Sugar

Warning: The following admission is not for the feint of heart. : )

I am a sugarholic. Yup I love the stuff ....in all forms. You know the gummies that kids love, Yup I love them too. I just finished a bag of froggie gummys, the kind with green on one side and white on the other. I love chocolate, ice cream, ooh and marshmallow anything and did I mention gummy candy. It is a problem, and starting to become a larger issue. I don't discuss food here a lot. Probably because everyone has there own thing. One person might eat very low calories, one might eat low carb, no sugar, low sugar, or just stay really on target the majority of the time. I am a WW fan. It works for me, and usually if I indulge (which I feel is necessary for my success) I will hit the gym harder, or run a little farther. The problem is when I have a trigger food ( a food that causes me to spiral out of control ) I eliminate it out of my diet, until I can get control. Pizza is one of those foods. For a while I had to not eat it, I couldn't eat just one piece. After a while I was able to reintroduce it back into my life but in single portions...now I can have a piece and still be ok....if I am in the right mind set. I still stay away if I can.
Candy is a huge trigger for me. The thing is I don't know if I can eliminate it. I know I should, if only to show that I can. Don't get me wrong...I don't believe in depriving myself of food. Especially treats...like the Banana brownies. I'm talking out of control eating....
So here is the plan. I am going to do a sugar detox for two weeks (anyone can handle that.....right?) Now when I talk about sugar detox I mean I will cut out all unnecessary sugar from my diet. I know myself, and that if I take out everything I wont succeed. So this is what I am allowing myself. 1 mocha daily(home made sf hazelnut flavoring) and4 skinny cow ice cream treats a week. I know some of you might think I am being to easy on myself....I wonder that as well....but this is where I am going to start.
I was discussing this with my husband today, I really need to kick myself into high gear. I know I've said it before, but this time he issued a challenge. 10lbs in one month and I get a new Laptop....9.8 and he removes all sugar and treats from my proximity. ....So why am I doing this? I really want a new computer...and I really need a boost. I am not very good at rewarding myself without the reward being food. I remember as a kid, my mom was on a "diet" and we would be good all week, then on Friday we would have a treat night. I wont go into what we had, but some of my favorite deserts were discovered on those nights. I am going to learn to treat myself to special non sugar rewards over the next few months.
I am sharing so I am accountable. If I see it in writing...I will push through the discomfort. Here I go! I hope I don't hurt anyone this week :)

Good News....Bad News

So lets start off with the bad news since it happened first. I did it again...yup my ankle is in a brace again! I was kicking a hand ball and my foot landed on top of it, rolled to the side, and the rest is history. So sad! I had several walks/runs planned for this weekend. Ugh! Stupid Ankles!
Good news is that I am officially in a size 14 dress. I have been in pants and shirts now for a while but for some reason dresses were not happening. I went today for Convention clothes for my son and kind of ended up in my section. (I dont know how that happened) I picked up one 16 and the rest 14's......yup the 16 is officially toooo bigggg! Woo hoo!
Shopping is so much fun when you can pull nice looking clothing off the shelf and it fits! I used to shop for comfort only....now I get comfort and I shop for colors as well!

Fun at the school

We had a busy start to the morning. We went to Picha farms for some strawberries. Time for freezer jam again. Then we came home ate breakfast watched Tinker Bell and started going a little stir crazy, so we walked to the school and played.

I love Audreys action shots!

Ava was being a brave climber today...not so brave on the slides....She did end up going down by herself though.

Spencer gets to hang out with us now on Fridays!

Now it is nap time then it is run time again to get Ava ready for her dance recital practice. It will be so much fun to watch!

Summer Time

It is officially summer! I have not pulled out my camera recently, but with weather like this pictures are coming. Spencer and I are having a weekend to ourselves...so we will see what kind of mischief we can get into. Hope you like the new look!

Banana Brownies

I dont usually share recipes here...but this one is awesome.
Banana Brownie
1 box brownie mix ( Whatever one has the amount of calories that works for you)
3 ripe bananas
1/4 c water
Blend bananas until smooth, ad water mix, add brownie mix and stir until brownie consistancy. Pour into lightly greased pan and cook as directed.
If you want a delicious treat minus the extra fat give these a try! YUMMMMMMY

What now?

I have spent the last couple weeks getting back into my routine....setting new goals...and revising my plan. I have been thinking a lot about my accomplishment and what I have achieved by running a Half Marathon. When I decided to do it I was doing it purely for physical reasons. I wanted to see better success on the scale. I wanted to push myself to a new level of success. The thing is the scale did not reflect the effort I made, let me change that. I did what I set myself up to do. My body changed, I went down another size and I definitely feel empowered.
What does it mean to feel empowered. It means that I can do whatever I set my mind to do. It means that I am strong and capable, and what others think of me does not define who I am. It means that I can open myself up to new friendships and relationships and not have to hold on to the past so hard. It means that it is ok to like myself and I make myself a better mom, friend, sibling and wife because of it.
I always thought I would be happier if I would just lose weight. It is not the weight loss that has made me happy. What has made me happy is my accomplishments. Its the changes I have made because I decided that I was strong enough to try, and even when I was unsure if I was strong enough, I was sure of myself to try. I had enough confidence in myself to try. I am happier because along the way I am finding myself. I have always thought that along with the physical part of weight loss there is just as much emotional. The whys need to be dealt with as much as the hows. The whys sometimes take more energy than the how's. This run helped me realize that I need to feel strong to get the last of the weight off. I am strong, because I have the support of my family, my friends and myself.
My next goal is to run a 5k in 32minutes. That will shave off 10minutes off my time last year. I am also going to fine tune my eating, because with all the training I did do, my body should have responded differently....
So on I go....!!!!!

Family

We spent the weekend with my Brother and his family this weekend. We had pool time, hiking time and running time. Brian and Beth took us on a hike the day before the run. We had a blast. Shannon was in his element. He climbed the face of a "mountain" and we all jumped creeks, played in caves and played on vines. It was a great day!

On See Jane Run day Audrey, Myles, and Sophie ran the kids run. They all did great. Shannon ran with Audrey and Myles....ok mainly Myles. Audrey left him behind.

Emma and Spencer both did a 5k. Spencer finished in 42:22 and Emma at 36:22.

Beth and her friend ran the Half Marathon with me. Beth finished in 2hrs 3min. She did amazing!

We all did fantastic! I am proud of us all! We enjoyed our visit!