Back on Earth

I feel like I've dropped off the face of the earth on this blog. But I'm back! Life has gone crazy with my family, and the only time I have to write is during my kids rest time and I've been joining them.

ANYWAY...Time to report. I've been doing great with my running, I'm actually going to bump up to the next step on couch to 5K tomorrow's run! I haven't been able to run 3 times a week for the last couple of weeks, because we've been out of town or doing activities, but I've been running every Tuesday and Thursday even when I really didn't want to and I've never regretted running; I'm actually glad that I did!

I've also started doing a Parent-Tot class at the pool with my two youngest while my oldest does swimming lessons! So I'm getting a little more exercise!

I love to swim, so It's been nice getting back in the water.

On the flip side, eating hasn't been that great. Actually to be completely honest, I've been really bad.... We went camping last weekend and I ate at least three cookies and didn't drink hardly any water. My food portions are awful during dinner AND I go back for seconds. When I'm home I will try to have a good lunch and I usually will have a water with me. What's been worse is, we found some chocolate bars from camping and I've had a lot of chocolate after 8... BUT I'm starting over again! I have some big life events coming up that will be announced at a later time, so I have to get control of my food habits now or I'm afraid I won't ever get control, especially after said event.

Plan:

Drink 1/2 my weight in oz. of water READ THIS!!!

NO EATING AFTER 8!!!

If I get the munchies, drink a whole glass of water and grab gum.

When camping, be apart of menu planning and bring healthy snacks.

Start with 1 cheat day every two weeks

Pre-make snacks on Sundays

Try Turkey Burger

My friend has this awesome blog that I love! She's made so many changes in her life and she does it without her husband and kids eating the same as her. http://www.livylove.com/ tells her story of her weight loss and she has some great tips on how she did it. I look at her story and know I can do this! Wish me luck!

Extra Info:

 People keep asking me what muscle I damaged in my back and I couldn't remember the name, and for good reason, it's a hard one! It's the Thoracolumbar Fascia. Basically it's a three layer muscle that connects to everything. So now I have to do extra stretches to help loosen it before my runs (which I still have to take slow... I'm running 1 minute and walking 1.5 for 1.3 miles). I've found some new stretches that I used to do in dance class and they work really well!

 These pictures aren't the best, but I was working with my computer camera and timer, so I did my best.

This stretch is a swastika stretch. It is the best stretch for my injury, it works the inside of my legs, my gluts, and lower back. 

I shift around and find the tight spots on my body.

I make sure I sink my belly button to my spine and use my abs instead of using my arms for support,

then pull my leg to the side to stretch the inside tendon.

After bringing my legs to my chest I stretch them out to a forty five degree angle, again couldn't make it work with the camera timer.

This is a good stretch for my shins and arches. I get shin splints and cramps in my arches really easy (I know, "This girl has issues!").

I never knew how stupid this looks, but it's really good for stretching my sides and lower back.

Again I sink my belly button to my spine, cross my ankles, and pump my arms. All sorts of muscles get worked here.

One last stretch before my run.

I cut in some random stretches changing it up every time I run, but these are the basic stretches that I do every time.