Wow!! I just realized it has been WEEKS since my last post. I have had some really awesome stuff going on, all fun, so I just haven't even realized all this time has passed. Basically here is where I have been lately and a few tidbits about each so grab a drink and snack and get comfy. Lots to tell you about the past 3 weeks!!
1. Atlanta for the SEC Championship. This was my first SEC championship but nothing new for Alabama. There were 18 of us who sat together for the game which made the experience even better. Beside the LSU game (in Tuscaloosa) in 2011, this was the most stressful game I have ever been to. My jaws were sore the next day. We decided at the last minute to drive over the nite before the game. Like at 10pm!! So, I was VERY unprepared with any foods or snacks and I ate terrible stadium and fast foods. Even though I only had little bites here and there, I ate TERRIBLE!! I gained almost 5 pounds!! So if you think it doesn't really matter what you put in your body....yup!! Here are some pics of me at the game. Feels so good to have someone take a full body shot of you and have no worries about anyone seeing it!!
This is our pic with AJ McCarron's mom Dee Dee!! We love her. Sassy women who stand loudly for what she believes in!!
2. Bootcamp classes about 3 nites a week. I LOVE these classes. Every time I go is different. I really like that because I don't get bored. It also means I can't back out if it is something I may not want to put myself through....ha ha. My goal is to go 3 nites a week but that has been hard with the holiday season. I am so amazed what I can do, how I can push myself and how at the end of the hour, I have survived yet another class. All the instructors are so different which is good. Really good for the body. One is HARD CORE bootcamp style and I am always very sore after his class. One is HARD CORE with the cardio and I really need that. I needed to build up my stamina and breathing. Another is lady and she does a circut style workout. I liked the predictability of what we would be doing. So, I feel it is a good balance. This week I am a little too sore. After running the 5k last weekend I was sore. Then my bootcamp on Monday focused on the legs. Therefore.....I do not sit on the potty. I basically just fall backward and pray I don't miss the throne. We had a Tornado drill at school yesterday which requires us to sit on the floor in the hall with our back against the wall. I literally had to lean my back against the wall and slide down slowly like melted ice cream running off a picnic table. It really was funny. When I am not so busy I'd like to start going to Zumba classes too. I miss going. Think it would be a good balance with the bootcamp.
3. Christmas Shopping for friends and family. I try to do a lot during the year so this wasn't so difficult and means I don't blow all my money in one month.
4. Christmas shopping for 2 children from my school who needed some love. I teach in a lower income school so we have our own Angel Tree for our students(anyomous of course and thanks to the super awesome school counselor we have). I asked the counselor for a sibling set and was blessed with a brother/sister. Our priority is to get them shoes and clothing then we can get them any toys they ask for. It took me HOURS to shops for these kids. I wanted them to have nice things. Not Walmart shoes etc so I really took my time to find gifts that were just so. I hope during this holiday season you feel inclined to help others somehow. I feel strongly that you find a way to help someone directly in your community and through an organization that you know will help someone in your community. Many of the big popular organizations use our donations to help other in countries overseas and I am just not down with that!! I want to help the faces and places I see everyday.
5. I've been sick twice this month but only with the crud. Amazing since the flu is spreading like wildfire in my school system. However, inevidible since my little ones in the classroom come to school sick and use me as a human tissue. This kept me out of bootcamp for a week and FORCED me to want to eat warm comfort food. The Bariatric way I survived this is by cooking tons of soups/stews. I made a veggie beef, lowfat chili and a black bean with smoked turkey sausage. I made enough to freeze about 20 1 cup containers. This really does make meal planning easy. I will set one out before I go to bed to take to work the next day. One container is 2-3 meals for me depending on how much I eat. I try to eat a salad or veggies and yogurt dip with this.
6. Jingle Bell Run 5k. This is the first time I have ever RUN during a 5k. Will post pics soon. I walked a lot but ran quite a bit and it felt fabulous. I really love doing these races because I help raise money and attention for a good cause (this one was for arthritis and in honor of my dear friend Jennifer's daughter Delaney who has JRA). I also love that I get a fun workout in for the day, I start my day bright and early and I just feel fabulous when I am done. I have already signed up to do the Warrior Dash next November. I also signed up for a super fun run in January called the Krispy Kreme Doughnut Dash. Before you yell at me to NOT run for doughnuts, I will say that this run support our local Children's Hospital which is one spectacular facility and has helped so many of my former students as well as friend's children who have had illnesses or injuries. But I will be running for doughnuts!! You run 2 miles, eat a dozen doughnuts and run back 2 miles. The good news is you don't have to eat the doughnuts. I can grab my hot and yummies and run back with the box. I will share with some friends I have coming to the race but not running! There really are a lot of fun runs to do in this town so hopefully I'll have a lot more to attend and get better at running every time I do one!
7. Transiberian Orchestra Concert. Christmas is not complete without some TSO or Mannheim Steamroller on the radio. I was super pumped to see TSO in concert. I didn't love the story line though. VERY weird!! Something about a child born with his oxgen cut off, brain injury, would never speak or work (ummmmmm.....the special ed teacher in me was like HOW DO YOU KNOW THAT???), the mother died giving birth and the father didn't want the kid so put him in an institution. I was like What Tha.....???? I LOVED the music though! Could listen to them play the hard rock Christmas music all nite.
8. Spent 4 hours with my stats professor running data analysis for my doctorate research. HUGE hurdle in the pursuit of my PhD. This is great news but also means I am going to have to work hard not to sit all day and nite writing. I will because that is how I work best. But NOT healthy and one of the main reasons I gained so much weight in the past few years. Thankful that there is a set day and time for my Bootcamp and Zumba classes. Makes it easier for me to set things down and go workout. If I had to just stop to go to the gym or go walk, it wouldn't happen.
9. Got ALL my gifts wrapped and under the tree. So pretty!! This literally took HOURS though!
10. And.....sat under the most beautiful sky at midnite last nite with a hot cup of tea and watched meteors shoot across the sky. Reflected on what an amazing journey life really is. But also made me think what a gift I have to be healthy, cognitive, able, functional etc. I need to respect those gifts and keep working hard to take care of these gifts I have been given.
Weightloss has been Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!! I gain a few, lose those few, gain a few, lose those few. Same weight as last post!! Holiday parties, stress and busy social fun isn't helping. I have reached out to other Bariatric girls for some support. I'm sure the bootcamp workouts are buring fat but building muscle. That won't help with the scale but like I have said on here 100 times, I want to see the loss in numbers. The good news is my body is getting smaller, clothes bigger, my health is so much better, my energy level is fabulous, I am so much more physically able and I feel so awesome and happy. That scale haunts me though. Love/Hate relationship!
I do have Christmas parties every nite for the next 5 nites for sure. I want to have fun and enjoy the season but not over endulge. Will be interesting to see how I do. Everything I read about being social and eating says it is so hard to really know what you are taking in because you are having fun and not paying attention. I know this will be a challenge for me but really.....it is OK!! I said in the beginning after WLS that I was going to live and enjoy life. Not starve to be healthy. Will let you all know how I do with the "balance"!!
