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Well, “when life gives you lemons, make lemonade” is the original saying. But I decided to do something a little different. I got up this morning and went to the studio; my producer friend said it looked like I was “wasting away.” Which I guess is a compliment from the same guy who tried to feed me cupcakes. We finally finished Week 8 and 9 of the Couch to 5K podcasts! I was so excited we’ve literally worked on this podcast for six months. I’m so picky; I wanted every curse word edited, every song to fit right and flow with the groove with as many positive upbeat lyrics as possible. It was a huge task, but we did it. I’m so glad that I’ve already helped so many people. To date my podcasts have been downloaded over 2,000 times!
After I left the studio I went to Bread Co. for lunch and read a little more of the Purpose Driven Life which focused how we are here for God’s pleasure and not our own. Then I went to the local library to do some research. I literally haven’t been to the library in years. It’s so fancy now, self-check out and a real DVD collection. I might as well tell you why I was there… Since the fish in the employment pond aren’t biting, I think I have to build my own pond. I’m going to try and grow runningintoshape.com. I have huge dreams of creating a 5K to 10K podcast, and even making a fitness DVD. There’s more, but I’ll save that for later! I also signed up for the CPR/AED class with the Red Cross, which is a requirement to be a group fitness instructor. I ordered the study materials and hope to take the test in the next couple of months. I figure I should have more than real life experience when teaching others to get fit, so I’m getting the education/certification to back me up. So there’s my recession plan…Wish me luck! After the library, I went to personal training with Lyle. We did a lot of ab work and I still feel it right now! I told him how much I’ve grown spiritually because of his program. I didn’t get a chance to go running today, because I had to come home and draft the flyers and press releases for the job fair in a couple of weeks. Since I spent a whole week in a lull, I’m not sure that I’ll be able to reach my original running goals, but I’m still going to go to the race, and give it all I got!
What Did Carli Eat Today?
B- Slim Fast High Protein Shake & granola bar
L- ½ Frontega Chicken Sandwich and Broccoli Cheese Soup, an apple
S- Protein Bar
D- Captain D’s – Chicken strip and fish, baked potato, broccoli
I guess that’s the question you’re probably asking. I’ve never gone this long without blogging. The answer is a little complicated, yet simple. I’ve taken some time to do some spiritual growth. I’ve been reading and studying the bible and reading “The Purpose Driven® Life
.” A month ago, I had to find my bible buried in my trunk, and I never imagined that now I’d be attending church every Sunday. But beyond that, I’m on the Church’s 51st Anniversary committee as co-chairman with my Big Little Sister. AND…I’m teaching a fitness and nutrition class at the church that starts on Oct. 12th. Can you believe it? I told God, I was ready to work, but I meant at a law firm, but clearly he thought I meant in the church. Lesson Learned: Be Very Specific what you pray for, because you just might get it!…
The only physical activity I’ve done is the last week was my one personal training session with Lyle. I just didn’t have the urge. Last Night, my body felt so stiff and “blah” that I made up my mind that I had go running this morning. It was a beautiful 68 degrees outside, when I went to the park. I put on all my gear (I put on my Nike + Thing
in my new shoe pouch
, my new shoes, my waist slimming band
, my Belt
to hold my keys and phone and my iPod
.) However, despite all of my technological preparations, I was only able to run for about 5 minutes before everything started hurting. When you don’t run, you lose it so quickly it almost seems unfair, last week I was running up to 20 minutes! But I guess something is better than nothing. I did a total of about 2 miles. I also finally signed up for the Get Fit 4 Christ 5K that Lyle wants us to run on Oct. 10th. Will I be ready? …I had an okay day, as far as food was concerned.
What Did Carli Eat Today?
B-Oatmeal
L- Homemade Pizza (Wheat Pita bread, lite mozzarella cheese, turkey pepperoni and spinach)
S- Almonds
D- Chili and Crackers
S- Frozen Strawberry Lemonade
Glass of Moscato
Last night I went to bed at 2AM, I had a college friend in from out of town. I had already made up in my mind that I would not go running today because I wouldn’t have enough time. However, Nyah had a different idea. She came in my room at 7:52 this morning, shaking her collar. She would not stop jingling that thing until I got up out of bed. Once I was up, I had no excuse not to go for a run. I got dressed and left my friend a note before I went to the gym so that she wouldn’t think I was abducted by aliens during the middle of night. At the gym, I was on week 6 day 2 of my podcasts, which is two 10 minute runs spaced by a 3 minute walk. About 8 minutes into my run, I got a case of the bubble guts. It was much like the last time I had them. I thought the protein shake would be enough to coat my stomach…. but I’ll skip the gory details and just say, I took a “pause for the cause” then I went right back up to the track, and finished my 1st 10 minute run. I did the 3 minute walk and finished my 2nd 10 minute run. When I was almost finished with the 2nd run, I started panicking, I thought I missed the prompt the tell me to stop running.
All I could think was I’ll be running for 30 minutes because I missed the cue to walk. Finally about a minute later there was my own voice encouraging and congratulating me and then I was done. I felt like a Marine, I’ve done more before 9AM than that most people do all day…well maybe just more than I would normally do. After my run, my friend and I went for a massage. It was fantastic, I wanted to pack that little lady in my purse and take her home. After the massage I went to personal training. We weighed in and I had gained a little. I wasn’t totally surprised, because I wasn’t completely following the meal plan I like I should have. Last night’s Applebee’s sampler platter that I devoured probably didn’t help either. Lyle was not real happy about it. I had to wear a 12 pound weight jacket during the workout. And instead of 8 pound dumbell weights, I had 10 pounders. After the personal training session we went to a wedding. In college days we would have gone out and partied afterwards. But in these days, we were tired and came home. But we played the Wii and the Wii Fit. So technically… I worked out 3 times in one day!
What Did Carli Eat Today? (A lot at the wedding)
B- Protein Shake
S- Apple, Granola bar
L- 6 Chicken Nuggets
D- Fruit, Chicken, Green beans, Tilapia, Roll, potatoes, wedding cake
I was poking along all day, thinking I’ve got plenty of time to get ready. Time flew by and traffic was horrific. As a result I missed half of my personal training session. Afterwards, I decided to go in search of a pouch to put on my shoe to hold my Nike Plus
distance tracker thingy. It still bothers me that thing doesn’t have an official name…any way My new running shoes aren’t Nike, so they don’t have a slot in the bottom to hold the chip. I looked everywhere; they were either sold out, or never had it. I guess I’ll have to order it online. By the time I finished my scavenger hunt, it was dark and a part of my mind said to just go home. But I tell you it’s something about this blog. I feel like it holds me accountable. Knowing that a couple hundred people cruise by my site every day, makes me feel like I owe it to y’all to actually run into shape. I calculated the weeks until my next 5K, and I know I have to get on the move, if I want to reach my goals. I ran to week 6 of my podcast, I actually did it. No power-walking or half stepping, I actually did the 5 min run, the 8 min run and the last 5 min run. According to the Get Fit 4 Christ program, I should be running 25 minutes. Hopefully I’ll catch up soon. Well I’m off to read. This program is tough, you have to have the meal plan (hate the word diet), the exercise plan, the reading and the ambition to make this program a success.
What Did Carli Eat Today?
B- 2 egg, chesse and spinach omelet w/ Whole Grain toast w/ Peanut butter
S- Pineapples and almonds
L- Small Chicken wrap and corn
D- Steak and Chicken Veggie Stir Fry and rice
S- Auntie Anne’s pretzel
I woke up this morning at 8 am. I think I was a little too excited about getting myself back on track. I decided to go back to sleep and woke up later to a phone call from one of the temp agencies, the recruiter wanted to submit my application. Hallelujah! I called Mom and she agreed to go work out with me. It was rainy outside, so we took it indoors to the gym. I didn’t run nearly as long as I was supposed to, but I did get in a good sweat. I felt so special when she told me she was “happy she had me to motivate her to work out.” It’s still funny when people say stuff like that to me. I probably weigh 100 pounds more than my Mama, yet I inspire her to be healthy…. After the gym, she kept me “busy” all day. I think she knew how I was feeling yesterday and that was her way of helping me. All and all, I did manage to let some fried food sneak in, but I’m feeling much better and working hard at staying positive and focused.
What Did Carli Eat Today? (Veggies? Hello Where are You?)
B- Hardboiled Egg, Yogurt
L- Spaghetti and BBQ Chicken Breast and Snack Crackers
D- Tilapia (Fried) & Fries
S- More Tilapia
I woke up this morning feeling kinda blah. I got the official word that I wasn’t chosen for the other position I interviewd for last week, and that put me in a funk. I’m a borderline work-aholic. I like to work, and sitting at home is making me crazy. But, ironically enough, today I didn’t want to leave the house and I didn’t want to exercise. The only activity I did all day was move from the couch to bathroom. I watched TV and took naps all day long. By about 8pm I felt miserable, just laying there on the couch. I had called the little sister to go work out with me and she agreed, but I never got up off the couch. I felt stuck and depressed. I said I can’t blog about this, I’m supposed to inspire people, not tell them I sulked all day in front of the TV. Then I remembered that story.
The one where the lady sat on the couch for years and her skin grew into couch because she sat there for so long. That story haunts me. I can imagine that she felt like I felt today, and then it just spiraled out of control. That totally freaked me out. I got up immediately. I was hungry but still didn’t feel like cooking. I went outside for the first time all day and went to KFC and got grilled chicken. I came home a new person. I can’t become the 480 lb lady stuck to the couch. I have to figure out something… I looked over the bookshelf and pulled out The Purpose Driven Life, and Joel Osteen’s “Become a Better You
.” I read a little bit and felt much better. I was letting my job, or lack thereof, define me as a person. Reading helped me remember that according to God, I’m much more than an unemployed paralegal. The books helped me focus on my true purpose and potential. I don’t know what it is yet, but I do know that I will NOT become self-infused to the couch. Tomorrow will be a better day.
What Did Carli Eat Today? (Not too bad…)
B- Bowl of Raisin Bran Crunch, 1 Egg
L- Steak and Chicken over salad
S- Almonds
D- KFC Grilled Chix, Green Beans, Biscuit, and Dt. Pepsi
S- Yogurt Shake (Yogurt and Ice in the Blender)
This morning, I got up and went to my personal training session. After the elliptical warm up, he switched up the dumbbell routine, and it was harder than usual. After we finished working out, he said we had to weigh in. For the first time in a long time, I was excited to get on the scale. I knew that I had mostly been sticking to the food program and that I had lost weight. When I got on the scale, I had lost a significant amount of weight. I’m not telling you how much right now. I’m going to save it until the end of the program and then reveal the magic number of pounds that I lost. But, I will tell you that it was good enough to get an enthusiastic high five from Lyle and I’m confident that I will pass the 10 pound goal he set for us and the weight loss thermometer will be moving soon! I was so excited and inspired by my own progress that I decided to go for a run, despite the grueling personal training session. I had no excuse not to go, I was already dressed and sweaty, and my iPod was in the car. Unfortunately, I wasn’t wearing my new running shoes; I can’t wait to try them. I did have to go potty though, and the park restroom reminded me of a scene from a scary movie, when you yell at the TV, “Why would she even go in there by herself?!” It just looked like a future crime scene, but when you gotta go, you gotta go….
I ran to my week 7 podcast. I certainly didn’t run the whole 25 minutes, but I did okay. That is until my greatest fear came to life. I was almost finished cooling down walking to “Walking on Sunshine,” and I did my usual police pat down-like routine to make sure my cell phone and keys were where I put them. I have a procedure of sticking them between the sports bra and the real bra. However today, when I started the pat down, I didn’t feel anything…no keys! I thought my greatest fear had come to life. I just knew that I would have to retrace my steps i.e. 2+ miles looking for keys. I stopped in the middle of the jogging path in the middle of the park praying and groping my boobs feeling for the keys. Finally… I found them, under one of my boobs. If you’ve seen my pictures, you know I was over-blessed in the chest area, which explains how I could lose keys in a bra. Thank God, I found the keys and made it back to my car safely. I spent the rest of the day on a fun shopping excursion with my Mama and my Big Little Sister. I couldn’t spend any money for real…y’all know my situation, but I did buy some cute brown suede boots from the consignment shop.
What Did Carli Eat Today?
B- Protein Shake & Banana Nut Muffin
S- Fresh Pineapple
L- Tilapia, Rice, Broccoli, Side Salad, and a Breadstick
S- Turkey Sandwich (Whole Grain Bread)
D- Steak Sandwich (Whole Grain Bread)
Today was bitter sweet. All day I waited for the phone to ring. No such luck. One of the places where I interviewed said I was great, but I was just the runner-up. The other place didn’t call back at all. I guess I’m back to the drawing board. But the sweet part of the day was I got up this morning and power-walked with Mom in the park. I should’ve been running, but at least I was still getting in exercise. Mom gave me $100 and I didn’t even ask for it. I was so excited, I went to the athletic store and got fitted for running shoes. I bought a pair of Mizuno running shoes on sale. They were so nice and had a great cushion. The sales guy was so nice, and he didn’t try to sell me unreasonably high priced shoes or extra stuff I didn’t need. They also had a cute little spoiled dog named Gus running around demanding attention. He reminded me of my little big brat at home. I decided to buy some running socks that help with the moisture and prevent blisters. When I left, I still had money left over. Tonight, I went to happy hour. I did go astray from the plan. (Can we say emotional eating?) I hope the fuzzy navels didn’t make me loose too many Jesus brownie points…I also hope I don’t loose points for saying something so silly like “Jesus Brownie Points” LOL!
What Did Carli Eat Today?
B- Protein Shake with Strawberries and a 2 egg Spinach Omelet
L- Steak and Fresh Pineapple chunks
D- Steak Salad w/ a Diet Cherry Vanilla Dr. Pepper (drinking only water is so hard for me!)
Happy Hour- 3 Party wings and 2 Fuzzy Navels
