End of May 2011

So I have impressed myself this month. I've completed the month with at least 23 days of activity, in fact, I completed 24 days of activity.

I am both happy and pleased with my efforts this month, despite being sick. My weight is still fluctuating, but I won't get discouraged. I am determined.

An update on being sick, I went back to the doctor's today, I was put on a z-pac to resolve my sinus infection last Tuesday. Well the sinus infection and sinus pressure did resolve, but now it's just a lingering cough, semi productive. So after going to the doctor today, I was told to wait another day or two, if the symptoms still persisted I was given a prescription for another antibiotic. And I was told to rest, relax, and take some cough syrup.

I am hoping that I won't need to use the other antibiotic. I also am unable to continue running. The doctor said, it's best to wait until I am feeling 100% better. I can walk, but no running. I am a bit upset about being sick for 19 days, and not being able to continue with my couch to 5k training, this is a set back for me. But I know I will be back and in full force. I may have to do some weeks over again, I am not sure how far this is going to set me back, I am glad my 5k isn't until September.

I am going to be participating in Steve's Marathon Week Challenge. To walk/run 26.2 miles in one week (Monday June 6th through Sunday June 12th). I am hoping that I am feeling better and able to really kick butt in this challenge. You can follow on twitter, we'll be using the hashtag #MarathonWeek

Memorial Day Weekend

Hello Everyone, the weather is looking gorgeous for this coming holiday weekend. Hot and humid with a chance of thunderstorms every afternoon.

I am feeling much better, still 2 more days of my Z-pac, so I will be bringing that with me, as well as my Advil cold and sinus, but I think I am only going to take that when I need it. 

I won't have my laptop with me this weekend, even though the campground has free wifi, I wanted to experience camping, and laptop doesn't say camping to me. I will have my iPhone on me, so you'll probably see me lurking a little. I will hopefully be taking more pictures that I will share when I get back. 

Onto this week's weigh in, well I was up a tad, 306.7, to be honest, I wasn't feeling this week, being sick was really a drag, and I just didn't track my food. 

I will share a NSV, in that I went back to work on my first day (Wednesday, this week) and I started stress/mindless eating, I happen to look down and see Prior Fat Girls's One Bite One Decision bracelet and stopped the senseless eating. 

I am hoping that with me feeling better, I can get back into the tracking mode, however, I am going camping for 4 days, I am at least going to write everything down, that is the goal I am setting for myself. I am also planning on getting a lot of walking in. I am still not allowed to run, as I am still recovering. 

But come Tuesday, I'll be itching to get back on (the) track!

What are your Memorial Day weekend plans?

Oh hello, old friend... I haven't missed you!

So today is day twelve of being sick and although most of my symptoms have resolved, my clogged sinuses have remained. Last night I went to bed and I was miserable (H2B can tell you!) I just could not get comfortable, I finally had to add a second pillow to elevate my head and allow my sinuses to drain just a bit. I knew I needed to seek some help.

I went to my chiropractor this morning and got my usual adjustment and also got my sinuses adjusted. That did loosen things up, but she agreed that I probably had a bad sinus infection.

So then I made the call to my primary care, and was given an appointment with the nurse practitioner, after going over the course of my illness and my current symptoms, she examined my throat, nose and ears. Thankfully, I did not have an ear infection, but I did have a lot of fluid behind my ears, which could have led to an infection. But I do have a nasty sinus infection. The nurse practitioner mentioned that I also had a sinus infection in April last year, and that perhaps it's a yearly event in the Spring. It's quite possible that the changes in the season, weather, temp help add to my sinus infection.  Either way, I was given prescriptions for a nasal spray and a Z-Pac, and told to rest and stay hydrated. I asked her if I could continue training with my interval running and my Couch to 5K program, she advised against it, she said, I could walk, but that running probably wouldn't be a good idea. Which means I'll probably have to restart week 4 or even week 3 depending on how things go once I am feeling better.

I went home and posted this picture on twitter: 

I am hoping that at least now I can start feeling better and hopefully will be feeling better before we go camping this weekend! I am keeping my fingers crossed for great weather.

One thing I realized here on my blog is that I don't post many pictures in general, so I am going to try to make a more conscious effort to post pictures.

Memorial Day and SwagBucks

One thing I am looking forward to is going camping next weekend. Every year my friends, family and co-workers all come together for Memorial Day weekend and we go camping. We've been going for about 10 years now, it's always been a great time. I cannot wait to take some time and chill with some good people!

Some people have asked me about some of the ways I "earn money" online. I do many online surveys, but one of the easiest ways to earn "money" is SwagBucks. Just by searching the web, I have the potential to earn SwagBucks, which are points that I can use to purchase items. I use the bucks to purchase gift cards, typically Amazon and PayPal. With PayPal, I am literally earning cash just by searching the web.

And they are running a SwagBucks new member registration. Sign up through my referral link and enter the code MEMORIALDAY when prompted - it'll pad your account with an extra 50 Swag Bucks on top of the 30 that everyone starts with. Get started earning your reward points today!

Swagbucks, the best place to get free stuff from searching and more is celebrating Memorial Day next week with a special Score Four and Twenty Swag Bucks promotion - they'll have 4 special Limited Edition collector's bills available, and if you can snag all four by the end of Thursday, you'll get a bonus 20 Swag Bucks. ALSO, this Thursday they're have a Swag Code Extravaganza, a day filled with fun, games and the opportunity to snag over 40 Swag Bucks worth of codes throughout the day. Be sure to visit Swagbucks all this week for opportunities to win big!

Weight Update

Well I forgot to weigh in last week, mostly due to getting sick and just completely forgetting about it (trust me not the ONLY thing I forgot while being sick)

I did remember to weigh in today, and it was remarkable, I weighed in at 305.8! A 5 pound loss in 2 weeks. Now mind you , I firmly believe that is 5 pound of mucus and snot that I shed, because I feel that is all that I've been doing (blowing my nose and such).

But hey, a loss is a loss and I'll take it. On top of that I am feeling more and more better as each day goes on. This makes me really happy.

I am depressed about missing FitBloggin' this year. However, if anything it only makes me more determined to get there next year. I just hope I can at least have my bloggie BFF's there (Kerri and Steve). I can't wait to read about everyone's recaps though!

Honestly though I think it's best for me to be home right now, I am recovering from being sick, FitBloggin' wouldn't be much fun sick, and I can accomplish a lot of stuff for the wedding. So at the very least, I am being productive!

With less than 5 months to the wedding, I am starting to feel more pressure and trying to get some tasks wrapped up. There has been a lot going on with the wedding, lots of stress, I am just hoping that things can subside as I feel like it's way too early on to be dealing with so much stress.

Perfect weather... if you are a duck!

Ugh... that's really all that can sum up the last few days for me.

I've been sick, with something... I typically get sick when the temperature does funny things, like drop 30 degrees in a day. Well this weather pattern that New England is in really sucks right now. Basically I am in the midst of a week long rain fest. Just icky and cold, I guess the weather matches how I am feeling!

The icky rain pattern is also making a terrible time to get out and do my C25K sessions, I finished week 3, and I was supposed to start week 4 on Tuesday, but I am feeling like poop and the rain didn't help. I don't want to get too far behind, though, so I am taking it as easy as I can and hopefully will get back on track.

I am managing to stay active, I got a walk in on Monday, I took yesterday off, and hopefully will be getting a walk in tonight. Not nearly as active as I'd like to be, but at least it's something.

I've also been failing on the tracking front, I haven't tracked in days, mind you, the first few days of being sick, I wasn't really in the greatest frame of mind, but I am over the sickness hump and need to get back in the tracking routine so I don't fall so far behind.

I also didn't weigh in last Friday, again I chock it up to being sick, but I did step on the scale and I am right on target, so I don't feel like I've gone too far off path, I've been eating mindfully and making smart choices. So long as you count coffee frappes as smart choices. But hey, they ARE smart choices when you need something cold to soothe your throat from all the coughing, right?

At least I can taste food again, I still cannot smell anything, but at least my taste is coming back.

I am going to track my food today, got to get back into those good habits, I do not want to derail all my efforts!

Hopefully I will start feeling better (like I said, I am already over the hump) and I can get back on track with my C25K training sessions, and hopefully there will be an end in sight with this rainy weather.

Although, I will take the rainy weather now, for sunny perfect weather when we go camping next weekend!

Weight Update and Bloggie Awards

So last Sunday I was 317.4, Monday I was 312.4. I weighed in on Friday at 310.8 A loss of 6.6 from last Sunday and 1.6 from Monday.

Needless to say, I am happy to see the scale going in the right direction. I've stuck to staying active, and I am still 100% for the month. Getting at least some activity in every day. I will be Strong for 23 in May! I've been tracking my food and activity using the my fitness pal app for my iPhone, I've been very pleased with this program, not only are the majority of the foods in there, but also I like that you can also track your activity/workouts and the calories burned are included in your totals. Almost like the "Activity Points" I'd earn using the Weight Watchers plan.

I've had a fun weekend. Ben and I went to the Drive In on Friday night and had a wonderful date night. Saturday, I went to my mom's house and caught up with her and then we had another couple come over Saturday night and we had a nice evening catching up with them, they are in the process of buying a house and fairly nervous about it. Today, Sunday, Mother's Day, I took my step mother and my dad out to a baseball game, we had a blast, and the rain held off until the last inning. We left early and headed out to dinner. All in all it was great to spend some time with them and have a good outing.

I also recently received a blog award from Whitney over at Getting Healthy. Thank you Whitney, you've always given me positive thoughts whenever I've needed it!

And here are the rules with the Stylish Blogger Award:

1. Post a link back to the person who gave it to me....see the above link!

2. Give it to 5 blogs that I L.O.V.E. and stop by their blogs to let them know.

   1. Kerri @ Kat Does Diets
   2. Steve @ Blog Of Steve
   3. Mary @ A Merry Wife
   4. Brittney @ Life In A Holding Pattern
   5. Whitney @ Slimming Down for the Gown

3. Tell 7 things about yourself:

   1. I am getting married in 5 months (!!!!!!!!!)
   2. I am going to Hawaii for my honeymoon
   3. I love reality TV, not reality tv game shows, but reality tv
   4. I miss my brother like crazy, and can't wait to see him this summer
   5. I am looking forward to becoming a mom and starting a family of my own
   6. I have a degree in business administration, but I am an emergency dispatcher (love my job)
   7. I am really sad about not getting to go to FitBloggin' this year....

Strong for 23 in May

I am bringing it back, to help keep me motivated and keep me honest and on track. For those of you who are new or may not know, Strong for 23 was something that started over on Alan's blog, but basically, it's committing to work out or getting some activity at least 23 times in a month.

And so here is how I started out the month of May....

And I promise you I will finish Strong for 23.... I'm already 5/5 ;-)

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

Weighing In

I spent all of last week at my parent's house watching the house and the cat, I knew when I posted last week, that since I wasn't going to be in my routine, that I was nervous about my abilities to stay focused. I was basically eating out for every meal, and although I was still getting some long walks in I was nervous about the results.

Well yesterday, Sunday, I was finally back at my own apartment and I stepped on the scale. 317.4, I was mortified. I had no idea it was THAT bad. I re-weighed in another 2 times with the same results before going on about my day. That is a huge increase over the 311.8 I was last week.

I knew that I didn't track at all last week, and really how many times can I say it, tracking is key... I need to be able to hold myself accountable. I started using My Fitness Pal, I didn't care for the SparkPeople app, and so far, I like My Fitness Pal's app better. So for now, I'll be tracking using the My Fitness Pal program and see how that goes. If you are on there, come find me!

Getting ready for the day, I put on my work pants and they seemed to fit like they always do, I had no idea where this weight was on my body, since usually it goes to my stomach and thighs first. 

I got home from work last night and I completed my week 2 day 1 C25K session. I got home, and really was comfortable being there, but I forced myself to get out there and do it. It sucked at first, but I dug deep and by the end, I was so happy and proud of myself for doing it.

Yesterday, I also mailed in my registration for the Covered Bridge 5K in September in Henniker, NH. This is about an hour away from me, I've always loved Covered Bridges so I am hoping this will be fun. Also its about halfway between myself and another bloggie friend, Kayla and she is hopefully going to be joining me in running this race!

I may do some other races this year, but this one I thought would be cool. I wanted to register early, so I was committed and wouldn't back out of it. This is something that I can focus on.

Today, just for my own interest, I hopped on the scale this morning, and it read 312.4, I had lost 5 pounds in a day... which leads me to believe that it was mostly water weight I was carrying, probably also why my pants still fit normally. So I am still up overall, but not nearly as bad as originally thought. And hopefully now I can resume my regular Friday weigh in's from now on.