Our training is going well. We won’t be running a marathon anytime soon, but we are doing some type of exercise regularly and most importantly and most exciting is that we’ve been doing awesome with eating healthy and not eating so much (and losing weight!).

You all know that my bloggy friend Anna inspired me to start the 30 Day Shred. Well she also inspired us to use My Plate, which is part of the Livestrong website.  It keeps track of everything you eat and all the exercise you do. In the beginning you put in your current weight and what your weight loss goal is and then it calculates what your calories should be and let’s you know throughout the day how you’re doing.

Needless to say we are obsessed. It’s kinda like a game. You try to stay under enough so that you can have a snack at the end of the day. It’s been amazing to become more aware of all the little snacking we did and how much that adds up. Not to mention the calories that are consumed with soda, which we’ve almost completely given up. 

As far as actual training we’ve been running more and more lately. A few nights ago we ran around our neighborhood and Pat was certain it was 3 miles. I actually made it the entire way without stopping and even sprinted the last 2 blocks. Unfortunately when we drove the course and measured it was only 2.4 miles. Bummer! That’s ok though, it was still the longest we’ve run in a long time.  We’ve been rotating between running, biking, tennis and I’m also still doing the 30 Day Shred. I haven’t been doing it every day so I’m still on level 2.

The weight loss is going great too. I can finally start to tell that I’ve lost weight so that’s exciting and keeps me motivated. Pat is losing weight like crazy, he’s turning into this skinny little thing. Again, not fair. But he’s working hard so I’m also proud of him. Yesterday he was at 198 and I was at 146. So we’re making good progress.  Since doing the My Plate thing for 2 weeks I’m so amazed at how I’m not that hungry all that time. I think alot of it is just reminding myself to not eat everytime I get sad or mad, exercising and drinking lots of water.

I need to get to bed but I’m going to have to do a post about eating healthy. I am so surprised at how it is actually LESS expensive then how we were eating before. Seriously. It’s amazing. So we’ll share more about that next time.

Woo hoo!

(Missy here by the way. Someone needs to leave a comment that they are sick of hearing from me and then maybe Pat will write.)

Anyway, I’ve been really discouraged the past 7-10 days.

1. Pat has been losing weight like crazy.  (I know I should be happy for him and I am but it’s still frustrating and discouraging.)

2. I have not been losing any weight.  Stuck at 150 for a week after getting to 149 for one day and then going right back up.

3. I haven’t been as motivated to exercise.  I’ve only been exercising every 1-2 days. It’s no wonder I wasn’t losing weight.

But finally yesterday when I stepped on the scale I had to do a double take. 147!  Pat is under 200 which he is really excited about too.   So far he’s lost a little over 10 pounds and I’ve lost 7 pounds. Now that gets me motivated!

After Pat not feeling well a few weeks go and then me getting sick the week after, we are both finally feeling better. I’m still not exercising every day but the past few days have gotten a little better and I’m determined to get back into a good routine. That’s the problem. Finding a routine that doesn’t involve getting out of bed at 5 am.

Pat’s been mostly biking – putting in alot of miles! He’s going to be doing a 58 mile bike ride this coming Saturday. I’m so proud of him, he’s doing such a great job. I’ve been rotating between running, biking and doing the 30 Day Shred. We’ve also played tennis a few times. The variety is really good for me. I find that when all I do is the 30 Day Shred I get bored.

Speaking of running last weekend I ran 1.6 miles – well I ran/walked that far. Unfortunately I had to walk part of it because it was up my parent’s ridiculous steep hill and I couldn’t make it. On Wednesday night Pat and I ran our loop – 1.2 miles – and Pat ran the entire thing. First time he’s ran in years so that was exciting.

According to Pat – we just might make that 5K after all!

(This is Missy by the way. I know. Surprising.)

If you read my blog you know that two weeks ago Pat wasn’t feeling so good and we had a really overwhelming week which caused our training to suffer a little. Well this week I got sick and it really ticked me off because I felt like I was finally making some good progress.

I finally got my weight to under 150 (149 but it’s still under!) and I ran a mile! And then I got sick. So I haven’t done a thing for 4 days except sleep and work. I haven’t ate much of anything except chocolate so that’s good I guess. I haven’t even weighed myself in 4 days because I don’t want to be depressed if I’m over 150 again.

I don’t even remember what we did last week. I think I ran one day (3/4 mile) and I did 30 Day Shred 2 times.  On Saturday I ran a mile.  The whole way. Didn’t stop.  Yes, I am proud.  I was actually a little surprised at how easy it seemed. And then I realized I wasn’t pushing 60 pounds of children in a big clunky stroller. Wow. Talk about helping me get in shape!

On Monday I did the 30 Day Shred (level 2). I can actually do the entire thing without stopping. Even all the sit ups. I’m dying by the time I’m done but it’s so rewarding knowing that I can finish through it. Monday was the last time this week I’ve done any major exercise. I got sick Tuesday morning. One of these nights I did work in the garden a little bit and that was exhausting but not really cardio or anything like that. Today we are at my parent’s house and me and the kids did go swimming this morning and I tried to run in place as much as I could while I held Caleb. Plus we played “jump to Mommy” for about 15 minutes and my arms were dying by the time we finished that. So I haven’t been a complete bum. It just feels that way.

I’m still battling a head cold today but it’s much better and so I’m hoping tonight to go for a little run or maybe a bike ride.

Since Pat started feeling better the end of last week he’s been kicking some butt working out. Mainly riding his bike as often as he can, almost every other night after the kids go to bed. He’s also been walking at lunch time about 1/2 mile.

Overall I guess when you consider everything else going on, we are still doing pretty good. It’s very overwhelming trying to find the time to do everything. Have devotions, play with kids, take care of kids, clean, blog, sleep, work, etc. Something’s got to give and unfortunately lately it’s been blogging which makes me sad. It’s not only a way to journal our family happenings but it’s a way for me to journal my thoughts and what’s going on in my crazy head. So not having that lately has made me sad but like I said something has to give.

We’re down to about 4 weeks until the 5K. I can’t believe it. I’m certainly not going to reach my 20 pound lighter goal by then. But we aren’t giving up.  Hope you aren’t either!

I can’t believe it’s been almost a week since we did an update. Here’s a little bit about what we’ve been doing (or as much as we can remember).

Wednesday: We can’t remember. Which means we don’t think we did anything. My sister was in town and so we had to go out to eat with her and my brother and were forced into not exercising. Really.

Thursday: I did the 30 Day Shred in the morning. Pat biked to and from work.

Friday: I did the 30 Day Shred in the evening.  I introduced my mom to Jillian on Friday night too. (You can do it mom! Dad, I dare you to beat me in the 5K!)

Saturday: I did the 30 Day Shred in the morning (level 2! YA!) and Pat and I played tennis in the evening.

Sunday: We had our work party at a water park.  I held 30 pounds of child and did squats in the wave pool for an insane amount of time. That’s gotta count for something.  We also did the batting catches. That level of humiliation has got to count for something too.

Today: I did the 30 Day Shred and Pat went on a bike ride when he got home from work.

We’ve been doing really good on our eating. Not snacking as much and when we do snack we’ve been choosing a healthy snack instead of a bag of chocolate or chips.  And most of the time no seconds at meals.

Unfortunately though I did awful today.  It was a really stressful day at work and I am a complete emotional eater. There were leftover cookies from Friday and leftover pop from our summer work party this weekend and since I had no will power today I had both. Actualy 2 cookies since we’re being so honest.

One thing that helped me kick this whole exercise, eating healy attitude into gear is that I started focusing on the fact that my overeating (and yes I overeat) was mainly becuase I’m an emotional eater. I would eat extra when Pat and I were fighting or when I was stressed at work.  So when I focused on the “why” of my eating, I could calm  myself down, pray and ask God for strength to get through the stressful time (without food) and remind myself that I wasn’t hungry. It’s been working great. Until today.

But tomorrow’s a new day.  And I worked extra hard when I did 30 Day Shred tonight. Ouch.

Friday is payday and we’ll be registering for the 5K that’s on September 12th. Then there’s no turning back.  We haven’t done our 1.2 mile loop in over a week, since I’ve been doing the 30 Day Shred each day. I’m anxious to see how it goes.  And of course, we’ll keep you posted.

Anyone know what day it is? I don’t. It’s all beginning to blur together. And my stomach growling and muscles aching are making me delirious.

Actually I’m not really hungry. We have been kicking some major behind on eating healthy. I just cannot believe it some days.  I’m not sure why this time is so different but we are both very motivated to stay on track. And I guess I don’t care why, I’m just glad we are. Like I said I haven’t really felt hungry.

EVEN THOUGH I HAVEN’T HAD CHOCOLATE IN 8 DAYS! (Except for one teenie tiny piece of brownie at a church potluck).

We also haven’t had a soda in a week and 1/2. (Except for one small soda when we went out to eat last Friday night). But come on – we’re still doing pretty good.  Eating tons of fruits and veggies – many from our garden, which is really exciting.  We’ve really tried to get control on our snacking. We are major snackers and so the past week and 1/2 instead of snacking when we weren’t really hungry we would go on a walk/jog or do our 30 day shred video or some other type of exercise.

Last week Wednesday we played tennis. That was so much fun as I whooped up on Patrick. Ok, not really. But it was still fun. And funny.  We had extra balls and the kids each had one and threw their ball around while we played. At one point Caleb came onto our court and I asked Pat to move him. He told me not to worry and Caleb would be fine. The very next serve I smacked the ball and it went wizzing by Caleb’s head. About a 1/2 inch from killing my child.

As Pat said, “You can’t write that stuff.” 

On Thursday Pat rode his bike to and from work.  Thursday night I started to go on a walk with the kids but they weren’t interested and so we ended up only going about 1/4 mile. So then we came home and did the 30 Day Shred video.

Let me give a shout out to my bloggy friend Anna. She inspired me to do the 30 Day Shred and it’s amazing. I absolutely love it. Even though Jillian completely kicks my butt every time, I love the variety of the different stages and different exercises. I also think Jillian is so motivating. Her pep talks have now become common conversation at our house.

As we are walking/jogging our 1.2 mile loop Pat will say, “IF A 400 POUND MAN CAN WALK 1.2 MILES SO CAN YOU!”

Or our favorite, “IF YOU THINK YOU’RE GOING TO DIE STAY WITH ANITA.”

We love Anita.  But let me just say that after 6 days of the shred I’m getting close to kicking Anita’s butt. And that feels awesome.

More awesome to report: I’ve lost 4 pounds!

Starting weight: 154
Current weight: 150

Pat is doing awesome too. He’s lost 2 pounds.

Starting weight: 210
Current weight: 208

Unfortunately the one thing not going well is I’m so tired. I thought I would have so much energy when I started exercising and eating healthy. I think part of the problem is I’m not getting much sleep at night. So I need to work on that. Beginning with tonight.

My plan is to ride to work as our schedule allows. Right now that’s 1 day a week. I’ll try and fit in rides during the evenings and over the weekends. I’ll even do the “jillian” dvd with my loving wife…..and suffer just for her.

Today was a “ride to work” day. I actually rode the skinny tire bike (road bike) instead of the mtn. bike. Normally the ride to work is an enjoyable ride. Easy pace, ipod on, beautiful sunrise and sometimes a friend or two. But not on the road bike. My road bike is an old school racing bike. I really like this bike. It’s fast. Rigid aluminum frame, carbon fiber wheels, rock hard seat and really, really skinny racing tires. I don’t think you can buy skinnier tires. What’s the big deal? I’m the big deal. Everytime I ride this bike I get a pinch flat. I hit a crack in the road, a rock or something solid and the tire compresses (ever so slightly) and pinches against the rim and pops the tube. I’ve avoided riding this bike for a few years. But not today.

This morning I fired up the air compressor and proceeded to force feed 140+ pounds of air pressure into those skinny tires. Just enough to keep my lead butt off the ground. As I rode to work (and home afterward) I tried to avoid every bump. Every rock. Every pebble. Rather than enjoy the beautiful morning God blessed me with today, I was obsessed with looking down at the dirty, rock strewn road. Sand, garbage, broken glass, pot holes. All the dirty stuff we just ignore and try not to think about.

As I did this today while riding, I couldn’t help but think of how other we do this in life. We become obsessed with looking out for the little obstacles in our life rather than trusting in God to take care of everything.

Psalm 39: 6-7 says  ”Man is a mere phantom as he goes to and fro: He bustles about, but only in vain; he heaps up wealth, not knowing who will get it. But now, Lord, what do I look for? My hope is in You.”

Tomorrow, I will lift my head to the Lord and let him lead me where he may (maybe a little closer to making that 5k).

Anyway.  It’s been a good couple days. 

Monday was Day 4 and I didn’t get out of bed in the morning to work out. That is SO hard for me. I’m working on it though.  Monday night about an hour after supper we did do the Jullian 30 Day Shred video. We being me and my rock star daugther Angel.  It was so hard.  Jillian kicked my butt.  But in a good way. I love it. As mean as she is I love her. She’s so motivating. And seems just a little bit psycho but maybe that’s why I love her.

So we did the video and then about 10 minutes later Pat says, “Let’s go for a walk!” Ouch. But Angel and Caleb were really excited about it and so I sucked it up and went along.  Now I got to enjoy Pat kicking my butt.

Just kidding. It wasn’t enjoyable. It hurt. He kept walking faster and faster and then would run and I was bound and determined to keep up with him. 

Today, day 5, once again started without me getting up in the morning to exercise. Although this morning I had a good excuse, I was meeting friends for breakfast at 6:30 am. And I also really want to make an effort of having time with the Lord in the morning, even if it’s 10 minutes. I need to have that time.

Pat and I did walk 1/4 mile at lunch. We’re going to try to do that every day. After work I took the kids to the pool and during the lifegaurd break we walked probably 1/2 mile to get a snack. We went to Dairy Queen and I had a side salad. Did you know they have side salads there? Ya, me neither. Ok, ok I also had a small ice cream cone but this is major progress that I didn’t get a Blizzard.  We walked a little bit back to the park and then my Prince CHarming came and switched with me and he walked the kids back to the park and I drove!  Because I was tired and it was hot and windy and uphill. (No, Jillian wouldn’t be proud that I caved).

However, later tonight I convinced Pat to do the 30 Day Shred. Guess who’s not mocking me anymore. That’s right. Jillian kicked someone else’s butt tonight!

Pat still thinks it’s silly of me to call it “training”. When I’m 20 pounds lighter we’ll see if he makes fun of my terminology.

Anyway. Saturday morning I had to go into work for a few hours. We spent the rest of the day cleaning and running errands. Saturday night Patrick went to a move with my brother and so the kiddos and I decided to go “train”.

I did my same 1.2 mile loop only this time I ran almost 1/2 of it. I felt pretty good.  I wore different shoes. Very cheap shoes that don’t have a back on them. It was a little hard to run in them but my feet didn’t hurt at all.  Pushing 60+ pounds of children and stroller, now that hurt a little. But by the time we finished I was sweating horribly so I know I got a good work out.

It felt so good to actually do something. Well something other than sit on my rear watching Bravo and eating ice cream. It also feels good to have a goal and to be motivated to reach my goal. I’m not sure why I’m motivated all of a sudden. Maybe because it’s Tour de France time and we’re the crazy people that watch every single stage and know 30 other cyclists other than Lance and Levi.

And after today’s stage I’m even more motivated to perservere. Lance would have it no other way. Lance would also call me a wacko but that’s ok.

Sunday morning was beautiful and normally Sunday will be my rest day but since I just started I didn’t want to take a rest day yet. I also wanted to show Patrick our 1.2 mile loop. My legs were weary this morning. I also had my other shoes on. The real tennis shoes. The ones that make my feet numb. So that wasn’t a good feeling. I ran almost as much as I did on Saturday. It was already pretty warm so once again I was sweating like crazy and feeling like I was actually making some progress.

We’ve also had fun this weekend getting the kiddos involved, more than just riding in the stroller. Each night we’ve done sit ups and push ups and planks. When I attempt to do sit ups they will sit on my feet which was really helpful. It was so funny seeing them try to do sit ups and push ups.

My goal this week is of course to walk/run the 1.2 mile loop each day. As soon as I can run the entire thing I’ll go farther.  I also want to work on limiting my soda this week and trying to eat healthy. We had some great healthy sandwiches this weekend that we’ll share the recipe for but I also might have had a little too much ice cream. Need to work on that.

I just asked Pat if he wanted to share an update. He said no. I guess a re-run of today’s Tour is on.

Goal:  lose 20 pounds and walk run the 5K walk in our town on September 12th.

Pat and I will be chronicling our training and success right here on Fire Road. I tried to convince him to still race the Mt Bike Race he was hoping to in September but he doesn’t think he can be ready for it by September. So he too will do the 5K with me but I’ll let him tell you about his goals a little bit later.  We also might share stuff like recipes, what music we’re listening to while we train and other potential boring information like that. 

And here’s a challenge to you: Join along with us – lose 20 pounds and run a 5K sometime in September.  Leave a comment and let us know your progress. Otherwise thanks for joining us on this adventure and please don’t laugh to hard.

DAY 1

Missy Weight: 154
Missy Training: I purchased the 30 Day Shred video to help me start getting into shape but it has been so beautiful here lately and yesterday morning was no different. So I decided to go on a walk. I walked 1.2 miles (yes the .2 matters) and I even ran 2 blocks.
How I Felt: Not bad considering I haven’t excercised in a very long time. My feet hurt bad and were numb most of the time so I think my shoes might be too small. They haven’t been used much and so are in excellent shape but are pretty old. When I was pregnant with Caleb my feet might have grown a little. So we’ll see how that goes and I might have to purchase a new pair of shoes. Otherwise I felt really good.
Music: My IPod was dead so the only music I had was in my head. And the only music in my head was I Lift Mine Eyes to the Lord, Jesus Loves Me and Have Patience. So it wasn’t really the most motivational songs to be singing. But it was an awesome time to pray and attempt to sing songs to the Lord.

And now I have to surrender this post to the owner of this blog. It’s been real and it’s been fun. Not sure it’s been real fun. Yet.

———

Pat Weight: 210
Pat Training: None. I did manage to ride to work today. I can’t ride too hard because we don’t have showers at work and I don’t want to get too sweaty. The ride home was HOT and I had to ride a little harder because we were hoping to take the kids to the pool in the evening. Total round trip was maybe 12 miles. At this pace I’ll be ready for this 5K next summer. Unfortunately the 5K is this summer. I guess I’m gonna have to work a little harder to make it happen.

———

Missy here again. I guess another goal will be to get Pat to have a better attitude. Wish me luck.

You need to understand that I have bad knees. Really bad. Some days I have a hard time walking up and down stairs. But I did a squat without pain. I can feel that my knees are stronger than a month ago. I can ride longer, climb harder and SQUAT!!!! I know I need to keep taking baby steps but I can’t help but be excited a little by this.

I have been struggling with some new pains though. My feet in particular. Since my knees have been so bad I haven’t been able to use “clip-ins” when I ride. I wear my running shoes on platform pedals. The pressure from pedaling is transferring to my feet and causing pain. Since the knees are feeling a little better I’m going to purchase new cycling shoes and have them professionally adjusted to minimize the impact on my knees. I’m excited and looking forward to my Tuesday night ride. Maybe I’ll shoot for a full loop on the bike trail. Wish me luck!