... no pound loss. Now I must admit, I'm not super strict when it comes to accuracy in eating. I do not weigh  my portions. I try to be honest in my food diary, but I do slip up at times. I know the exercise numbers are also estimates and could be off, which is why I try to allow for extra big deficits, not eating back all the exercise calories. Sometimes the numbers do line up (like last week), sometimes they don't  (this week) ... I know I need to be tracking measurements too, I just sure struggle with the measuring tape. TOM is right around the corner as well.

What system do you use to track YOUR numbers?
Do they usually seem to reflect  your weight changes?


** (IF you wanted to know what the last columns were ... I like redundancy  and as I had a system in place before I got my Fitbit, I still keep my own estimates of exercise and total daily burn and compare them with the Fitbit estimates.  The second yellow column is MY exercise estimates (machine readings, etc.) and the Fitbit Adjustment in MFP in blue. The next yellow column is MY estimate of total burn, and the final blue is the Total Burn from Fitbit. My readings are usually more conservative, so I use them here, and then compare them to my weekly report from Fitbit, which also gives me a "total weekly deficit" number).

I'm Not a Runner ...

Another "Throwback Thursday" type of post today. Recently, I've been TRYING to get some running (ok, jogging, I don't think anyone can really call what I'm doing running) into my workout routine. I've never been a runner.  Once upon a time, many (many) years ago, I was a sprinter ... but I was never a runner.

I actually had no interest in track in Jr. High. But the gym teachers (track coaches) were familiar with my older sister and brother, who had excelled in track. They made the family connection and they forced me to compete. Seriously, I think they said I had to or I wouldn't pass gym. So I ran. And I was good at it too, at least for short distances. I competed in the 200, the 400 and the 800 relay. 

May 1985  (200) 1st Place

District Track Meet

My favorite race was the relay. I was in the third position, so I was the one who got to cut into the center lane. The other girls on the team were very good, so by the time the baton was passed to me, I rarely had anyone to worry about. I liked the 200 ... that was a straight sprint. The 400, I had to pace myself at the start or I'd peter out by the end.  I know some people do a 400 as a straight sprint. Yikes!

The coaches also pushed me into x-country. I did one competition and then was told I didn't need to come back. Like I said ... I am NOT good at distances!  Maybe I should have thrown the shorter sprints to get off the hook there too, but my competitive spirit wouldn't let me.  I'm not sure if I ever enjoyed the track meets. I remember always being so nervous, the butterflies before a race would almost make me sick.  Running was also part of the regular gym class. One distinct memory; my competitiveness kicked in, I ran a little faster than I should have and I did  throw up at the end.   There there was that ONE day ... during the obligatory "mile run" during class.  I felt it. The runner's high. It was wonderful!  I almost looked forward to the next run, so excited to experience that again ... but all I got was a side-ache. I don't think I've ever felt the runner's high other than that one time.

...as I mentioned at the start, I've been trying to work some running into my current schedule. This past week, I actually ran (ok, jogged) a WHOLE mile without stopping. I was pretty impressed with myself.

I have no grandiose plans. I don't want to run a marathon, that's just not something on my bucket list. Maybe a 5k ... I'd like to be able to do that.

... It All Adds Up

After the Labor Day weekend, I was determined to have a good day yesterday (the first day back on the "normal" routine). And I was successful! This was my day...

Got in my first workout (20minutes on the elliptical) then got the kids off to school. I'm on chauffeur duty twice each morning,  middle school at 7:30, elementary at 8:30 ... luckily the high schooler drives himself. After dropping off the little ones I stopped at the store for some grocery shopping.  Then back home I did another session on the elliptical then mowed the lawn (just the front yard today). Elliptical again, then I tried out Jillian Michaels "Banish Fat and Boost Metabolism" workout ~ whew!  After finishing it up, I WAS going to try jogging my mile on the treadmill, but I just wasn't feeling up for it after that, (I did try, but stopped after a few minutes). I did another elliptical session again not too long after ... I can always seem to do the elliptical, it just doesn't require the same oopmph as jogging does. I'm watching the second season of Scandal (as it's now on Netflix) ... it's keeping me interested and wanting to come back and watch more. Then it was chauffeur time again, picking up the kids from school and running #2 to/from basketball practice. Made them some muffins as an after school snack to hold them until dinner, which was chicken cordon bleu and rice. I prepped it and then had time to read for 45 minutes (while riding the stationary bike *Ü*). Then got dinner cooked and served and took #3 to basketball tryouts. I went and got him checked in, went back home for one more quick elliptical session, then back to pick him up.

I was a little surprised when I checked my Fitbit ... I was definitely in the green (green is good, got to goal). I was surprised I was so high. And my Fitbit was actually 2000 steps under my Omron (the Omron is actually higher 95% of the time) ... not sure what was up with that, I think the bike ride is reading different.  I even considered hitting the elliptical one more time before bed, but decided I could go ahead and call it a day.

Now my Top Badge there on Fitbit says 35,000 steps ... the "badge" system is fairly new with Fitbit, so I don't know that it's taking in the complete history (I've had my Fitbit for over three years now).  I know I have topped that. I actually blogged (on my family blog, long before I set up THIS blog) about a personal best back on June 3, 2010. I had copied that post here, but I think I broke that PB just a couple weeks later (June 22, 2010) but didn't bother to post again.  I checked a couple other Fitbit stats out of curiosity ...

... so, not a personal best today, but I was up there. And ironically, I didn't really feel like I was working out all day long or even doing anything out of the ordinary. I still got in all my mom duties too.

It's funny, as I browse other blogs and watch the workouts from some of YOU, I feel totally intimidated! Wow, you ran a mile in nine minutes (or several miles at that pace)??? I'm struggling just to stay running for one. You did Zumba for an hour and got an incredible burn! I gave a half-hearted attempt at a DVD and felt like a complete failure. Riding a bike outside? Up hills? No thank you, I'll stay on my stationary with my book and my fan blowing on me in my cool basement ... no helmet required. I do work weights into my days, but I still struggle with pushups ... you can do how many?  (Check out the Work-Out-Wednesday Link up and my Blog Roll to find some of the amazing ladies out there!)

Even though I can't do everything YOU can do, I can do what I can do, and it all adds up. It works well for me. I know MY workouts don't necessarily work for others ... not everyone has a home gym or such a flexible schedule. We all need to find what works. Big workouts, little workouts, different kinds of workouts ... they all add up. Just do it!

Tracking Weight Through The Years

... you know, prior to 2006, I don't know that I ever stepped on the scale. Since May of 2006, I have stepped on the scale every single day. I've got all those numbers in an excel file on my computer. As I think back on the last few years, I remember my drastic weight loss in 2006. In my memory, I had a slow gain of about five pounds a year ... but as I actually looked back and plugged the numbers into a graph (taking the weight from the 1st of each month) I can see that there was actually a LOT of fluctuation. That after a gain in 2008, I was able to get back down (temporarily). 2010 was pretty steady, higher than I liked but not much change at all (and TODAY, I'm right about where I was September of 2010). The end of 2012, the beginning of 2013 ... the only good thing about that gain is that it got me motivated to really try ...

I really hope to be back where I was at the end of 2006 at the end of THIS year.

That's the goal.

I really found it interesting to look back at my changing weight. I thought it was a good topic for today's Weigh-In Wednesday link up.  

Have you kept track of your changing weight over the years?

Do you plan to?

Day by Day (September2013)

This will be a post in progress ... updated daily.

0901 (Sunday) Ok Day. Weight 158.1 Fitbit Steps 19574. Total Burn 2768. Calories in 2400. Calories out 1026. Exercise: 100minElliptical, 1mileTreadmill. I thought I might do better on food today as I put off our usual breakfast until after church, but the calories still added up (homemade oreos will do that). I did get in some elliptical and my mile.

0902 (Monday) Good Day. Weight 158.9. Fitbit Steps 21751 (Omron 23100). Total Burn 3041. Calories in 2000. Calories out 1294. Exercise: 100minElliptical, 37min/10miles Bike, 1mileTreadmill, 40minWeights. Labor Day Holiday ... hubby and the boys had flag duty and brought home doughnuts... not the best brand, but still edible *Ü* But we actually met family for breakfast at Kneaders. I didn't order any myself, but did snack some of hubby's french toast and had a hot chocolate. Haircuts for the boys, then home. Got in both cardio and weights. Not sure why the Fitbit and Omron were so different today!

0903 (Tuesday) Good Day. Weight 159.7.   Fitbit Steps 32448 (Omron 34500).  Total Burn 3759. Calories in 2350.  Calories out 2008.  Exercise: 100minElliptical, 37min/10miles Bike, 45minCardio (JM Banish Fat and Boost Metabolism) + Lawn Mow.   Back to the routine ... got in oodles of exercise and still managed my mom duties (grocery shopping, chauffeur duty and dinner).

0904 (Wednesday) Good Day. Weight 159.3. Fitbit Steps 28367 (Omron 29650).  Total Burn 3450. Calories in 1900.  Calories out 1700.  Exercise: 120minElliptical, 45min/12miles Bike, 1.25MileTreadmill. Finally a sunny day ☀ ... it did call me outside for a bit. Got in my cardio and even extended my mile run a little. Mac&cheese for dinner. Then day two of basketball tryouts for #2.

0905 (Thursday) Good Day. Weight 158.3. Fitbit Steps 26070 (Omron 26700). Total Burn 3323. Calories in 1700. Calories out 1579. Exercise: 100minElliptical, 45min/12miles Bike, 1MileTreadmill, 60minWeights. I was going to do Jillian Michael's "No More Trouble Zones" for my weight workout, but started it only to realize it was just a partial download. I ordered the DVD and went ahead and did my own full body workout. I can feel it. Volleyball was scheduled to start tonight (not a huge workout, but active and fun) but was cancelled.

0906 (Friday) Good Day. Weight 157.5.  Fitbit Steps 26484 (Omron 29200).  Total Burn 3330. Calories in 2300. Calories out 1590. Exercise: 100minElliptical, 45minBike, 17min/1.5MileTreadmill.  Late starts and early outs, sunshine called and had to play chauffeur, but still got in the exercise. Hubby came home uber tired, so no date night ... calories would have been better (I'd saved them up just in case) if I hadn't splurged on ice cream in the evening.

0907 (Saturday) Bad Day. Weight 157.6.   Fitbit Steps 19909 (Omron 17600). Total Burn 2756. Calories in 2800. Calories out 1016. Exercise: 80minElliptical + Lawn Mow. #1's birthday today, 18 years old! I made french toast for breakfast, mowed the lawn and did some grocery shopping. We went out as a family to Cheesecake Factory for lunch. Brought home a whole cheesecake, as that was #1's request for his birthday cake. Major thunderstorm rocked the house, caused flooding to the South, and poor #4 had a really hard time (weather phobia!)

0908 (Sunday) Bad Day. Weight 158.7.  Fitbit Steps 13617. Total Burn 2547.  Calories in 2600. Calories out 801. Exercise: 60minElliptical. Technically a "rest" day for me, but I still have to get a little elliptical in. We had our usual big Sunday breakfast, then hubby made his delicious steak/chicken and mashed taters for dinner. So good. I had a slice of cheesecake ... I don't really even like cheesecake much. I don't regret the dinner, but I do regret the cheesecake. I did actually feel stuffed, overfull (it's been a while since I allowed myself to get to that point).

0909 (Monday) Good Day. Weight 160.8.  Fitbit Steps 26881  (Omron 29500).  Total Burn 3412. Calories in 1750.  Calories out 1667.  Exercise: 100minElliptical, 38min/10miles Bike, 18min/1.5mile Treadmill, 60minWeights.  It felt good to get back into the routine after the bad weekend. Did some grocery shopping after dropping the kids at school. Just leftovers for dinner, as we have a lot of leftovers at the moment. I did NOT eat any more cheesecake. Basketball practice from 8-10 for #2 and #3.

0910 (Tuesday) Good Day. Weight 158.5. Fitbit Steps 27584. Total Burn 3398. Calories in 2300. Calories out 1653. Exercise: 100minElliptical, 38min/10miles Bike, 1mile/12minTreadmill, 30minDVD (ResultsLB) + Lawn Mow (front only).  Rain in the forecast for the next few days, so I figured I should get the lawn mowed, just did the front yard. Got in quite a bit of cardio and did a DVD. Chicken pillows for dinner (the boys anyway, I don't eat them, I just had chicken and rice). Really tired come evening.

0911 (Wednesday) Good Day (-net). Weight 159.3.  Fitbit Steps 26374 (Omron 28700).  Total Burn 3326. Calories in 1400. Calories out 1577.  Exercise: 100minElliptical. 45minBike, 1mileTreadmill, 30minDVD. Storms were forecast, but they didn't hit until much later in the day. #2 had basketball practice and then hubby and the older boys had scouts. Felt a bit draggy ... didn't eat a lot, trying to see if a low-calorie, big deficit day can shift things up at all.

0912 (Thursday) Good Day (-net). Weight 158.1. Fitbit Steps 31961 (Omron 32300). Total Burn 3696. Calories in 1600. Calories out 1954.  Exercise: 120minElliptical. 30min/2milesTreadmill, 45min/12miles Bike.  Got a lot in during the day. Evening was dinner/cleaning and chauffeur duty (basketball practice until 10:00 again, will be every Monday&Thursday). Kept calories lower again today.

0913 (Friday) Good Day (-net). Weight 156.6. Fitbit Steps 30837 (Omron 31900). Total Burn 3565. Calories in 1700. Calories out 1831. Exercise: 100minElliptical. 45minBike, 54min/4miles Treadmill, 60min Weights.  Friday the 13th, nothing bad happened. Some stormy weather. Late start, early out. Hubby home early to take the two little ones off on an overnighter. With no date night, I continued my exercise into the evening.

0914 (Saturday) Good Day. Weight 156.1.  Fitbit Steps 34811.  Total Burn 3100.  Calories in 2000. Calories out 1369. Exercise: 100minElliptical. 38minBike. 1mileTreadmill, 45minDVD (WHWW). Made french toast for the boys ... I like french toast. Still soggy outside, so the little one's soccer game was cancelled. Did a little grocery shopping.

0915 (Sunday) Rest Day. Weight 155.2.  Fitbit Steps 8654. Total Burn 2084. Calories in 2250.  Calories out 358.  Exercise: 40minElliptical.  Today was a planned rest day, I do still do a bit ... the Fitbit activity graph adjusts based on activity, so I need at least one 20min elliptical session to get the perspective correct. And as I watch a show (a tv episode) that is 40 minutes long, I wanted to finish the show with one more workout later in the day. I did actually feel restless during the day and almost did more. I tried to take a Sunday nap, but I don't know if I actually fell asleep.  Hubs and I went to Sunday Brunch today ... I didn't go overboard and certainly did NOT get anything close to my monies worth, but it was nice to get out.  Homemade oreos in the evening. Actually kept the day's calories in check, but without the usual exercise, I was over.

0916 (Monday) Good Day. Weight 157.1. Fitbit Steps 26130 (Omron 26500). Total Burn 3236. Calories in 1900. Calories out 1499. Exercise: 100minElliptical, 24min/2miles Treadmill, 60minWeights.  Stormy morning which had #4 very upset. It breaks my heart. I stayed with him until they were allowed in the school. Did some grocery shopping then got in my cardio and weights. After school I was busy helping the kids with homework, and #3 had basketball practice. I thought I'd get in some stationary bike but it didn't happen. #4 brought home a flyer about the Presidential Fitness Award, and we practiced some situps and push ups, then he wanted to do some WiiFit (in MY gym ... but it's all good *Ü*).

0917 (Tuesday) Good Day. Weight 156.8. Fitbit Steps 28908. Total Burn 3251. Calories in 1900. Calories burned 1516. Exercise: 100minElliptical. 45minBike, 1mileTreadmill + Lawn Mow.  Stopped at the store after dropping the kids off at school. Still stormy, figured I should get the grass cut while I could. Got in elliptical and my mile while the kids were at school. I hit the bike after school, and #4 came down and did WiiFit (a little distracting as I was trying to read). Then it was taking the boys to basketball practice, making calls (as the rec center gave out old/incorrect numbers to the coaches for the upcoming sports for the little ones), and then scout pack meeting for #4. Hubby was gone to a derby, a little sad he didn't have any help (as all the boys were busy).

0918 (Wednesday) Ok Day. Weight 156.8. Fitbit Steps 20981. Total Burn 2982. Calories in 2150. Calories out 1246. Exercise: 100minElliptical. 50minWeights.  I suppose I could have pushed just a bit to hit my goals (just barely under for steps and total burn) to make it a "good" day ... but it wasn't a good day. I felt off. I took a bit of a tumble yesterday getting off the bike (yes ... the stationary bike) and my knee is a bit bruised and painful. I have a toothache, just a nagging pain and I'm afraid it's going to be a huge issue (not an easy fix). With it, I've been grinding my teeth, and had a headache all day too. Pushed through some exercise but did not feel good. Started the day a bit high in calories (#5 wanted cocoa and toast, and I indulged myself).  I need to get in for a nail appointment, but that's totally unappealing too (I know some people like being forced to take a break and sit for an hour but I hate it).  Bleh, just an off day. Ran #2 to basketball practice in the evening and arranged for him to get a ride home, as I was then off to soccer for #5. It was chilly. They lost.

0919 (Thursday) OK Day. Weight 156.6. Fitbit Steps 22888. Total Burn 2943. Calories in 2000. Calories out 1209. Exercise: 100minElliptical ... a little walking while waiting at basketball.  Didn't sleep great, dragging today. Lost an hour in the late morning as I had to grab #2 from school to take him to an ortho appointment. Sitting time in the early evening during basketball practice for #4, then driving and sitting to watch #2 play. He did great, they won. You can see him in action here (he's #2).

0920 (Friday) Good Day. Weight 157.1. Fitbit Steps 27064. Total Burn 3180. Calories in 1400. Calories out 1452. Exercise: 100minElliptical, 49min/4miles Treadmill. Tooth pain and knee pain seem better today. I was able to get in a good day, even with late start, early out, room mother's tea at the elementary, and picking up middle school (#1 usually does that, but he was staying late at school today). I had tried to save some calories in case hubby wanted to go out, but we're planning on tomorrow instead ... so today ended up being a low calorie day.

0921 (Saturday) Bad Day. Weight 155.5.  Fitbit Steps 13017. Total Burn 2339. Calories in 3100. Calories out 592. Exercise: 60minElliptical. Today, my total burn and calories in seemed to be swapped, which is NOT good. It's been a while since I've had a day like today, but thinking back, I had a lot of days like this (mostly weekends) before I started trying mid-May. No wonder my weight was up. Gotta keep this type of thing a rare occurrence.  Busy day with the two youngest both having games at 10:00. I took #4 to basketball (his video is HERE, he's #7), hubby took #5 to soccer. I then helped #3 on a school assignment, then hubby and I went out to Texas Roadhouse. It was yummy and I indulged. We watched World War Z in the evening (with some of hubby's yummy popcorn).

0922 (Sunday) Ok Day. Weight 158.  Fitbit Steps 19273. Total Burn 2783. Calories in 2300. Calories out 1041. Exercise: 100minElliptical + a little ping pong. Sleep in Sunday ... mmmm. Made the usual big breakfast for the family, then church. Did get in cardio throughout the day, but also rested. Made brownies (to freeze) and homemade oreos for the Sunday treat.

0923 (Monday) Good Day. Weight 158.5. Fitbit Steps 30133. Total Burn 3395. Calories in 2500. Calories out 1650. Exercise: 100minElliptical, 19min/5miles Bike, 53min/4miles Treadmill, 60minWeights. Back to routine. #4 had a very hard morning (weather anxiety) so not a good start to the day. The weather wasn't even bad today, but rain is in the forecast. Stopped at the store after dropping kids at school. Got in cardio and weights. Made chicken/rice dinner and got the older boys to/from basketball practice. Oh, those mint brownies are evil and yummy!

0924 (Tuesday) Ok Day. Weight 158.5. Fitbit Steps 21908. Total Burn 2928. Calories in 2900. Calories out 1183. Exercise: 120minElliptical. Dragging today! I had a lay down for a quick nap (lucky I could do that). Mint brownies still tempting and making their way into my tummy (and food diary). I should have done just a bit more to reach my goals of 3000 burn and 22,000 steps. Not sure why Fitbit went ahead and called the steps good/green (I was 92 steps under) but not the calories (just 72 under) ...

0925 (Wednesday) Good Day. Weight 159.4. Fitbit Steps 26153. Total Burn 3151. Calories in 1600. Calories out 1401. Exercise: 100minElliptical, 32min/2.5milesTreadmill, 30DS1. Rainy, cool day. Should make me want to work out more to warm up. Still had a soccer game in the evening, it was cold but I dressed warm and the little one kept moving. He made four goals! I didn't eat any mint brownies today. I made some chicken veggie soup and ate that. 

0926 (Thursday) Good Day. Weight 158.2. Fitbit Steps 23135. Total Burn 3017. calories in 2000. Calories out 1274. Exercise: 125minElliptical. I resisted my mint brownies today, but did indulge in some ice cream. Calories sure add up quickly when they are empty.  Had a frustrating day with the wifi, trying to stream a show while exercising was a joke. I finally called Comcast and they reset the modem (which I'd already tried doing manually many times) and then promptly disconnected me (I'd called on my cell phone, not the home phone which is tied to Internet). I have DVDs, music and books for backup during exercising, but it still impacted my day. Double header in basketball tonight, win for the first, but completely blown out in the second. I could tell the boys were tired with the back to back games.

0927 (Friday) Good Day. Weight 157.0. Fitbit Steps 24766. Total Burn 3188. Calories in 2550. Calories out 1452. Exercise: 125minElliptical. 1mileTreadmill, 30DS Level 2.  Still having streaming problems. I had started 30DS when it gave out and had to stop, move the file to Itunes, convert it for the ipad and then use that. At least I now have a backup when WiFi stinks. Did cave and have a chocolate mint brownie, and then hubby made popcorn for our movie in the evening (Star Trek Into Darkness).

0928 (Saturday) Pretty Good Day. Weight 155.9. Fitbit Steps 20828. Total Burn 2855. Calories in 1650. Calories out 1125. Exercise: 60minElliptical + Lawn Mow.  Didn't quite get to goal today. I suppose I should have gotten in one more elliptical session. But it was a busy, productive day. Basketball game at 10:00, soccer game at 11:00 (went straight from the one to the other and made it there before soccer started!) Both little boys did great and scored in their games. I did some shopping (Kohls, Sams) and then mowed the lawn and did some clearing out of the flower beds. I also pulled out some autumnal decor. My non-aerobic steps got above 10K today. Kept calories in check, the boys wanted donuts, while I would have been willing, I just didn't have time in the morning schedule. We were going to go out to dinner, but then it was so late, I was afraid we'd hit crowds. Hubby ended up taking the kids to Chick-Fil-A and I just sat it out.

0929 (Sunday) Ok Day. Weight 155. Fitbit Steps 15538. Total Burn 2567.  Calories in 2300. Calories out 842. Exercise: 90minElliptical.  Got in my morning workout, then made breakfast for the gang. Church... I have such a hard time just sitting for three hours. Sunday is the only day I really feel I can lay down and take a nap, I did today, but kids arguing was a rude awakening. I was so mad at them I didn't make the usual homemade oreos like I do almost every Sunday. Better for my calories anyway. I did get in 90 minutes on the elliptical throughout the day, but not much non-aerobic.  Hubby and I started watching "House of Cards" ... again, I'm so used to only watching while working out it's almost painful to "just" sit (lay) and watch. Hubby made his yummy popcorn too, so double whammy, but still nice to spend some time together.

0930 (Monday) Good Day. Weight 156.5. Fitbit Steps 24606. Total Burn 3266. Calories in 2300. Calories out 1532. Exercise: 100minElliptical. 37min/10miles Bike, 1.5mileTreadmill, 60minWeights.  Back to it all, got everything in. Calories were a little high ... candy corn was calling, but it's gone now. But I'm sure I'll be buying more, just need to not eat it by the handful. Spaghetti dinner. The boys had basketball practice. Hubby and I watched the Breaking Bad finale. September ends ...

August ... A Look Back

Quite happy with my "intake vs burn" graph (from Fitbit) for August ... my monthly goal is to have an average burn of 3000, so I achieved that. I'd like to keep my intake around 2000, so I was a little over, but considering the burns, I think I'm ok. The 2000 is more of a mental goal just to keep me in control and a future estimation of what maintenance would be if I wasn't getting in uber exercise. One final goal of this graph is to NOT have the lines touch or cross. I did SO good until right there at the end of the month. It was a family get together ... many treats and time away from my exercise, but it was fun.

I really wish Fitbit would graph the sedentary time too.

I don't always grab this graph from Fitbit.

 I think I had improvement in all types of "time" this month.

I've been tracking steps on Walker Tracker for years now. I do have to enter my numbers manually, but then I get all these nice graphs, totals and averages.  This month topped anything I've done since Nov. 2010.

As I mentioned in yesterday's post, I've found a new app called "Streaks" to track my fitness goals. August was a pretty good month! Out of the 31 days, there were only six where I didn't reach my numbers. I really wonder if I'll ever be able to break that 15 day "good" streak ... that was while the family was on vacation and I was home alone. It did make it easier to get in the exercise, especially on the weekends. Two birthdays there at the end of the month ... that meant cake!

August was the end of summer ... the summer sports had ended in July, there really wasn't much going on. There was still sleeping in ... until August 26, when school and carpools started up again. With September, school will kick in full force. I'm sure I'll be having to devote home time to homework help and also some volunteering at the school. Basketball and soccer will be starting up for the boys, which means more chauffeur and team mom time for me.

How was your August?

Streaks

I have a new app I really like ... it's called "Streaks" and it's great for keeping track of workouts or other goals. I found it first either in a magazine or on a "great fitness apps" website, I can't remember which. But when I saw it again in use on a fellow blogger's post,  I decided to invest. It does cost money, a whole $2. But I'm thinking the kids might use this app as well, to keep track of reading or other items. It's got endless possibilities.

So I spend some time entering old information to get a nice visual of my life since I started on this journey. I've kept all my information, in an excel file, and also in the Day-to-Day journal entries. My first "streak calendar" I made was to keep track of when I had achieved my daily activity goals. That would be 22,000 steps, 1000 burn from dedicated exercise, 3000 total burn for the day, 100 active minutes (I have these listed in the sidebar at right). I also have a food intake goal of 2000 calories, but that is more of a guideline for me as with my activity I could often eat more and still have my 500 deficit. As long as I didn't go over that, and met the other goals, I gave myself a check in the "Good, Got to Goal" chart ...

You can see I've been a good girl! 

It's pretty obvious at a glance, that Sundays are not a goal day.

Either a scheduled day of rest ... or I just can't make it! 

They rarely get an x.

I thought about making a calendar for my elliptical use ... but I'm pretty much on my elliptical every single day. Even if I limited it to days of 100minutes+, it would then pretty much look the same as the "Goal" chart. I thought I'd track my days on the stationary bike. In the past, I rarely rode the recumbent.  But since discovering digital reading, and how easy it is to read and ride a the same time (see my post here), I've been putting a LOT more time in. More than I even thought before seeing this visual ...  You can also see from the graph above that you can customize your calendars with different colors and themes.

I also made a calendar to track my strength training days. I did the 30DayShred in July, finishing up August 10 (I took weekends off, so it was six weeks rather than 30 days in a row). I just wasn't sure whether to include those workouts as "weights" ... or only go with MY 60minute full body workout. Hmmmm, I'm still deciding. What do you think? You can also customize your calendar with how many days you can miss and still keep your streak. With weights, you should have a rest day in-between, so I put it at every other day, although I think three times a week is really the most I ever even hope for. 

Hmmmm .... what else can I track with my new Streaks calendars? Maybe something more food related, as I certainly struggle more with the eating than I do the exercise. Perhaps recording days I actually get a fruit or vegetable in my food diary ... or limit my snack calories to 500 (these would be good goals for me, and SO tough!) I could survey sleep stuff, like getting to bed before 10:00, or up before 6:00.  Perhaps something fun, like dates with hubby (can we get one in every week?) or oversee my loads of laundry. With five active boys I feel like I'm doing wash every single day, but am I really?

Does this app sound like something that would motivate you in your fitness or life?  

Do you have an app that keeps you on track?