Riverside Raincross 5K

I realize that I'm really behind with some posts, but without further ado, we'll attempt to get caught up.  February 24th was the Riverside Raincross 5K (my second of five for the year).  The week before I was in Sacramento for a conference and pulled/pinched something in my hip and I was unsure if I could even slowly walk this 5K, but with I did it SLOWLY. 

We were joined by 2,000 other locals, including the Recendez, Aunt Melissa, Andrew, Dave, Wendy, and Jeannie.  Andrew "rolled" the whole 3.1 miles without falling asleep (despite the fact that it was nap time).

 Wendy was nursing an injury too, so along with Jeannie, Melissa, and Andrew we went a very comfortable sleep.  We finished in just under an hour (offically 58 minutes and 57 seconds).

 We enjoyed some bananas and oranges afterwards and headed to Denny's for a real breakfast/lunch.

The next one schedules in the April 22nd Color Run in Irvine.

The mirror is a useless intevention

"The mirror is a worthless invention.
The only way to truly see yourself
is in the reflection of someone else's eyes."
~ Voltaire (1694 - 1778)

Voltaire is obviously right, but the mirror isn't the only thing telling me that I have a few (read 50) pounds to lose after welcoming my cuddly baby.

My normal clothes don't fit.

My maternity clothes don't fit.

Not a single pair of pants/shorts/capris I own, fit.

Instead of whining about this any longer, or feeling bad about it, I have started Weight Watchers again. This isn't shocking to me, nor did I ever think that I wouldn't start up as soon as Andrew was here, but it is still a shock to the system. When I stopped WW (or was actually told that I couldn't come anymore), they were on the Flex plan. Now, the "Points Plus" plan is here and everything is a bit difference. I'm sure that it is a wonderful thing for me and everyone else, but I have to re-learn all the points I had memorized because now they are "points plus." This week (Thursday actually), was my first official day on program.

My super fussy baby and I walked to the Plaza for lunch with Dave at Pick-up Stix (Child's House chicken with brown rice for me--9 points) and then walked home and all around the neighborhood to get him to stay calm.

The before mentioned fussy baby kept me from cooking the dinner I'd planned, but wonderful Dave stepped in, read the recipe and make "Weekday Night Stew and Veggies" (6 points per serving).

While I washed bottles (my least favorite task of the entire mommy hood), Andrew and Reese chilled in the kitchen and watched Daddy cook.

Thankfully fussy baby turned into Captain Adorable and was wonderful for the rest of the evening/night.

So here is to losing the weight again and fitting into my HUGE wardrobe of clothes that I've been missing since last September. I'd love to stay I'll be back at goal by September, but I'm not crazy. It took me 9 months to gain it, I'm going to give myself 9 months to lose it (February 2012).

Weight Watchers Walk-it Challenge

This morning at 9 am over two hundred Weight Watcher members met at Fairmont Park for our "unorganized and unofficial" 5K. For the past several weeks, the "Momentum Walk-it Challenge" has been a topic and a push from the entire organization.

Across the world, WW members walked today! The 5:30 pm Wednesday night group is a bit rowdy, but wonderful. We decided to wear pink! This is about 1/3 of our group before starting the 5K.
Wendy's goal was to finish strong and she did it! I've loved getting to know her over the past few months as she's kicked some weight loss butt!

I walked the first 5K with Wendy and her husband Jay.

Jeanie is another member who makes me laugh throughout the entire meeting each week.

I get to be their "kid" and I love every minute of it :)

Donna is our meeting leader and the best one there is in the organization. Her meetings are packed each week (we have 65 members in ONE meeting) because she is amazing.

This picture is after the first 5K.

A few more people joined us at 11 for the second 5K; a few of us decided to do it again!

This is the 11 am 5K group.Riverside is hot. Especially after walking 6.2 miles. I was hot, thus the face.

The second 5K I walked my normal speed and it took 47 minutes.

I know a 15 minute mile is nothing to brag about, but I am proud of myself. Reese was tired. She walked all 6.2 miles of it too.

Lifetime Member

At Weight Watchers, once you reach your goal weight you enter the "maintenance" phase for six weeks. At the end of this, you are rewarded with a "lifetime" gold key. This means that you can attend meetings for the rest of your lifetime for free (well, as long as you stay below or within two lbs of your goal weight)!

As you know and read about here, here and here, I declared goal seven weeks ago. Last Wednesday, I celebrated becoming WW's newest lifetime member!

This wonderful person is my WW leader, Donna. She is the best leader there is (and I'm not just saying that to be nice, literally I've seen good, bad, and horrible leaders over the past three years) and has been a part of my journey since July 2007 when I started WW. She made me cry during the meeting as she introduced me to the group and I made her cry in return with my thanks!

Skinny Pictures

To celebrate reaching "goal" weight, my good friend and mentor, Brenda Flowers, took some pretty amazing photographs of my skinner body. I was a horrible model and blinked a 1000 times, but she managed to get a lot of beautiful shots. Here are a few of our favorite ones (Oprah's song is running through my head).

This is my principal shot--can I put this on the school website?Thanks Brenda!

10 Minute Meal

Chicken Stir-fry is a pretty easy meal that I always love to have on hand--you also can't beat that I can eat a lot of food for only 8 WW points.

1. Defrost 2-3 chicken breasts.
2. Cut into small pieces and saute with Pam, garlic and a bit of ginger.
3. In a separate pan, heat 2 TBSP of Sesame Oil. Add a bag of fresh stir-fry veggies. Saute the veggies, adding garlic and ginger to taste (about five minutes).
4. Add cooked chicken to the pan and stir.
5. Add 1/2 cup soy sauce or teriyaki sauce to mixture.
6. Let sit for about 5 minutes and serve!!

I also love that I can afford to eat white rice with my stir-fry because it is so low in points!!

Deja Vu

This morning I experienced a bit of Deja Vu--the experience of feeling sure that one has witnessed or experienced a new situation previously--as I rode up the elevator and walked into the lobby at Scripps Memorial Hospital, La Jolla.

April 30, 2007, I rode up the same elevator and walked into the same doors and into the same lobby.

I thank God that today I walked in with my dad next to me instead of already waiting for me in Cardiac ICU. I also thank God that today his angiogram resulted in being told that he was "heart healthy" and needed no "intervention" instead of in 2007 when he came out with five stents placed in his heart to keep it beating properly.

In 2007, I was on my third day of my weight loss journey. The Cardiac ICU nurse looked directly at me that day and told me, "you know you'll be next if you don't lose weight."

Today, I walked in 89 pounds thinner at my goal weight. Woo hoo. Thank God that it was just deja vu and not a repeat the the first time!

Hotties

A few weeks back I officially declared my goal weight at WW and was awarded the first ever Hottie Award (read about it here). Everything got really busy, so I never actually posted about the hottie award. I decorated the cover and the inside to show off how hot our meeting actually is :)

Over the next two week, Kristen (my inspiration and the person I awarded the Hottie Award to) and Hayleigh (an amazing 15 year old who has make significant life changes and shows great maturity) have also helped make this award special. The beautiful/sassy bag was handmade and bedazzled by them.

At the end of each meeting, we share our story/passage that the Hottie wrote in the book. This week, Alice shared her story through sign language and her interpreter. Such a special time--quickly becoming my favorite part of Weight Watchers.

Big Night

at Weight Watchers. Not only did I officially declare my GOAL and get this beauty... but, I was awarded the very first Hottie's Award. Donna, our esteemed leader, has started this award in our meeting (a model from her other meeting). She selected me to be the first hottie, next week I bestow the honors on the next winner, and so forth.

The award comes with this bag, the mini "You're Terrific!" cone, and the journal to add your own personal advice, receipes, or thoughts.
In her other meeting, they have been honoring each other with the Hottie Award for the past seven years! Now, I just have to figure out what I want to say in the first journal entry of our lovely book.

the best thing ever...

Guess what?

Can you guess?

What is the best thing ever?

Guess, guess...

Didn't come up with anything?

Read this...

This little, tiny part of my "visit summary" of today's doctors appointment makes me very happy.

Considering I have been morbidly obese my entire life,

told by doctor after doctor that I need to lose weight, and

working harder than any "normal" person for years on actually losing it...

my SPECIALIST doctor has told me that I am at GOAL WEIGHT!

He also said that I am probably healthier than 98% of the "skinny" people out there as proved by my numbers, diet, and exercise plan.

The best part of the best thing ever? After six weeks "maintaining" this weight, I get to go to Weight Watchers for FREE!

(although he has told me that this is a very maintainable weight, I would like to try to lose about 15 more pounds and read 170 lbs)

Week Two

Another successful week of Weight Watchers and Curves. I lost 2.4 pounds this week! I love this chart :)

Mt. Rubidoux

In 1906, Frank Miller and Henry Huntington decided turn Mt. Rubidoux into a significant part of Riverside culture. Before the 1930's hit, they had insituted it as a Riverside landmark, make sure that it had a paved road, a cross, and a multitude of people admiring it.

In 2001 at CBU's new student orientation, I was introduced to the mountain. As part of the orientation week, students and student leaders walked the mountain to sing praise songs together at the top. I dreaded the climb, but went. Several overweight people and myself walked slowly stopping A LOT in order to make it. By the time we reached the top, the worship team was done playing and were packing up the small sound equipment they had brought with them. It took me almost two hours to get to the top.

After that awful day, I refused to go each year as a student leader during orientation. It was humilating, even though no one said anything negative to me. Last year after I had successfully lost 70 pounds, Des and I decided that we'd walk up it and we made it. As I reached this top this time, I had an incredibly different feeling of accomplishment.

I want to make the walk a habit. Last weekend, Tawni and I hiked up. Today, Reese and I went up by ourselves. I made it to the top in 40 minutes. Even better, I passed A LOT of people on my way up. It was the best feeling ever.

As I reached the top, my Zen was playing "what an amazing God you are, I stand in awe of you." I stopped and thanks God that He gave me the strength and the determination to change my life for the better and that he made a mountain like Mt. Rubidoux to show me that I can accomplish new things with Him.

Successful Week

My first week of Biggest Loser and actually being on plan for Weight Watchers was a giant success!

I lost 2.2 pounds :)

Interested in what a "on plan" WW weeks looks like? Check it out here.

Eating Best

best: (adverb) most excellently or suitably; with most success


In order to use this word correctly, I must explain that best is the superlative for the word well. ex: Computers work well vs. Computer work best if kicked.

Jen eats well when she plans ahead.

Jen eats best if she plans and prepares ahead of time and forces herself to follow the plan.

This week, I've been re-concentrating on eating better than well, eating best. My planning ahead usually takes the form of going to the grocery store, buying lunch supplies and haphazardly getting stuff for dinners. I've prepared much better for my Weight Watchers friendly dinners. Not only do I have food for lunch but I have all the fixings for the following meals;

1. Tri Tip Steak (Jan. 4)
2. Salsa Porkchops
3. Stir-fry Chicken
4. Turkey Zitti
5. Sloppy Joes
6. Baked Breaded Chicken Alfredo (Jan. 6)
7. Chicken Noodle Soup
8. Tri-tip Veggie Soup
9. Broccoli-Chedder Soup (Jan. 7)
10. Several versions of pizza (Jan. 3 and Jan. 5)

I have also concentrated on getting enough water into my system. At CMS, I never had an issue, but I've used my bathroom (or lack thereof) issues as an excuse since starting this school year. Another excuse I've uses is "no place to put my 5 gallon jug" and I can't use that many water bottles per day.

Here's my new plan... take this baby to school every day with water from home. Drink most of it during fourth period, go to the bathroom, drink during lunch, teach fifth period, go to the bathroom again and again and again :)

I took the picture next to a regular water bottle so you could see the true size--that is a 44 oz water bottle!!

I have been successful so far!

Biggest Loser: The Best

I rarely journal on paper; I like to process things outloud and through blogging; however, as I was cleaning out a drawer I found a journal with one entry. This is the first few sentences...

February 15, 2007

When I got on the scale today I saw 283 pounds and I didn't believe it. I got off, started crying, and got back on. Jennifer how did you let yourself gain it back and gain more? Do you not care that you'll have diabetes, high blood pressure, and high cholosteral by the time you're 30! Even though I willed it to be a lower number the second time, 283 blinked up at my in those disgusting green digital lines. After I weighed myself I cried and haven't stopped.

Thank heavens this isn't the same Jennifer I am right now. Shortly after I wrote that, I put the journal in my drawer and promptly forgot I poured my pain into the pages. I don't think I ever told anyone about that day; however, I do know that I started "watching" and "thinking" about what was going in my mouth. A few weeks later, Anne emailed the whole school that we were going to have a biggest loser competition at CMS. On April 27th, we started the competition and I weighed in at 264.4. I was, by far, the heaviest woman. Thank God for Anne and that competition.

Kicking starting my weight loss and bringing back my confidence, I lost a pretty good chuck of weight. Because of BL, I decided that I needed to continue even after the competition was over. I convinced Tawni to go with me and we joined Weight Watchers on July 3, 2007.

Starting WW at 245.4 felt like an accomplishment. The first year of WW was successful as well and at my one year anniversary of WW I weighed 185.4.

One and a half years later, I am joining another Biggest Loser competition because I am still at 185 (actually 188 as of last Wednesday). This time I'll be doing it from January 5-May 15 through Curves; I'll have the benefit of a lot of food knowledge, WW support, and Curves support. My goal is to be at 170 by May, 18 pounds.

Ashley, my curves trainer, has promised to be a Jillian and yell at me when I am not pushing myself hard enough every day. We'll also have "last chance workouts" on Monday between 5-7 pm each week. Weigh-in days are Tuesdays!

Gone is that sad, morbidly obese girl.

She's been replaced with a strong, slightly-overweight girl :)

Thanksgiving Classic-Pumpkin Pie

Although it is Thanksgiving, and typically we overeat to the extreme on this day, I wanted to share my favorite (WW) trick for the day.

One Point Pumpkin Pie!

I love pumpkin pie--so much so that I can't just eat one slice. Regular pumpkin pie is 9 points for an 1/8th of a slice. These beauties are 8 points for the WHOLE THING!! Or 1 point per slice.

Here you go (this is for one, I always double it so that I can eat it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner):

• 15 oz can of pumpkin
• 12 oz can of non-fat evaporated milk
• 3/4 cup egg substitute (egg beaters) or 3 egg whites
• 1/2 tsp salt (don't leave it out, it helps set up the pie)
• 3 tsp pumpkin spice
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2/3 cup Splenda

Combine all of the above and beat until smooth. Pour into a Pam sprayed 9" pie pan. Bake at 400 degrees fro 15 minutes, then lower temperature to 325 and bake for an additional 45 minutes. Make sure knife put into center comes out clean. (There is no crust)

Curves

I made an appointment to go to my "fitness assessment" and "first workout" for Monday at 4 pm. It has been over five years since I've worked out consistantly. Although I'm usually pretty good at it during the summer months, being busy with teaching school and going to school has worked as a great excuse.

As my masters degree winds down, I only have class on Saturdays (and only seven more Saturdays at that!). Girls' night aside, I now have no excuse not to go work out.

None.

Hasn't stopped me from making them (I'm too tired, I hate to drive there, I can't work out myself, I don't want to do it, it isn't fun, only if I could afford a trainer, water aerobics is too expensive, the Y is scary at dark, Bally's is ghetto, etc).

Besides, according to my specialist for PCOS, I need to lose more weight. I need to weigh 165. Working out will get me there faster.

Curves is literally .4 miles from AHS. I will leave here and go there... I will!

Never would have thought about it Rexanne (my Tupperwear lady) hadn't called and invited me as the new owner.

Fat Pictures

Robyn's wedding was a beautiful day; however, these are the pictures that sent me on my weight loss journey. Last night at WW, several of the women asked if I had a "before" picture and these immediately came to mind. I need to print it and carry it around with me when I decide that journaling isn't important and the chettos in my prize drawer are staring at me.

Week in Review 1: Success

At my WW meeting tonight I weighed in down 3.8 lbs. I'd say that the scale proved I've had a good week. Planning ahead with meals, spending time cooking and preparing meals, and reaffirming my visions and missions have helped significantly. The next stage, continued motivation, is going to be critical. To continue my narrow focus, I want to do a weekly review of my actions as they pertain to my mission statements for that week.

MS1 (this week's focus): I will not accept maintance, nor rely upon the past.
Sounds strange, but I really tried to focus on the 'here and now' and forget about the first 80 lbs this week. I looked up every food's point value, recalculated the points on all my "normals," and made sure I was pushing myself.

MS2 (upcoming week's focus): I will stay within my points target.
This is a difficult task that I have struggled with for the past year. WW gives flex points (35 per week) that can be used in addition to your daily points target. I abuse these flexies and I want to stay within my given "normal" 26 points a day. This week I made it on four days out of seven. My goal for next week is to make it on six days. In order to do this, I will need to plan very carefully around Des' graduation party on Saturday and stay within my points target every other day!

Home Cookin': Breakfast and Pulled Pork Sandwiches

Breakfast was the topic of this weeks WW meeting and I've been attempting to break out of my normal breakfast--cereal with Almond Breeze. So far I've made an Egg Beaters omlet, Egg white McMuffin, and this parfait type breakfast. It looks like a lot of food, and it is really filling for a very minor three points (cereal and milk is 4 pts). I put it in a bowl the first time I made it, but you couldn't tell what everything was in the picture.

• 1/2 Light and Fit Vanilla yogurt
• 2 oz fresh raspberries
• 5 oz fresh strawberries
• 1/2 cup Kashi Crunch cereal

This beauty is one of my favorites--BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwich! Typically, I'd order this at a BBQ place and guess the point range 15-25 points. I've adapted a WW reciepe into this (I've made it several times) which is 1 point per oz. In the picture, the serving is 5 oz and the bun was 3 points. Total, this meal cost me 8 points.

• 1-1 1/5 pound pork roast with limited fat
• 3 cups of BBQ Sauce of your choice
• 4 cups of water
• chopped onions

Instructions:

• Add pork roast into crock pot
• Cover with 2 cups BBQ Sauce
• Add water and onions to sides (allow top of roast to be coated in sauce)
• Cook on low for 8 hours or high for 4 hours
• Flip roast over half way through cooking time
• After cooking, take roast out of crock pot (it should be falling apart) and shred into large bowl. Make sure to remove all extra fat to keep point value low.
• Add remaining cup of BBQ sauce and stir
• Serve on Hamburger bun/roll of choice and add BBQ sauce if needed individually