Weigh in and......I'm a proud Mamma!

I really get pissed when I don't have time to post every day. I haven't been lately because the office is WILD and so is my home life and not all in a good way. So I'm going to make a commitment to blog everyday, even if it's short. Posting regularly keeps me accountable and frankly, happier.

Friday was a super busy day at work. When I got done, I had to go pick up kids at TKD. Two of the three had tests on Saturday so they were attending one last practice. Can I just say how proud I am of my son who can do some serious push ups? He's really gotten stronger and starting to put some intensity into his training that wasn't there before. He's growing up, sniff sniff.

After class, we got some pizza. No one freak, it was on the plan. I had the cheese pizza. I actually ate less as I had a huge salad. I didn't work out on Friday. My legs were so sore from TKD and running and training and the challenge exercises. I did my first orange belt class on Thursday and learned several new kicks. Yowza my thighs were hurting, esp after all those squats and lunges. My calories were good and my water is great as usual.

Saturday we spent 11 hours at our TKD gym. Yep. You read that right. Good thing I did my C25k and the challenge exercises from last week early that morning! My 6 year old had a test at 9am. We got there at 8:15 as my son was helping with the test. The kids set up and had a chance to warm up. My daughter's test was nearly 4 hours long. That's a really long time for a 6yr old to stay focused. I want to post some pics, but I haven't had a chance to get through them. You shoulda seen her sparring. She was one of the smallest testing and she held her own. She's learning. She got her green belt and she was so proud.

My son tested for red belt. That's just 2 from black. It's amazing how nervous you can get for your kids. His test was 6 and 1/2 hours long. He did very well on his test. He totally nailed his staff forms and one steps. He did great on his knife defenses. He made only very few mistakes. I was really proud of him. He broke 1 of the 2 boards he was supposed to. It was amazing to watch the black belts test. I'll tell you I don't know if it was inspiring or terrifying. They broke concrete blocks with their hands. They had to spar for 15min straight!

My son did so well on his sparring. Everyone was proud of him. He had to spar with several black belts and he held his own. Got a bunch of good hits and kicks in. Let me stop here for those of you who are not Tae Kwon Do people. This kind of sparring is not like MMA. This is traditional TKD stuff. The same stuff you see on the olympics.  I don't want you guys thinking I'm one of those weirdo parents you see on TV. Anyway, he got his red belt and we were all so tired. It was after 8pm by the time we got done. The kids were starved and wanted food, right now!

The kids wanted ice cream so they picked Braum's. Now in the past this would've been an issue for me. First of all, I love love love their fries. They are crinkle fries and just the right amount of crunchy and soft. Their burgers, not so much. For some reason I get sick every time I eat them, even before The Great Change. The ice cream.......oh .....how I love thee.  So many flavors. Rich and creamy.  I had none. I wanted it. OH how I did. But, I had none. The kids had ice cream-the girls are opposites one loves vanilla, the other chocolate. My son got a M&M sundae.

Now before I get a lot of comments about rewarding my kids with food and unhealthy diets, let me say that the last time they had drive thru was probably 3months ago and that was on a road trip. It just is not something we do.  And, I generally do not reward my kids with ice cream. BUT, 11 hours! My 5 year old sat through that and was good. My 6 year old was put through a 4 hour test, mostly exercise and then sat through her brother's 6 hour test (all exercise). And, I'll say it wasn't my idea. I didn't say, "You kids did so well, I'm buying you ice cream."  They asked for it. I said OK.

You know what's funny?  Kids figure it out. When presented with healthy food most of the time, they quickly get what's good and what's not. My little one ate 1/3 of her chocolate ice cream and said she was done. She ate a few fries and a couple bites of chicken. She finished. My middle daughter ate 1/2 her cheeseburger and 1/2 her fries and said she was too full for her ice cream. They AMAZE me. It has never occurred to me to not eat all my fries. Ever. I mean you just don't waste good food, right? Especially special food you don't get very often. And to PASS on my favorite food, ice cream, wouldn't happen. Not even at 6. Never. I was eating Braum's ice cream for breakfast at that age. (I know, issues from early on.  How do you think I got to be 260+pounds anyway?)  But, these kids stop when they are full. Whoa! A concept I'm STILL trying to learn.  I am trying so hard not to screw that up.

My son ate his burger, but left a lot of his fries. He ate about 1/2 of his sundae and looked at me and went, "Ugh this is WAY too sweet." Threw the rest away. I think I'm doing something right. ME?  Oh I forgot. I had a grilled chicken salad with fat free dressing and left 1/2 the chicken. We had subway for lunch. My calories were about 1000.

Today I've done well. Got up and ran my C25 K again. I'm so proud that I'm improving on my speed. I averaged 4.8 or so on my running intervals. This may sound slow to most of you who run, but last time I did this program, 4.0 was fast for me.  Did some great stretching. Cleaned house, cooked, drove kids here and there. We made valentine's cupcakes today. I did fine. No worries. Isn't it amazing how excited kids get over breaking an egg and stirring the batter?  Their joy in simple things keeps me remembering to slow down and enjoy. The weather today didn't hurt either, 75degrees! Lovely! Windows open. Kids outside and at least 1 hour of solitude while I cleaned!   End of day and I am soooo tired. Calories today, right at 1200.

I weighed in for the challenge. I weighed 198.8. Last week I weighed 200.4 and that's 1.6 pounds lost!  Of course Allan rounded down my starting weight to 200 and up this week to 199 so it looks like 1 pound. But I know the truth. I'm going to work hard this week and see if I can do even better. I found myself eating sometimes on the plan when I wasn't that hungry just because it was written on the list of things I COULD eat. I'm still learning. It's a process, right?

ANYWAY.....I'm down to my lowest weight since 1989. No joke. The lowest weight I can remember is 195. I think I was 185 at one point, but maybe that was a day dream. All I know is, I'm proud of myself. I have a long way to go, but the good news is, I'm on my way there.

So....temptation.....how do you handle it? And......where are you headed these days? Are you on your way or do you need to U-turn?  Comments are good. They keep me going, soooooo....don't hesitate!