Day 173: BMI, Milage and Cancer...

Yesterday was a great day!  We started off at church, a great message, my heart reminded me just how amazing our God is.  He loves us, no matter how we have dealt with our lives.  He waits for us, and still loves us, but allows us to make the choice!

So, I use LIVESTRONG My Plate, a tool to measure my weight, exercise and food diary.  I really like it.  There are many tools on there.  One of them is they calculate your BMI.  :o)  I started out as an OBESE woman my BMI was 33.  Anything over 30 is obese, I checked my BMI yesterday...and I am the proud owner of an OVER WEIGHT BMI of 28!  I was so excited to NOT be obese anymore.  When I hit 24 I will be in NORMAL range!  That seems so doable!!  Yeah!  It really was a freeing feeling.  I actually felt more normal sized yesterday.

I have raking in the milage as I train for the Breast Cancer 3 day.  Yesterday I did 8.7 miles at a 14 minute mile pace.  I walked alone with some good music.  I had a great time doing so too.  I felt clarity, I felt clean and for the first time in years, I felt like an average person exercising.  I usually feel like a fat girl exercising.  So, to have this feeling was again, freeing.  :o)

The reason I started walking was to do something, anything to help the stop of Breast Cancer.  If you have been following me long enough you know my connection to breast cancer.  My very best friend from college, Kimberly, had to endure the loss of her mother.  Her mother suffered with cancer for over 14 years.  She lost the battle, breast cancer took one of her breasts before the cancer took her life.  Within a few weeks of find that information at, my Aunt Roxanne had to endure breast cancer for a second time.  She has won the battle two times.  This year, my sister-in-law's mom (Beth) is fighting the fight.  In fact she will endure the 3 treatment of chemo this week.  She is bald, she is getting through and she is tough.  I know winning the battle is in her future.  Look down, look around, those breasts you have need saving.  Maybe not today, but maybe someday.  1 in 8 women will get breast cancer, maybe that will be you, or your daughter, your mother, sister, best friend.  Until we can stop it, it stops at nothing.  It also affects the men in our lives.  I have decided that as long as I can walk, each year I will walk in the Breast Cancer 3 day.  In order to even walk, we have to raise $2300.  Last year I raise over $3000, this year I have only raised $690.  I do need your help.  If you can make a donation, to save the boobies in your life, that'd be amazing.  However, right now, today, I am just trying to save Beth's boobies.  You can make your donation by clicking here.  Anything you can give will be a blessing!  When my training gets hard, all I have to do is think of the survivors, and their treatment and I can keep walking.  Let's save the boobies!!!

Day 66: I'll do better tomorrow

Well, I am not sure if it is the mono or just my "old ways" coming back into play.  I remember just a mere 66 days ago, my dieting strategy was, I'll eat this junk today and start my diet tomorrow.  Great strategy, except tomorrow never came, and the junk kept going down the hatch.  So the weight loss never happened.  I also partook in the ever so popular sneaky eating.  This harms only me.  So who am I sneaking from?  Anyway, I have to say that being sick, and lacking hunger and then feeling good and eating, then feeling drained again, has put me back in the mindset of my "diet tomorrow" mentality.  It is no good!  I have heard many stories of people who lost all this weight with mono...not me!  I am staying the same, in fact I have gained 2 pounds since being sick.  What is up with that?  I am sure it is the sneaky treats that I have eaten when I am feeling better.  I also haven't done the grocery shopping lately and since my hottie husband isn't dieting he doesn't really know how to shop for me.  I went back to work this week, and that means less family time, and family meals and more time eating on the run, or in between meetings.  So I need to get back on track.  I need to eat healthy even when I am not hungry, and especially when I am hungry.  I also have not been taking my enzymes which I do swear have been helping with digestion and the food back out of my system, as well helping to rid my body of the junk.   I have to say too, that when I was drinking the Vemma too I was feeling more myself.  I had more clarity and energy.  I need to get back to taking them both for my health as well as weight loss!  So hopefully tomorrow my post will be a good turn, in both health and weight loss.  I also see the sunshine outside, the snow melting and I get so super excited about training for the 3 day outside!  I look forward to having my energy back, so I can get back to walking!  I am fundraising, for the 3 day and need just about $2000.  So if you'd like to donate you can do so by clicking here.  Also, ask your work if they match donations.  Many companies do!  Last year, I had one donation of $1000!  His work matched it, and I got $2000 from one donation!
I am motivated just by getting this off my chest!  Thanks everyone just for being there.

Day 26: The 3 day

I was so excited when I stepped on the scale today!  It felt so good.  I feel like all of last week I was at 205, then yesterday I was at 204 and today I was at 203.6!  It feels so good.  If I had only done this last year, I'd already be done!  However, I am glad I am doing it this year, so next year I can focus on some other amazing life changing event!

I have been getting really excited for the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer 3 Day lately.  I remember training last year.  One day in particular stands out to me.  We (my team) biked 6 miles and walked 10 miles.   I remember thinking that about 45 minutes into the training walk, I wanted to give up.  I don't think we ever made it the 10 miles, but we were pretty close.  I was suffering from IT band issues at the time, but that was better for the walk.  I am excited to be doing the training this year.  Being that I am already walking between 16-20 miles a week already, when training time comes up (after the thaw) I'll be well on my way. Not mention, how much easier it will be to walk with the weight I will lose by August!  :o)  My team from last year, is not going to join me this year.  So if you are in the twin cities and want to walk with me...I'd love to have you.  If you are from another place and want to fly in and walk...All the better!  You do need to go to www.the3day.org and register for the Twin Cities walk.  You also need to raise a minimum of $2300.  It is for such an amazing cause though.  Did you know that  over 40,000 women will die from breast cancer in 2010!  1 in 8 women are diagnosed with breast cancer.  That is staggering.  Look around the room, or think of your group of friends...1 in 8.  It could be your best friend, your sibling, or even you.  Cancer doesn't discriminate, race, age, class...we are all at risk.  That is why I am so determined to walk the Breast Cancer 3 day every year until I can no longer do it!  I am excited for year two.
Last year myself (and my teammates) didn't think I would finish, and walk every last mile.  But I did!  It was so amazing.  If it wasn't I wouldn't do it again!  I have raised $525 of my $2300 so far.  If you can donate to my cause I'd greatly appreciate it.  As you can see on my Breast Cancer 3 day page  I am walking for my Aunt Roxanne who is in remission from her second battle with breast cancer.  Also, my best friend Kimberly who lost her mom last year.  It still breaks my heart every day I think of Pam.  She battled cancer for over a decade.  She was an amazing woman, who is sorely missed.  If I can raise some money so that the cure is found so other women don't have to fight this battle I will do it until the cure is found!  Ok, enough about that.  I am truly passionate about this cause and I wanted to share it.

Last year I trained from March to August and didn't lose ONE pound.  I walked nearly every day, and we did some good walks too!  However, I wasn't having my food mirror my exercise.  I was walking but then I would say, "I worked hard, I had better go and eat...and a milk shake!"  However, this year, I am walking, doing Jillians 30 day Shred and most importantly, I am eating the right amount of calories to actually have a deficit to lose the weight!  A fellow blogger friend of mine is doing The Biggest Loser 30-day Jump Start .  I bought the book and started to do the exercises in that book too.  The first 48 pages is very inspirational and educational, then it breaks down the 30-day plan.  It tells you what to eat, with recipes and all.  Then it tells you what exercises to do.  It breaks it down into Beginners and Challengers.  I am already on a good eating plan so I am going to continue with that, but I am going to follow the exercises in the book that it recommends for me to do.  Also each day has a good page of inspiration.

As I was looking through the book today, my 3 year old, asked if one of the people (clearly a BEFORE picture) was a picture of me making french fries!!!  HUH?!  That is what my daughter thinks of me.  UGH.  I have a ways to go.  Oh, and by the way....I have never made french fries except for sweet potato fries in the oven...

Today I ate really well for breakfast and lunch and plan to do so for dinner.  Feel really good and am going on a 120 minute walk after I do the 30 day shred and my Biggest Loser 30 day Jump Start exercises (Day 1).

Tomorrow night I am leaving for a women's retreat with the hot and awesome ladies at my church.  I am excited, many of the girls are watching their weight as well, so I am hoping we can help each other when the snacks come out!   I'm bringing veggies and hummus. :o)

Thanks again for following and rooting me on!  It is making a huge difference!

Weight: 203.6  YEEHAW