Pressure Wins!

I am always encouraging BFFH to post more pictures on her blog, especially since I need to show you how awesome she is. I blogged about her triathlon a while ago, but I didn't have any pictures to post to show how amazing she is. But low and behold my nagging worked, so now I get to show them to you!

BFFH is the tall one! My cute little tomboy best friend.

I can see her in this picture, but maybe nobody else can, just know she is there.

Anyway I just wanted to give her some props because she is awesome and deserves to hear it a lot.

Happy Monday?

Okay not so much, Mondays are my least favorite day. I feel bad because I am sure Monday is just a scapegoat to our not getting enough sleep the night before (Poor Monday). Which is usually my case. In fact last night I was up super late watching Veronica Mars. So I refused to get up early and go to the gym. I let myself off the hook because I did after all walk the 5k two days ago. Okay not a good excuse, but I am using it anyway.
 The 5k was so fun, I even worked up a bit of a sweat. I am on my way to running next time. Baby steps.

 So even though I am watching what I eat, I cannot live without my treats. So I have trying to find healthier options to my sweet cravings. Soyjoy bars, good healthy snack, about 140 calories, all natural.... however they don't taste that awesome. I found out the the strawberry is not good. Repeat, not good. So I was ready to give this snack the heave ho, but the blueberry and mango coconut ended up being pretty delicious. So I just wont be buying strawberry again.  The giant cookie is vegan. It was surprisingly not bad. However it was like $1.50. Nobody needs to eat a single cookie for a buck 50. So silly, but I wanted to try, so I did.  The last treat was Newman's own peanut butter cups. AMAZING!! Probably the best peanut butter treat I have ever had. It is made from all natural ingredients, and tasted so good. However it was about $1.65 for that treat, so that is the bummer part.  But I figure a treat should be just that a treat, so even though I wont be buying any Newman's peanut butter cups in bulk, once in a while probably wont break the bank.

 Also I wanted to share this delicious creation BFFE and I came up with when she was here. It was actually her brother's idea, we just stole it and put our own twist on it. Our version of flatbread pizza. We just got some panini bread coated it with butter and garlic put cheese and veggies and baked it in the oven for a while. Sure it wasn't the most healthy meal, but it could be if you wanted to. It was the weekend, we were splurging on our calories, so we didn't even try to make these super healthy. Next time I might cut out the garlic butter and try some pesto or something like that. Anyway super yum, cheap and fun!

Weigh in Wednesdays

So I stepped on the scale today and I am pleased to say I lost that pound that I gained last week. But I am also bummed because I was watching the biggest loser today and saw people losing 25+ pounds in one week. Okay I realize that I dont have cute Bob Harper kicking my ass, but still one pound loss is not making me happy. Maybe its because I went home and ate coco Krispies for dinner the last two night? So there you have it. I have been kicking my tush at the gym this week, today was an especially hard kick. I know I just need to go slow and steady to win the race and realize that Bob is not going to be walking in that door, so its up to me.
On a heavy note, my sister is very ill. Please keep her in your prayers. We find out more from the Doctors tomorrow. Its so hard being away from home in times like this. But it also reinforces this health journey that I am on.
Have an awesome day, and good health to everybody!

Stupid things Katie says

Here is a topic for discussion. About 3 or 4 or so years ago I remember this distinctly because it has to be one of the most idiotic things I have ever said....and I say a lot of stupid stuff.
So I was working and my supervisor at the time who is really like a good buddy and a co-worker and I were talking about how we all need to lose weight, or how the holidays were coming up and that meant lbs or something to that effect. Anyway I said " Well I know I will probably get cancer or diabetes because I am big girl " They just looked at me like I was the most stupid person in the whole wide world and then my supervisor says "Really? because you can change that you know"
I knew immediately after I said it, how ridiculous that sounded. But to see those two people look at me with those eyes that said " unbelievable, did she really say that?" it was the starting of my awakening into what I hope now is a change for the rest of my life. Sure I have had a few false starts and mess ups, I am human. But I have also had some success. Since regaining my mind that I lost temporarily, I did lose about 40lbs. I am trying very hard to go full veg. I did have a whole year and a half of that before I fell of the wagon. I love working out. I am walking my 2nd 5k, maybe we will get up to a run on Saturday and I am training for a relay in May with the goal of losing 60lbs by my next birthday in April. You guys know that even though I set an 60lb weight loss goal, its never been about the numbers.
I am a full believer that you can have and do anything you want if you put your mind to it, you just have to tell you mind to take walk away from crazy town now and again when you feel the doubt closing in.

Cheers

So I am totally obsessed with Vita Coco coconut water. I know its really good for you, but in the past I have not really loved it. When it comes to beverages I tend to be a purest. I like my water tasting like water and nothing else. No lemon, no special packets in my water, just plain water. So when coconut water came out I tried it and denied it. Okay I realize that water and coconut water are two very different things, one comes out of a coconut and one comes out of the tap, or bottle or ground what have you.
Anyway it has amazing things for your body, and it replenishes your electrolytes naturally. It has a lot of potassium which is good for me, I tend to forget about that one because I am not a huge fan of the banana, so often I get leg cramps from working out and drinking a lot of water. TaaaDaaa, my answer in a cute container. So give it a try. I know you wont be disappointed.

Weigh in Wednesdays

I have been slacking for the last couple of weeks. I have only been the the gym 5 times in two weeks. THATS NOT GOOD ENOUGH! So today the scale showed me a 1lb gain. I guess I should be grateful because that two weeks included a trip home and a girls night out.
I need to just get my tush to bed earlier, so that I can resist the temptation to sleep in. I am (un)lucky, I get to go to work at 10:30 or 11 most days, so I guess in my head that means, oh stay up late and sleep during prime gym hours. I think I need a swift kick in the ass, and since most of you who read this blog are on the other side of the state, its up to me to kick it!
Anyway Good health to everybody, and thanks to the one or two people that actually comment on my blog. It really does help.
So thanks!

My Athletic Rockstar Friends

Hey so I know you all think that I am in love with BFFE because I can't stop talking about how awesome she is, and I am, so here goes another shout out for her. I told you about her relay, well they finished it, had an amazing time, and cant wait to do it again next year, where I will be joining them. (I hope) I am going to take some of her pictures from facebook to show you how awesome she is.
And then another shout out I want to get to is BFFH! She did a half?(mini?) triathlon a couple weeks ago. Seriously my friends are so amazing. I don't even know why they like me. Maybe its because I make them look good. I tried to find pictures to post of her, but she doesn't keep her blog updated that well (yep that was a dig)but what matters the most is these amazing ladies taking their health and life seriously, and having fun along the way. They are such good examples for me. You would think they wouldn't have time, with babies, school, work and just life! Makes me feel real lazy all of sudden. So I just thought you would all need to know about my seriously cool friends, and be jealous of me that I get to have them in my life.

Uggggg!!!

I am starting to get a little overwhelmed with school and work. I don't understand why life just can be easy. RUDE! I need this weekend to hurry up and get here, I understand that it is Thursday but cripes these next two days I have a feeling are going to be super slow. Also I am super tired and have not been able to get my tush out of bed for my morning workouts. I think in the end that is what it all boils down to, I have to have a routine or my life goes crazy. And I am overwhelmed and tired and cranky. And if any of you know me.... that is not a good place to be at all.
So I just need to GET IT TOGETHER!
Anyway on to a different topic, have any of you watch Heavy on A&E? Link here. I started watching it online the other day, and I really like it. It is about extremely overweight people, and how they enter a facility to help them lose weight. I don't ever ever ever want to get to the point where I have to be sent to a facility, but I think it is an interesting show about just how hard it is to lose weight. I never thought this journey was going to be easy. Other wise I would be where I wanted to be years ago, but I know that by watching this show, at the end of it all, It will be worth it.

Weigh In Wednesday

I am proud to say that I have lost 2lbs this week. I am kinda finding it hard to believe because I went home and ate nothing but junk at my moms house this weekend. However I am not going to argue with that scale. It was a 2lb victory so I will take it.
However... I have a confession to make. I did not go to the gym today. I know. I was tired and wanted to sleep in. So I did. What that means is that I have to kick my own ass tomorrow.
I feel good, and I am back on track. I cant wait to see next summer's swimsuit season. Maybe I will go on a nice rewarding trip to the beach. Anybody want to come?

5k baby

So Its official, I have signed up for the St. Luke's 5k again this year. I am really excited about it. It is going to be an amazing weekend. BFFE is coming over to do it with me if all goes according to plan and my new roommate Sarah will be there too. While I am on the subject of BFFE I wanted to get her some props for this weekend. She finished her first ever half marathon. She is a total Rockstar and I am so proud of her. So this 5k will be like a literal walk in the park for her, but it will be good for getting my walking legs under me so that maybe one of these days I can join her in actually running.

Also follow this link and sign up using my first name as a referral. Maybe use my ISU email too where it says who referred you, and just my first name that is how I signed up. (I should have put my last name on there in retrospect.) I want to win that $300 prize. Anyway it doesn't cost anything, and these girls are really cute and help keep you motivated.
So my first official weigh in is tomorrow, I think I have been doing ok, but I can do better, we all can do better I guess. Happy Health!