Weigh-In #19

I must admit, I'm disappointed. I've had ups before ... but they were always "deserved" or explainable. I think this is the first time I've had an "up" with really no idea why. I actually kept calories in check last weekend and the rest of the week was pretty normal. I had a deficit every day.  My total deficit for the week was 3778, so according to the numbers, I should have been down one pound, not up 1.6.   I was able to drop my intake a bit (average for the week was 2100) and average TDEE  was 2850.  I keep thinking my average is 3000+, but maybe I need to adjust me thinking. Although I do still get some days each week that are over 3000, it's been many weeks since I've been able to get my average that high.

We went for Chinese last night ... this was my fortune.

I'm going to forge ahead!

See how everyone else is doing with these Friday Link-ups.

JillConyers at Fitness, Health and Happiness

Katie at Talk Less Say More

Michelle at Mind, Body and Goal

Onto my song of the week.

Music is so important, to workouts, to life. I first heard this song on "The Voice" a couple weeks ago. Sung by A Great Big World, featuring Christina Aguilera I found it free from my library (Freegal) without Christina. It was not the same. I love the haunting harmonies in the duet. It's got a melancholy mood ... matches mine of late.

The station that inspired it: "Back That Azz Up" on Pandora Radio.

The purpose: To start our weekend with some fantastic jams.

The rules: Link your jams up and have a jam sesh with all of us!

Liquid Calories

One thing I've learned as I started tracking calories on My Calorie Counter is that MANY people struggle with drinks adding up. I guess I'm lucky, as I don't consume many liquid calories, what you see in the picture above? That's pretty much all I drink. Linking up with Peas and Crayons for What I Ate Wednesday ... although MY post is a little more "What I Drank Last Week"  *Ü*

• Water: We are a water drinking family. I keep a big jug in the fridge and have to refill it every day. I keep some bottled water (the family prefers Dasani) to grab and go.
• Milk: As featured in the photo, milk is front and center. I LOVE milk. As far as calories are concerned, that is where I need to be the most careful. And while I do love me a nice, cold glass of milk ... milk is often combined with other items (cookies, cereal, donuts, etc.) and that is where the calories really add up. If I can eliminate those carbs, my milk consumption does drop drastically. I have been happy with skim milk for years and years now (even before I was ever consciously trying to lose weight) and I really can't drink 1% or 2% ... they are just too thick. My oldest son had some 2% and fell in love, so I do usually try to keep a gallon around for him (hubby and #2 prefer it too). Even though my two youngest don't drink milk, we go through a ton as a family. I'll stop at the store and often buy five gallons at a time. I'll splurge on chocolate milk occasionally (drinking it myself I mean, it's pretty much a staple for the family, especially #3) ... my boys will ONLY drink "TruMoo" though, no other brand!
• Sugar-Free Punch: I keep a gallon pitcher of punch in the fridge at all times too. I do drink a lot of it. Now, I am using a gallon container, and still mixing up just a 2-liter pouch of powder, so it is a bit watered down. I water it down further when I drink it ... I just like a bit of flavor (although I do love water too, it depends on my mood.) But ONLY cherry or fruit punch flavor, I won't drink anything else (no cherry limeade, pomegranate or raspberry flavors).  The kids got on a lemonade kick over the summer, and we kept a pitcher of that in the fridge too ... I will drink lemonade, but I rarely did.
• Soda: I'm not a big soda drinker, although I will have some on occasion. I have a hard time with carbonation itself. I can't drink it quickly, so it is never something that I would drink to actually quench my thirst. I like root beer, Sprite and the citrus types (Fresca or Squirt), but I've never had any of the colas, Dr.Pepper, MountainDew, etc.
• Juice: I will drink orange juice, although it isn't a favorite ... I don't drink ANY other kind, ever.
• Coffee and Tea: I love hot chocolate, but I've never had coffee or tea. I actually can't stand the smell of coffee. Coffee itself (not all the additions that often go with it) has seemed to have some health claims of late ... tea too, but I'll be missing out on those.
• Alcoholic Drinks: I've never even tried one of any kind. No beer (it smells awful!), wine, margarita, nothing. Yes, there were some religious constraints against drinking growing up, but I honestly don't know that makes a difference for me ... I've got eating issues and I think I'm even pickier with what I drink. Although there seem to be some health benefits associated with certain drinks, I think overall I'm probably pretty lucky I don't like these types of liquid calories. My MFP friends who do drink complain about the calories adding up (and the lack of self-control for eating that can often accompany the drinking). I have no excuses for my lack of self-control ... I just like to eat!
• Creamy Drinks: I'll down an ice cream shake (vanilla or chocolate only though) with pleasure, but anything else ... protein drinks, meal replacements, smoothies ... that's not going down, even if you say "it's just like a chocolate shake" ... it's not, my mind knows it's not.

It's been a discouraging week looking at the scale.
I've been having daily deficits, even over the weekend!
Yet the numbers are inching up.

I have been keeping track & controlling my calories.
I'm lucky the liquid calories aren't too much of a temptation.
Can I count that as an NSV for the linkup?

What calories do YOU consume in liquid form?

Feeling It

Last Work-Out Wednesday, I posted my full body weight workout.  Sometimes, I do get that sore feeling the next day, other times I don't.  I actually enjoy a little stiffness. It's a reminder that I did put in a good workout. If I do NOT feel sore, sometimes I wonder "did I workout hard enough?"

I did my weight workout as usual on Monday, and yesterday... I could feel it. I actually posted on my MFP wall  "Just the perfect amount of soreness, enough that I know I did something, without it interfering in my day to day :)"   But as the day progressed, so did the soreness! By the end of the day, I was hobbling a bit.  Now I managed to work through it all yesterday (10miles on the elliptical, 3.5 miles on the treadmill and 10 miles on the stationary bike) but I am still feeling it this morning. I had some Jillian planned (Ripped in 30) but I'm not sure I'm up to that.  I do still plan on getting in my elliptical, but other than that, I might take it easy.

I've also been struggling a bit with some hip pain. I'm trying to remember how long it's been going on. I remember examining my hip a while back, looking for some visible bruising (wondering if maybe the hula hoop had caused some damage). It's just been a minor, nagging pain. But recently it's gotten a lot worse. It's my left hip, and it's really only a problem as I attempt to get out of the car after driving (it doesn't seem to happen when I'm a passenger). It's gotten so bad that at times it is taking me a full five minutes and grimaces of pain to make that move.  After a few steps, it seems to work itself out and it doesn't really impact my exercise at all ... but I do dread getting out of the car!

... add to that, I'm just in a bit of a funk. I was all weekend, although I did manage to stay on track and not fall into any emotional eating. It was actually a pretty good weekend as far as calories were concerned.  I've been keeping calories in check, I've been getting in my exercise. I have been hoping to see something on the scale to reflect ... but instead, it just inches up. Not by much, nothing like the five pound jump after last weekend, but still, it's a bit discouraging when I've had deficits every day. Weight this morning was 154.2 compared to the 152.7 from Friday. 

Don't worry ... I'm not obsessing over it, I'm not throwing in the towel. I'll keep plugging away. 

How does muscle soreness affect you?  

Linking Up with

Workout Wednesday & Weigh In Wednesday 

Amazon & Exercise

I've been an Amazon Prime member for a couple of years now. Admittedly, I do like the convenience of shopping online, and I've been impressed with Amazon's prices and customer service. So our Prime membership was mainly to get the free two-day shipping. 

The streaming services Amazon offered were just an extra. Our family had converted to Netflix a few years ago and we were finding plenty to keep us busy. I did eventually start looking through Amazon's offerings and watching some of the programming that they stocked that Netflix did not.  It wasn't until recently that I stumbled upon all the exercise and fitness videos available (and what is pictured above is just a small sampling, there were a lot more!) 

I'm not sure if this is a recent change  (I know I purchased Jillian Michael's No More Trouble Zones on DVD just a month or so ago ... something I wouldn't have done if I had realized it was available to stream for free) or if I just hadn't noticed it was one of the "prime" titles.  I do know that Netflix (and I assume Amazon) is constantly changing their streaming library as contracts come and go, with with my PlayLater service, I can actually copy any available title to my home computer to keep on hand, even if it is removed from the Prime library. 

Linking up with Kristen and Kristen 

for Tips and Tricks Tuesday.

If you already have Amazon Prime, be sure to check out the fitness titles they have available for free streaming. If you don't have Amazon Prime, they offer a 2-week free trial to try it out (you do have to cancel if you don't want to be charged, and they do auto-renew ... but I love my Amazon Prime so I don't think we'll be cancelling anytime soon).  I hope to be trying out some of these many exercise offerings and letting you know which ones I like.  Have you tried any of the titles listed above? What did you think? 

Everymove Update

A while ago, I did a post about some of the various reward sites out there (Reaping the Rewards). Organizations that allow you to connect to your exercise trackers (Fitbit, BodyMedia, Runkeeper, even MFP) and earn rewards for your activity. I thought I'd do some follow up posts about my experience with these various organizations, starting with the one I have been most impressed with ... Everymove.

Everymove has the largest selection of "connections" of any of the reward sites.

Do you see something you use? There are even more than what is pictured here above ...  I connect with my Fitbit  and it auto syncs all my data. I get a weekly email update (pictured above), I can check in on the webpage, or they have an app as well.   I choose my reward and earn points based on my daily activity. Now granted, most of the "rewards" are really just discounts in disguise. I haven't signed up to earn anything I'd have to pay out of pocket for. Usually I just select a $5 donation to the Make-a-Wish foundation as my reward.  Here's a quick recap of what I've "earned" these last few months...

Of course I adore the Amazon gift cards ... they don't come up as a reward very often, but I was happy to snag them a couple times. I was very impressed with how quickly I received an email with my Amazon code once I earned my reward. Make-a-Wish is a good organization (did you see the Bat Boy story in the news?  It was one of my links in my last Saturday Spotlight) and I'm happy there is a charity option to choose.  I went ahead and signed up to earn a t-shirt/water bottle for my last reward... I admit, it was partially a test to see how quickly I would get my reward when it required actual work on their part (shipping and mailing) and again, SO impressed! I got my t-shirt and water bottle this past weekend. 

Ok - so it's orange (not blue, like in the picture) and I ordered it too big (I said extra large, I do still need that in some shirts, although in others I can wear a large or a medium ... maybe it will shrink).  I had to laugh when my son walked in and saw my swag. He burst out "You got a t-shirt? And a water bottle?" I asked if he would like me to switch HIM to earning such a reward and he said ... "no." 

Last week, I mentioned how several family members have a Fitbit (A Fitbit Family). Since then, we've added another (my SIL) and another SIL was also asking about it. We're all friends on Fitbit, and also on Everymove. One benefit of being friends on Everymove, is that you can earn bonus points for an active day, and you can give points away to your friends.

So if Everymove is new to you, I do think it is worth looking into. 

I don't know that it motivates me to move more than I would be already, 

but I'm glad to be part of the program.

Check out my Saturday Spotlight #14, 

where I spotlight the cute shirt I earned with Everymove.

Getting Back To Your Original Weight ...

I probably should have posted this last week for my Sunday Funny (as it was my birthday).  I was 6 pounds 4 ounces when I was born... what was your original weight? This is a good reminder to keep your goals realistic. How did you determine your goal weight? My 135 goal is my pre-wedding weight, before five kids. While I did reach it back in 2006, I remember feeling good at 140 and 145 though too. Pretty much anything under 150 felt fine. I'm currently flirting with 150 ... just a few pounds to go.

Piano Stairs and Other Stuff (SS#6)

Welcome to my Saturday Spotlight. As I browse blogs, online articles and get through my stack of magazines, I'll keep track of interesting items to share here and keep for my own reference. It's what I've been reading this past week ...

• Make a Wish Batman: I'm sure you've probably already heard about the big wish that happened yesterday in San Francisco. If not, follow the link or one of the many other news stories covering the event. It's a great feel good story. I have donated $40 to Make a Wish these past few months just by linking my Fitbit to the Everymove reward program (Reaping the Rewards). As we are a Fitbit Family, I've also set up accounts for two of my boys, both my parents and my brother ... we're all earning while exercising and donating our reward to Make a Wish. 
• A Deeper Look At Doritos: I don't eat them often, but I do like them and my boys adore them. Are they actually designed to be addictive?
• The Scientific 7-Minute Workout: There a so many HIIT workouts available out there, I like this routine with body weight exercises and simple visuals.  I have yet to try it (finishing up Jillian's Ripped in 30 during November).
• Fat Foible:  An article with an interesting look at graphs and the "war on fat" ... I think Paleo people would agree with the findings, although plenty of comments attacked the article as well.
• Fitness Apps. Another article on apps, specifically mentioning Fitbit and MFP (two of my favorites). I did my own post about apps (My Appy Place) after reading a different article downplaying their effectiveness. I love my apps!

Then I happened upon a couple of different approaches encouraging people to be a little more active with interesting incentives. In Moscow, you could get a free ride on the subway if you did a series of squats before. You can read more about it here.  On another blog, there was a link to a video of a Chilean taxi, you could lower your fare if you pedaled during the ride (the article isn't so much about the idea, but the fact that Coca-Cola was the one sponsoring it, you can read about it here).  These two attempts at getting people to be more active reminded me of a similar experiment featured a while ago, If you have NOT seen this video, it is worth watching!

Take the stairs instead of the escalator or elevator and feel better” is something we often hear or read in the Sunday papers. Few people actually follow that advice. Can we get more people to take the stairs over the escalator by making it fun to do? See the results here. 

Have you read anything interesting this week?
Feel free to link up if you have some spotlights to share.

Weigh-In #18

Well ... I'm at exactly the same number I was for last Friday's weigh-in. 152.7. I'm actually ok with that. At the conclusion of last week's post, I listed the challenges I'd had that week, and that I would have no excuses this coming week. While I didn't have any of those particular challenges ...

It WAS my birthday (Sunday).

The weekend was a challenge.

We went out to dinner with my parents on Friday night. Texas Roadhouse. I DID limit myself to ONE roll. Saturday we went to a dinner theater and had pizza (cheesy bread basically, as we subbed alfredo for tomato sauce, and just cheese as a topping) and rootbeer. Sunday was my hubby's bbq (which actually even beats Texas Roadhouse! So yummy). Lots of eating, not much exercise.

I was up FIVE pounds by Monday morning. So I'm pretty pleased to at least be BACK to where I was. I had a great day Monday, not so good on Tuesday, then kicked back into gear for Wed/Thurs. As always, you can follow all the details of the days if you want (Day to Day Doings). 

Numbers ... not surprisingly, my weight average was up (154.8, same as two weeks ago). My average intake was 2414 (oops! only three "under 2000" days and my over days were o-ver) and TDEE average was 2943 (almost to my 3000 goal, I did have two 30K step days).  Total weekly deficit was 2148, so I didn't hit my goal of 3500 (500 daily deficit). 

And HUBBY has a birthday this coming week ....

Check in next week to see if I deal with it any better than I did my own!

I almost forgot my Friday Link-Ups!

JillConyers at Fitness, Health and Happiness

Katie at Talk Less Say More

Michelle at Mind, Body and Goal

...and I have to admit, I've seen the backthatazzup Friday linkup on several fellow bloggers Friday posts. I hadn't totally investigated what it was all about. It's about sharing a favorite song. Music is SO important, for life in general, and as a motivator for moving! An upbeat song can do wonders. As I was taking the boys to school today, "Chasing the Sun" by Sara Bareilles came on. It totally lifted my spirits on this grey and dreary day.  So I thought I'd try participate in this link up for the first time!

Just press play
I need a little sun today.  It's one of my Top 10.

What's your current favorite song?

A "Survivor" Experience

Throwback Thursday ... when I was in college, I took a Social Psychology course. As part of that class, we went on an overnighter in the woods. It was largely a team building experience. I'm the gal in the white jacket in the middle, holding hands with my then boyfriend (as a funny side note ... he ended up marrying the gal standing next to me).   

Anywho ... one of the TV programs I enjoy is "Survivor". I missed several seasons when I gave up watching "live" television. I committed to only watching TV if I was working out, and while I had a TV/DVD player in my gym, I didn't have a way to watch anything live, or even recorded. But I since figured that out (Streaming VS DVDs) and so I've gone back to watching. "Survivor" is a good show to workout to. As the contestants struggle through very physical challenges, it's hard not to get a bit of an adrenaline rush myself as I'm on my elliptical. Many of the things they do remind me of some of the challenges we did in our psychology class during that trip.

In last night's episode of "Survivor" there was a food challenge. Oh my heavens, I can hardly watch it! I've mentioned on this blog that I am an uber picky eater (Eating Issues). I could NOT participate in a challenge like that. Even if it was a team challenge and everyone was counting on me. Even if a million dollars was on the line. No way. 

Back on my psychology trip there WAS a food challenge. We'd all been asked to bring a couple of cans of food. There was corn, soup, applesauce, beef ravioli ... our professor opened them all up and dumped them together into a big pot. We had to eat it. Part of our grade depended on it. I was a straight A student on academic scholarship ... I did not eat it. 

Hubby and I joke about it sometimes. If there IS a zombie apocalypse (or an earthquake or big storm) and I was actually starving ... would I eat? I'm sure I would. In fact logically I will even say "I've never eaten a peach or a strawberry, but I'm sure I'd eat those before I would eat a hamburger, but I'd eat a hamburger before I'd eat things like grubs or pig intestine" (that's what was offered up on last night's Survivor food challenge).  

Some things I wish I could make myself eat and like; salads, smoothies, whole wheat bread and brown rice, so many fruits/veggies, green tea, dark chocolate ... but I don't think it will ever happen.

Check out this TimeMagazine article on Foods That Are Changing The World. Grasshopper taco anyone?

Not Just a Weight Watcher

I've posted about my home gym before, and spotlighted my machines (elliptical, treadmill and bike). But I'm not all cardio. I like to lift too. Now the majority of the "weights" stuff is for hubby. When I first got interested in adding strength training to my routine (this was years ago, when I was originally losing weight back in 2006) I had the hubs come down and show me some simple moves to work on the different muscle groups. I've picked up other ideas from books and magazines through the years too. I've never followed any of the specific programs, but have just done my own full body workout.  

You can see in the picture above that we have a bench and a full system setup with bars, pulleys and plenty of plates. In the back corner is a calf machine, and on the other side of the room is a leg press. We have a rack full of dumbbells and my lone kettlebell (20pounds). I also have a couple medicine balls and some resistance bands. 

I use the dumbbells the most.

The top row is the 10 pound to 30 pound.

The top row is generally all I need.

I like to switch between the different muscle groups, rather than resting in-between sets. I do stick with the standard "3 sets" and rotate between a couple different exercises for each round.

• I start with legs and chest. Mostly lunges and squats, with some pushups in-between. I'll usually add some bicep curls with the lunges/squats.
• I move to the bench and alternate chest flies & skull crushers using using 10-15 pound weights, then sit-ups on the ball in between the bench work.  
• Then back/calves ... alternating dumbell pullovers (20 pound dumbbell) and the calf machine. While on the calf machine I also work shoulders with 8 pound weights (lateral raise and military press). 
• Time for legs/triceps. Butt blaster (20 pound dumbbell at the knee) and Tricep extension (20 pound dumbbell).
• Wrapping it up ... leg curls on the stability ball (hamstring!), superman, plank and a couple additional ab exercises.

I'm not super strict with my routine. I'll change it up and throw in different exercises at times. I try to hit all the different body parts and finish up at an hour.  Sometimes I don't really feel like doing my weight workout, and I just tell myself I only have to do a quick 20 minute one ... and I almost always end up the full hour.

Here's a picture of the leg press machine. I do use it sometimes. You can see my treadmill to the side, and my stack of magazines there in the back.  I don't often use the bars or plates in the weight system, although I pull sometimes do a triceps pull down. I guess I'm just not very comfortable with the bars and anything I would need a spotter for (as I'm always alone when I workout). 

I always get in at least one full body workout a week. At times, I would try for two-three, but that wouldn't always happen. When I did Jillian Michaels 30Day Shred, I set my weight workout aside and I missed it. I do like Jillian's workouts as well. They introduce me to some new moves, but nothing with the heavier weights and feels as much like a "weight" workout to me. So right now I do MY full body weight workout once a week (on Mondays) and then am working through Ripped in 30 on some other days during the week.  Just to switch things up.

Linking Up with

Workout Wednesday & Weigh In Wednesday