Afoot and Light-Hearted...

It's been a long week folks. As you may have read, I was in Austin, TX this week. I flew home yesterday afternoon and got home close to 10pm last night. There is no 'easing back into' being a mom. It never really ends, but when I am away I have faith in my husband and his ability to take care of things - at least I didn't come home and find my Faberge Egg missing (note the Risky Business reference) or that no one fed the cats all week because I wasn't there to remind them. Now whether or not anything else is wrong, I have not noticed yet - but I have faith. My plan this morning: Get up and get in 3 miles at sunrise. Reality: I slept in. The product of this of course is that I ended up in a foul mood and even went so far as to pick a fight with my husband (sorry honey). Tomorrow calls for a 5 mile run - and I deserve it. That will teach me to sleep in :) Also - tomorrow is Saturday....and it all looks good on a Saturday morning right? Until then...hoping to stay ...

Alright folks....here I sit on my last evening in Austin, Texas and I just ate dinner in my room. Dinner was a small meatball sandwich, and it was very 'interesting'. I honestly think that even the meatballs in Texas have a Tex-Mex flair to them. This week has been fairly busy and the experience has been nice. I have had back to back meetings all day since Monday and they have all ended in a meal (lunch and/or dinner). To any Texan reading this, I mean no offense, but it's fairly hard to eat spot-on program here in Texas (being on WW has been a little challenge but I have given it my best) Most of the options that have been presented to me this week have been Tex-Mex or Texas BBQ. I have indulged a little bit to get the full 'taste' of Texas and it's been yummy. I really feel like I have kept things in check as much as I can. Oatmeal and fruit for breakfast every morning and a nice lighter-fare for lunch. Dinner has been heavier, but I made the best of i...

Alright folks...it's time for my weekend reckoning. I did well - shared in a little Food and Bevvie's last night (Saturday) with some friends, but created a menu that was fresh and fairly low fat (for me) so that it worked out for everyone Today (Sunday) we had some of the leftovers and I felt a little more hungry today so I picked throughout the day. Got in my 5 mile run yesterday morning so it's all good :) Doing Yardwork used to be quite the chore for me when I was heavy...now I try to make a little exercise out of it....the natural kind. Yeah, I know....eye roll right? I did some raking and used the wheel barrel to get some leaves up and down our hill so I gave myself a little training while I was cleaning up the yard a bit. Felt good to get some sun while it was out, as it promises to rain at some point today/tonight. This week should prove a challenge....I am off to Austin, TX on business. BBQ and all....but I have my gym clothes packed and my plan is in motion.....

This morning I got in a 5 mile run. My 1/2 marathon plan calls for my longer runs to be on Saturday - I like to get them done in the morning so I can set the stage for the day. A good run keeps me on track with my eating and just puts me in a better frame of mind for the day. Home now for some gatorade and then some breakfast once I am recovered. This week I am traveling to Austin for work but I plan to pack some clothes to hit the gym while I am there. I see no reason to not try to get in some miles on the TM while there - have to keep on plan as best as I can - see it's not about being perfect, it's about being better. Having some friends over tonight and I am created a menu that will not only be delish, but healthy for your girl Heather and in line with my eating plan for the week :) Sometimes you can have it both ways......cheers!

Two months ago today (Feb 23) - I had surgery. For those that like clinical terms, I had reduction mammoplasty - for everyone else - I had a breast reduction. There, I said it and it's out there. If you don't want to hear any more about it, stop reading and move on. ...if you are still with me....that's great. Having lost 70 lbs, there were certain parts of my body that didn't re-adjust to this and were still causing me issue/pain and discomfort. When I followed my doctor's orders and worked to change my life and improve my health....never did I think that running would become my vehicle to get me there. When I took up running....well, certain part of my body became a problem. Wearing two sports bras just isn't practical, but at a 38DDD what else am I going to do? By the way, sports bras are expensive on a regular basis....specialty ones (for larger breast sizes) are twice as expensive and you still look like you have 'log boob' (a fellow runner sai...

For those of you that don't know....I use the Weight Watchers Program to help cultivate my healthy lifestyle (notice I didn't say the "D" word) However, I don't count "Points". A few years ago WW began a program called Core (now it's called Simply Filling, whatever). This is a program that digs into the root of healthy eating and teaches us how to eat healthier, whole foods and to learn what the meaning of "satisfied" really feels like. Some may think it's restrictive, others may think it has too many rules....but I was being obsessed with points and all that comes with it so when I read about this program I tried it and it has been very successful on my journey....you can read more about it on the WW web site if you want. But let's talk about the weekend. Monday through Friday, I am THE poster child for the program. I have a lunch box packed with everything you can imagine as being healthy. I purchased nice little containers ...

Yesterday afternoon I gave myself a chuckle when I related on running on the treadmill inside at the gym to being on a hamster wheel. During my morning run (outside) this morning, it occurred to me just how much I have come to enjoy running outside....and all of the natural enjoyment there is to be had. Going back a little while, when I first started running I liked the treadmill at my local gym. I think I liked it because the belt on the treadmill would 'move you forward' and force you to run. I needed that - they also had a TV so I could watch the news or whatever. When they added five (5) more TVs and lined them up side by side, that became a little annoying. Watching CNN next to the TV that was showing Fox News, well you can guess that's a little overload. I started to run outside more and more after this. It was fairly 'jarring' to my body at first. Running on pavement is a different level of impact than a treadmill belt. There are no shock absorbers o...

Almost every morning, I have strategic planning session in my head about how my day is going to roll out ...... How am I (or we) going to get the kids to and from school, through homework, to softball or to and from the mall to get 'those jeans I have to have? How am I going to get a meal for us in between one baseball game and a softball game and still have time to finish the laundry that's been in the washer for 3 days that I KNOW has to be rewashed now? Oh yes, and how to handle the inevitable "mom, my project is due tomorrow and I need to go to Staples" - that's always fun. The answer is pretty simple most of the time.....I plan for it. Crock Pot cooking has become a 'friend' to me - it's not just something that my mom used to use to make stew. Simply throwing some chicken in the crock pot in with some salsa last week before I left for work yielded a fantastic dinner for me when I got home (Delish!) Cooking bulk things and using them over an...

In January of 2008 I was asked to participate in the Boston Marathon on behalf of a charity that works on developing awareness on Childhood Obesity. I accepted this offer and thought - 'what the hell....it's only 26 miles". I had taught myself to run using a "Couch to 5K" running program that I had found on the internet. I enjoyed running and had started to incorporate it into my cardio workouts. I had participated in a few timed "5K" runs and so when asked to do Boston I thought "Why not, what's another 20 miles or so right?" Silly me. Now to be honest, I loved the "pomp and circumstance" of the event....the bonding with other runners...the Expo and the food and all of the excitement that came with it. I got teary eyed waiting in the gates while I waited for the horn to blow in Hopkinton. Well....13 grueling miles later, as I sat in Wellesley, I called my husband and he came to get me. As I climbed into the car, willing my...

Before we start to talk about the 'now'....I find it important to just review a little bit of where I came from. In November, 2006, I was 5'1 and just shy of 250lbs. At my regular physical (as regular as a fat girl wants to go if you know what I mean), my physician looked at me with 'that look' and informed me that with my BMI as it were I was a candidate for gastric bypass surgery. Me? I was fat? How dare you? I left the office and cried to my husband on the way home. It was at that point that I realized that I had to make a change - no I needed to make a change. ...let's go back a few years..... I had been heavy my whole life. I was a chubby kid and grew into a chubby young woman. I had a lot of male 'friends' but not a lot of boyfriends. The boy friends I did have I was grateful that they would go out with me....so you can image the pick of the litter I had there. As an adult though, tragedy had struck me too many times and I found comfort in ...

I am a talker. Yep, I talk a lot. Many that know me will laugh to read that as it's kind of a 'known' thing about me....I talked a lot as a kid and got in trouble in school. So when I sit in my own child's classroom and hear the teacher tell me that my daughter is a bit 'chatty', secretly I am beaming with pride - yep - that's my girl! Over the past few years, Facebook has given me a chance to connect with a lot of people on a fairly high level, but it's not really the vehicle where I believe that I would like to chat/reveal some of the 'real' details of my life. In the past those moments have been on the therapists' couch right? So I say - 'Why not blog about it? See where it goes? Maybe even connect or inspire someone along the way?' ...and so we are off...for better or worse.....through good and bad. It may be dark, it may not be pretty...but it's a good use of energy and we may be the better for it in the end!