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Mar 21, 2012

Slim-Fast Plan Day (& Giveaway!)

March 21, 2012 By

I started couch-to-5K again a little over a week ago, starting with week two but then jumping to week three on Wednesday. I’m proud to say I’ve kept going with it, and if this raging sore throat I have today doesn’t stop me, I’ll start week four today.

Exercise goes hand-in-hand with good nutrition, and I credit a lot of that to starting the Slim-Fast plan. The shakes and meal bars are full of vitamins and minerals and have the right balance of nutrients to keep me going, which is more than I can say for my previous breakfast of toast. Or nothing, which is a breakfast I don’t recommend at all.

Today just happens to be 3/21, which Slim-Fast has declared the Slim-Fast Plan Day. (Get it? 3/21 = the Slim-Fast 3-2-1 plan. It’s like Pi day, but with a guilt-free chocolate shake instead of pie.) To celebrate, I’ve got a few goodies to pass along to some of you!

First, I’ve got two coupons for free Slim-Fast products. You can either use the coupon on a free four pack of shakes or a box of meal bars – your choice! Two winners will receive one coupon each.

And the grand prize: a gorgeous scarf to accessorize for Spring! While I was at Studio Wow! in New York, I met with Jacqui Stafford for some fashion tips. I told her accessories were one thing I didn’t feel comfortable with, so Jacqui turned to a wall of Bindya NY scarves and plucked one off the wall to drape around my neck.

The wall of scarves – beautiful!

She showed me how easy it was to dress up an outfit with a scarf as well as several ways to wear it. After her instruction, I tried out this look at Blissdom and I think I did a good job at making it work!

It’s a fuzzy pic, but you get the idea.

One winner will be selected to win a scarf from Jacqui’s collection to help you look fantastic for your moment of Wow! (Pattern of scarf will vary but I guarantee it’ll look great.)

So that’s three winners total for Slim-Fast Plan Day: two getting a coupon for free Slim-Fast products, one getting a fantastic Bindya scarf. (And yes, it’s possible to win both the scarf and a coupon if Random.org declares you to be very lucky!)

To enter: leave a comment below telling me your favorite accessory. (This entry method is mandatory.) Be sure to leave your email address so I can contact you if you’re the winner.

For additional entries – optional, of course (1 per method – leave a separate comment for each):

– Follow Slim-Fast on Twitter and leave a separate comment with your Twitter username.
– Like Slim-Fast on Facebook
– Leave a comment on one of my Women of Wow posts on the Slim-Fast Facebook page (leave a comment here with your FB name)
– Write on the Slim-Fast Facebook Wall that you entered the Slim-Fast Plan Day Giveaway at Losing My Hind with a link back to this post.

Entries will be accepted until Wednesday, March 28 at 11:59pm EDT. One entry per method, for up to five entries total, US residents only. After that date, three winners will be selected at random to receive each of the prizes. Winners will be contacted by email and each will have 48 hours to respond or an alternate winner will be selected.

Full disclosure: This post was created in connection with my appointment as an Ambassador in the Slim-Fast Women of WOW! Program. Visit www.facebook.com/slimfast to join the conversation.

Filed Under: c25k, sponsored, success Tagged With: , , ,


Jan 27, 2012

My Muscle Memory Has Dementia

January 27, 2012 By

This week I decided to go back to the boot camp classes I did last year. I had been going fairly regularly until August, and then let my membership lapse. But a great price on a New Year’s deal along with a strong desire to make this THE year I get it right led me to sign up again. After all, I had great results last year and I already feel comfortable with the routine of that gym.

I expected to be a little out of practice. I knew that having a few months off would mean I couldn’t perform the way I did when I was going to classes regularly. But I also was confident that it couldn’t be all that bad – my weight is still as low as when I stopped going, so there’s no way it could be as hard as when I started at the beginning of last year and was 14 pounds heavier.

Ha.

Ha ha ha.

I had my first boot camp class last night. The results were embarrassing. I started off fine with the rest of the class, staying in time with everyone as the music shook the room and the trainer barked out instructions. Five minutes in, I felt a little winded, but took a few deep breaths and pushed past it. Ten minutes in and I needed my first sip of Gatorade.

I quickly realized I was having trouble. Twenty minutes in, I felt weak, I could barely catch my breath, and my stomach was queasy. I finally sat down on the step for a moment. The trainer (someone I worked with a lot last year), just smiled and said, “You’re fine – you’re just getting back into it!” I didn’t feel fine, particularly when the others in the class weren’t stopping while I was parked on my step.

Finishing one small bottle of Gatorade, I stood up and was determined to still finish the class. I got back into the routine with everyone, but that sick feeling wouldn’t go away. I had to take another short break near the end of class. I don’t think I took a single break during my first class last year.

When it was over, I remained in the room for a few minutes extra, willing myself not to vomit while making deals with my legs to just get me to the lobby and then I’d let them rest again. In the lobby, I sat for another 15 minutes. Anytime I tried to get up, I felt lightheaded and queasy. I eventually got the strength to get up and go home.

So…yeah. Never expected the first class would be such a failure. I expected my body would be a little rusty with the whole boot camp regimen, but had hoped it might soon remember all it had accomplished just a short time ago. So much for that muscle memory theory.

I’m discouraged, but not defeated. Yes, I expected my first class to go better than that, but I still went to class and did as much as I could. Maybe I’ll be able to do a little more the next class. And a little more the next one.

No pain, no gain, right?

Edited to add: And then I realized after writing this that I had a sore throat. Turns out I have strep throat and an ear infection. So maybe I’m not quite as weak as I thought, but just fighting off illness.

Filed Under: ow Tagged With:


Aug 19, 2011

After the Event: Staying Motivated

August 19, 2011 By

It wasn’t hard to remain motivated to watch my food intake and exercise in July. Knowing that BlogHer was around the corner kept me in line – I wanted to look my best when presenting myself to so many people.

At the conference, I ate and drank whatever I felt like having – it was a special occasion, and so I felt no need to count calories or worry about gaining weight. I’ve always had the philosophy that one day (or even a few days) cannot do that much damage, especially if you aren’t stuffing yourself to the point of feeling sick. I kept my portions in check at the conference, and for all of that food I didn’t gain a single pound while in San Diego.

But now that I’m home? Motivation is harder to find. I arrived home to a stressful situation of having my children home during the day while I needed to sleep, thanks to summer camp ending two weeks before school starts. (Not cool, summer camps. Not cool at all.) Plus I had plenty of work to catch up on. Add to that a slight depression at returning to my “real life” of responsibilities and work, and healthy living has become the last thing on my mind.

It’s been two weeks now. While I haven’t thrown all of my healthy habits out the window, I haven’t exercised in these two weeks, and I’ve eaten more than I probably should of foods I really don’t need. I’m still motivated by a goal of being healthy and feeling my best. But the external motivator of BlogHer is gone and there’s no external motivator in my near future.

I’ve scheduled a boot camp class for this Saturday. Hopefully my trainers still remember who I am after this break. And hopefully they won’t think I can do exactly what I could at the end of July – I’m a little frightened that it’s going to really hurt to get back into my workouts again.

As for food, well, I’ve eaten my way through most of my BlogHer samples, so much of the temptation is gone now. I’ve already gone back to bringing Healthy Choice meals to work again, and as soon as a routine can be established for back-to-school time we’ll probably begin cooking at home again, too.

The new, healthier habits are still with me. They just need a little encouragement to beat down the sloth that tries to take over whenever it sees an opening.

Filed Under: motivation Tagged With: ,


May 24, 2011

Did I Mention I Ran A 5K?

May 24, 2011 By

So I completely forgot to mention last week that I ran a 5K on May 14. I know, who forgets to brag about something like that, right?

Actually, I went into it with the intent to walk most of the 5K. I was mostly supporting my husband, who has been training for the past 3 months and decided the Komen Race for the Cure 5K was going to be where he put himself to the test.

During that 3 month period, Aaron taught himself how to run, lost 20+ pounds (he’s totally kicking my butt in weight loss), and was ready to take on his first 5K. During that same time frame, I went to my bootcamp classes, ran a couple of times, lost a couple of pounds, and well…didn’t do anything nearly as impressive as him.

On the day of the race, I lined up with the non-competitive runners. I haven’t had the chance to run more than a day here and there lately, so I didn’t expect that I was even going to make it further than a few blocks without needing to stop for a walk. Aaron was ahead of me with the competitive runners. He didn’t expect to place in the race, but he wanted the timing chip so he could see his exact finishing time.

When the bell sounded, I pressed play on my iPod, took a deep breath, and started the run. I was helped by the amazing energy of the people around me – they were all so happy and excited. (Me at 8am? Less so.) The first few blocks were a bit of start and stop as the crowd needed time to thin out. I tried to stay to the side because I was a slower runner and didn’t want to be in anyone’s way.

Quickly I realized my iPod was going to be trouble. It has a problem where the songs will “scramble” when the headphones are in, meaning it’ll play a few seconds of the song, then scramble the song on high speed for a few seconds, then shift to another song, where it does the same thing. So I found myself jogging slowly while trying to hard reset my iPod, put the headphones back in, and try again. It gave me a few songs in a row before it would scramble again, but those few songs were better than nothing. I need music to distract myself from the reality of running.

We made the first turn, and I was surprised I was still running. Then the second turn came two blocks later and I was hurting, but still running. A huge hill was in front of me, though, and I realized I couldn’t make it up the hill. I stopped to walk, a little disappointed, but also reassured by seeing others slow down to walk up the hill.

Once we reached the top of the hill, I decided to go back to running. My lungs ached at the greater effort again, and although I couldn’t hear it over my music, I’m sure I sounded wheezy as I gasped for air. This part of the run was slightly downhill and after a couple of minutes I finally fell into a comfortable pattern. I was still working hard, but I wasn’t hurting.

The next leg of the race took us around a local park. My side was starting to hurt again, so I made a deal with myself that I’d walk when I reached the north end of the park. I kept that agreement, slowing down to walk along the entire north end of the park.

As we made the final turn for the (long) home stretch, a guy in a lobster costume passed me by as I was walking. I’m being passed by a lobster? Surely I can run again if this guy in a full-body costume is still running!

I forced myself to run again, but at this point it was getting hard. During the final stretch I took a couple of short walk breaks, just to catch my breath, and then threw myself forward into running slowly again.

I didn’t see my exact time when I crossed the finish line, but I believe it was somewhere around 44-45 minutes. Not a great time, of course, but only slightly longer than the 5K I trained for back in the fall.

While I had planned to walk most of this 5K, I instead ran most of it and only walked a small portion. I was exhausted at the end, but proud of doing more than I had intended.

And Aaron? He finished at 30 minutes, which is a very respectable time for his first 5K run. I’m proud of him for accomplishing his goal and getting so fit in the process. Hopefully we can both find time to run during the summer and sign up for other 5K races.

Again, if I can do this, anyone can. It just takes baby steps to do so. Had you told me five years ago that I’d be running in a 5K, I would have laughed at you. Yet it’s happened, thanks to making small changes here and there.

Filed Under: running, success Tagged With:


Mar 10, 2011

Temptation

March 10, 2011 By

Now that we’re in the season of Lent, temptation seems like a topic worth discussing. Seems like everyone I know is giving up something for Lent, with the most popular shunned items being desserts, chocolate, or candy. It’ll probably only be a few days before some of them will be faced with temptation as they walk past the pastries in the grocery or are offered a chocolate by a friend. They’ll have to make the conscious decision to say no and accept that they can’t have that food they so long for.

I’m not participating in Lent, but I’ve been feeling the steady pull of temptation for months now as I work at giving up my old ways to create a healthier lifestyle and body for myself. I’ve had to look temptation in the eye and say “no” many times. This includes second helpings of dinner, bags of potato chips and chocolates placed in front of me, and the urge to remain on the couch rather than make the effort to exercise.

When I first started this, I had to go nearly cold turkey with many foods. It was too tempting to have a bag of chips in the house, because I knew that even if I only meant to eat a few, the urge to finish the bag would be too strong and I’d lose my willpower. Seemed easier to simply avoid my trigger foods as much as possible until I could learn to live without them.

But I knew this wasn’t a good long term plan. If you cut out all of your favorite foods forever, you’ll eventually be overcome by temptation and feelings of being deprived. You know where that leads: eventually you scream “Screw it!” and dive into a bag of Hershey’s Kisses mouth first. After you polish off the bag, you’re left feeling miserable, both from the physical stomach-ache and from beating yourself up mentally with guilt.

I completely avoided trigger foods for a short while, then began slowly allowing myself reasonable portions. I still don’t keep potato chips at home, but when I see them at work, I allow myself to grab a handful and enjoy them slowly. At work I’m less likely to overeat, so it was the perfect place to reintroduce trigger foods. I’ll even buy foods I love and bring them to work rather than take them home – sharing them with others helps keep me from overeating.

However, this time of the year – and I’m talking about Shamrock Shake and Girl Scout cookie season for those who might not know – is particularly hard for me. I know these are LIMITED TIME foods that I’m urged to shovel into my mouth as fast as possible because soon they’ll be GONE GONE GONE! The marketing message is clear: eat all you can while they’re still here!

In the past, this trick worked well. I love Shamrock Shakes, so once the sign was up at my local McDonald’s, I was making sure to get one each time I stopped by, and I was more likely to stop there for a meal because of the shake. When they’d run out before the end of the month, I was genuinely sad. I didn’t know if I had managed to drink enough of them to satisfy my craving until the next year.

Sad, isn’t it?

This year? I have yet to have a Shamrock Shake, but I won’t go without. I’m planning to get one on St. Patrick’s Day, and I’m going to love every last sip of it. I’ve told myself for weeks now that I only need one shake to enjoy the taste – 12 shakes aren’t going to help me remember the taste for the rest of the year any better than one.

As for the Girl Scout cookies – we’ve purchased several boxes, and in our house they tend to go quickly. This year I bought snack-sized baggies and we opened up each box and immediately separated the cookies into individual serving size baggies. If I want Thin Mints, I grab a bag, which has a single serving size of 4 cookies in it. It reminds me what a serving is and keeps me from absentmindedly eating an entire sleeve of them or letting temptation whisper in my ear: What’s one more cookie? Look, it’s right there, no one will notice. Now how about another?

Losing weight sucks. It involves making several hard choices every single day, often choosing against behavior patterns I’ve been set in for years. Sloth and temptation are my enemies, disguised as the “old” me. But I’ve learned their game, and I know that it’s not an all or nothing deal. I can still have foods I love, just in moderation. I won’t let an ice cream cone bring on waves of guilt or shame – I’ll savor every bite and remind myself that small treats are awesome occasionally.

Temptation won’t defeat me.

Filed Under: food Tagged With: ,