Candy!

Eli is 100% back to his normal self today. I worried about him all night long, but he seems totally fine. I'm glad, obviously!

This morning was really foggy outside.

Near zero visibility in dense fog... sounded like my easy four miler was going to be a fun one ;) I decided not to go on the busier roads, so I wouldn't get smoked by a car, and just ran through the neighborhoods. It was really eerie--there weren't any cars out, and I could barely see anything through the fog. Anytime I heard a noise, my heart raced, because I was imagining dogs running at me through the fog (it made for an interesting mind game, anyway).

My legs and lungs felt awesome throughout the whole run. I didn't look at my Garmin at all, just ran how I felt comfortable. I actually thought about running farther than my training plan said, that's how good I felt! But I called it quits at four miles.

After I showered, I sat under my electric blanket for breakfast and e-mail. My cats are as obsessed with my blanket as I am, and they actually kind of fight over who gets to sit with me. But surely, that's because they love me so much, and has nothing to do with the blanket, right? ;)

Phoebe and Estelle--my legs were numb when I got up

Jerry and I made plans to take the kids to see Wreck It Ralph today, because they brought home good report cards. There was a 12:10 show at the mall, so we decided to take them to Taco Bell at the "food court" there (I put that in quotes, because the only choices are Taco Bell and some Chinese place). We got to the mall at about 11:30, plenty of time to eat and then see the movie; but we saw that the mall was closed until 12.

That was irritating. I knew I'd be starving if we waited until after the movie to eat lunch. The next show was at 2:30, so we ultimately decided to go to Applebee's for lunch, then kill some time at the mall, and then see the show.

I ordered the jalapeno-lime shrimp (a Weight Watchers item on the menu, for 8 PointsPlus). I was skeptical, but it ended up being really good! Much better than the parmesan chicken I got last time (also a WW item).

I don't like tomatoes, but I tasted one, and they ended up being my favorite part of the dish. It was perfectly spicy, and a satisfying portion. I would definitely order this again. Jerry got the lemon-parmesan shrimp, for 12 PointsPlus, and I tasted it--it was pretty good, but I liked mine much better.

After we finished lunch, we went back to the mall to browse around for a while. We went into Target because the kids needed new sheets for their beds, and while we were there, I found my FAVORITE holiday candy!

I tried one probably about five years ago, at my friend Stacie's house. I was obsessed with finding them in the store, because they were SO good. Stacie couldn't remember where she'd gotten them, so it became a mission to find them. And I never did, until two years later--at Target. Target is the ONLY place I have ever seen them. If you like peppermint candy canes, and you like chocolate, you will like these.

They are basically just a candy cane sucker with a tootsie roll in the center. They only have 60 calories, and they last a while, which is another reason why I love them.

Looking at all the candy and junk food at Target made Jerry and I say to each other simultaneously, "Don't you wish we were still fat sometimes?" BAHAHA, that is the only thing I miss about being 253 pounds. Buying lots of junk and eating it with abandon, without worrying about gaining a few pounds. They had candy cane OREOS--Jerry and I were both drooling over those, but knew that if we bought them, we'd have no control. I did buy a bag two bags of the Candy Cane Tootsie Pops, because those aren't a binge food.

By the time we were done at Target, we still had 40 minutes until the movie started. The kids said they didn't even want to go see it anymore, so we just came home. I feel like I disappointed them again--since we missed out on the race yesterday morning, and then the movies today. But maybe we'll try and go next weekend.

---

Jerry and I spent some time in the evening going through tweets on Twitter about The Walking Dead. There are some really funny pictures on there! I love reading what people's thoughts are about the show, and it had me cracking up. Jerry had an idea for one that he asked me to make in Photoshop... a prediction of who would be on the phone that Rick answered at the end of the last episode...

Hahaha, if you don't watch The Walking Dead, then please ignore that ;)  

---

I want to give a huge congrats to my Ragnar teammate Lealah--she finished her very first full marathon today!! And Rik, our Ragnar captain, actually went down to Oklahoma to run it alongside her, just like he did with me in Detroit three weeks ago (seriously, could we have a more awesome captain?). I'm super proud of Lealah! Their unofficial finish time is 5:27:40. Congrats Lealah!

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RECIPE: Pumpkin Spice Cookies

I used to make muffins with these two ingredients, but I was really in the mood for cookies a few nights ago, so I decided to turn them into cookies instead. They are SO good, and SO simple--and only 64 calories each!

Pumpkin Spice Cookies

1 box Duncan Hines Spice cake mix
1 (15 oz) can of pure pumpkin

Combine the cake mix and pumpkin (nothing else) in a bowl. It takes a while to stir it together, and it's tempting to add water, but just keep working those two ingredients and eventually they will form a thick, sticky dough. Use a spring-loaded scoop to drop by tablespoons onto a greased cookie sheet (I got 36 cookies from one batch of dough). Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes, and then let the cookies cool.

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Eli's scare

The kids and I didn't get to do the fun run this morning.

Eli has been sick this week. He's had a bit of a cough, and it was bad enough that I kept him home from school on Wednesday. He seemed to be doing much better Thursday and Friday, so I figured everything was fine.

But he gave me the biggest scare of my life this morning (it probably wasn't even related to the cough, though).

He was in the bathroom, and said he needed some help wiping. So I went in there and helped, then when I was washing my hands, he said, "My brain feels weird. I feel really dizzy." I didn't think much of it, because I get dizzy quite often, especially right when I stand up, and it goes away in a second or two. Then I was helping him get his pants back on, and he said, "My brain feels really really weird" and he seemed to be off-balance.

Then I started getting concerned. I tried to get him to walk into the hallway, and he was able to move, but he was really limp. I asked him if he was okay, and his face went completely white--his lips and everything were paler than I've ever seen them. He wouldn't answer me, and he was just staring off into space, like he wasn't hearing me or anything. (All of this happened within a couple of seconds).

As he stood, he seemed really unsteady, and I thought for sure he was going to faint. I panicked, and picked him up, ran into the living room, and sat him on the chair; then I yelled, "Jerry, get out here now!" (he was sleeping), and he must have sensed the panic in my voice, because he was up in a flash. I grabbed the phone to call 911, but then Eli started talking again.

Within a couple of minutes, he was 100% back to normal. And for the rest of the day, he's been fine. Since the immediate threat was over, I didn't see any use taking him to the ER. Jerry thinks that maybe he just sat on the toilet too long, and when he stood up, he got a head-rush. I was worried that it was an "absence seizure", which isn't very uncommon, especially in kids. I know a couple of people whose kids have had them before.

I am going to take him in to see his pediatrician on Monday, just in case, but he seems like he's totally fine now. It was the strangest thing. (Like mother, like son, I guess! He seemed to be feeling the same as I did before I fainted, and it was just a one-time freak accident). But of course, I still worry.

So we obviously didn't go to the fun run, because we were actually getting ready to leave when the whole thing happened. I told the kids we would find another one soon and they can do it another day. Eli asked if he could still have his medal, so I gave it to him ;)

---

This afternoon, I got a phone call from my Weight Watchers leader. I had e-mailed her about my goal weight situation, and she gave me a call, which was nice of her. I explained everything to her--my weight loss, that I joined WW Online for the last 20 pounds, and that I want to become a Lifetime Member by losing the last 5 pounds.

She was super nice and didn't make me feel judged at all. She's the leader of the At-Work meeting where Jerry works, but she also does meetings at a WW center on Thursdays and Fridays. I decided to go to her meeting on Thursday mornings--it fits in great with my schedule (the boys will be at school), and since she knows my story, I won't feel quite so awkward being there in order to drop 5 pounds.

Since this Thursday is Thanksgiving, I think I will go on Wednesday instead. But she made me feel much better about going (I was a nervous wreck); so hopefully all will go well. I'm sure it will, but stuff like this causes me so much anxiety!

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For dinner, I made one of my fall/winter favorites: cabbage casserole. Everyone always complains about the smell of cabbage cooking, but I happen to love it! I even loved cabbage when I was a kid--especially cabbage casserole.

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I did a very short interview on SparkPeople radio recently, if you'd like to listen. You can find SparkPeople radio on iTunes or on their website. The whole segment is about seven minutes. I don't know how to link directly to my segment, but the title starts with Katie... so it shouldn't be hard to find ;)

I had no idea that SparkPeople radio even existed! I'm going to add them all to my iPod so that I can catch up on them. It hasn't been around long. It took me a couple of minutes to figure this out, but there are "full episodes" and then segments--and they are listed separately. So you could listen to the entire thing if you wanted, or you could just listen to short segments at a time (my interview is in episode 4).

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Playlist

I had a hard time getting motivated for my run this morning--it was 27 degrees outside, and today was my long run day. I had eight miles on the schedule, at a 10:30 pace.

When Jerry got home from work this morning, he brought my Weight Watchers meeting materials. I had to join via the Weight Watchers at Work program; his work paid for 13 weeks for me to do the meetings. Now that I got the materials, I can go to any WW center that I want to.

I haven't done an "official" weigh in yet, and the more time that passes, the worse off I am. To reach Lifetime status in WW, you have to lose at least five pounds from your joining weight. I don't want to weigh in for the first time super close to my goal weight, because then I'd have to lose five more pounds. So I'm just going to have to drink a ton of water or something before I go weigh in.

It's kind of funny, because I've lost well over a hundred pounds, but it doesn't "count" because I didn't go to the WW meetings. Even the weight I've lost as a paying WW Online member doesn't count.

I had thought the first day was last Thursday, but they said no, it was next week (yesterday). But the leader said I don't have to weigh in until next week. I just don't get it. So, I just have to hope that I can be heavy enough when I weigh in to be able to lose five more pounds. I just wished I'd known a long time ago that Jerry's work would pay for the meetings!

Anyway, I got the kids off to school, and then headed out for my run with zero procrastination. Usually, I don't do eight mile runs near my house, because the routes have gotten so boring to me; but I didn't feel like driving anywhere, so I just came up with a lollipop route from my house. A lot of it was on busier roads, so I dressed in my uber-bright race t-shirt on top of a long-sleeved shirt.

People always wonder what I wear to run in cold temps:

Jerry was sleeping, so I had to do my best to take a pic of myself. I'm wearing my Under Armour Cold Gear compression fit tights; a long sleeved spandex shirt with a race shirt over it; Bondiband over my ears; and I did have gloves on, too. I won't break out the fleece jacket until it's in the low-20's.

I actually listened to music instead of podcasts today. My playlist is really lame, and definitely needs updating, but since a few people were curious what music I have on there, here are a few of my favorite songs to run to:

Lose Yourself by Eminem
Move Along by The All-American Rejects
I Like It by Foxy Shazam
Some Nights by Fun.
Tik Tok by Kesha
Into the Wild by L.P.
'Till I Collapse by Eminem
Ride to California by Paper Tongues
I'm Not Okay (I Promise) by My Chemical Romance
Lay Me Down by The Dirty Heads
Drunken Lullabies by Flogging Molly
Famous Last Words by My Chemical Romance
Audience of One by Rise Against

The Way I Am by Eminem
...pretty much anything by Eminem

Yes, it's embarrassing. ;) But I'm honestly not a big music person.

Eight miles went by rather uneventfully, which is always good. I wasn't as cold as I expected to be, and I even took off my gloves after about six miles.

After I showered and ate breakfast, I tried to catch up on blog reading for a little while before Jerry got up. We had a hot date to go to Sam's Club today ;)  Remember how I said to remind me never to go on a Saturday again? Well, today was just as bad, if not worse, than a Saturday. There were TONS of people there hovering around the employees who were giving out samples. I never taste samples (not sure why), so it was annoying to have to maneuver around all that.

When I got in the car, and looked at Twitter on the way home (Jerry was driving), I saw why it was so crowded:

We happened to be there right smack in the middle of their holiday tasting. So now I'm revising my reminder... remind me never to go there without at least having a glass or two of wine first.

We also stopped at Victoria's Secret so I could get my free panties :) And at Kroger, so I could get some ice cream to spend my weekly PointsPlus on today.

Tomorrow, I've signed my kids up to do a one-mile fun run. It's free, and they won't get anything for it, but I've been trying to get them to do a run with me for a long time. So I bought them each a medal to give them after the run, to hopefully motivate them to want to do more! I'm going to be their "pacer" so that they don't go too fast and burn out, quit, and then never want to try again ;) I'm actually looking forward to it!

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'Till I Collapse

'Cause sometimes you just feel tired,
Feel weak, and when you feel weak, you feel like you wanna just give up.
But you gotta search within you, you gotta find that inner strength
And just pull that shit out of you and get that motivation to not give up
And not be a quitter, no matter how bad you wanna just fall flat on your face and collapse.
--Eminem, 'Till I Collapse

I love these Eminem lyrics. They basically describe my entire weight loss, and now how I feel when I run hard. Especially running the last 8 miles or so of a marathon ;)


And this morning, I somehow "pulled that shit out" and reached two huge milestones during my run--I ran a sub-26:00 5k, and I ran a sub-8:00 mile!

The sub-26:00 5k has been a goal of mine for over two years. When I first started running, and my speed was improving, I made a goal to run a sub-30:00 5k. I reached that goal while I was training for my first 5k race, so I changed my goal. Renee said that she was "absolutely sure" that I was run a sub-26:00 5k at the race (October 2010). That seemed impossible to me, but I did a practice one in about 26:40 ish--can't remember exactly. So I went into the race with the expectation to run it under 26 minutes.

And I finished in 27:17. The race was super crowded, so I wasn't able to run the same speed I did during my practice race. After doing longer distances, I realized that I despised the 5k distance. But I couldn't get that goal of running it under 26 minutes out of my head. The next 5k race I ran was in March 2012, and it definitely wasn't the right race to try for time. It was (again) really crowded. I finished in 26:57.

Because I don't like 5k races, I just haven't tried again since. But now that I've been working on speed again, I've been thinking that I would register for a 5k in a month or two, and do my best to reach that sub-26 goal.

This morning, I had 3 miles at race pace (9:00/mi) on the schedule. I set up my Virtual Racer on my Garmin at that pace, and just decided to do my best to stay ahead of the VR. After the first mile, I saw that I ran it in 8:31. So I figured I could slow down a little, but was kind of excited to see that pace, so just kept with it. Second mile done in 8:34.

I started thinking about how that was really close to my 5k pace, and it would be fun to finish with my fastest time yet. Then I could hear a little voice telling me, "You can hit your sub-26 goal if you push really hard". I decided to unofficially try for it--run hard, and hope that I could manage to run fast enough to make the average pace go down to 8:23/mi. It was HARD, but I kept telling myself that it would be over in about eight minutes.

That last mile had me reach another running milestone--I ran the entire mile in 7:54!! I've never run a mile that fast. I think my fastest up until today was probably about 8:15-8:25. I kept running to finish out the 0.1 in order to hit 5 kilometers rather than just 3 miles, and I finished in 25:44 :)

That was probably my most exciting running moment since I started running over two and a half years ago. It was extremely difficult, especially that last mile, and I really wanted to fall flat on my face and collapse--but I stuck it out, and I'm so happy I did!


I can't cross this off my goal list just yet, since it wasn't a race; but now I'm extremely confident going into a race and reaching for that goal!

After I showered, I rewarded myself with a super yummy breakfast--English muffin with Nutella :)  I put Nutella alone on one half, and Nutella + peanut butter on the other half. Both halves were so good I can't decide which was better.

And that actually brings me to yet another milestone. I finally feel in-control enough to have a whole jar of Nutella in the house. I've been doing really well with the peanut butter and almond butter, but was scared to press my luck with the Nutella. Since I obviously don't want to avoid it forever, I bought a jar to measure out each portion onto my English muffins in the mornings. I didn't binge. :)

Today has been a very confidence-boosting day. I think days like this make all the really tough days worth it. When I was losing weight, I so badly wanted to quit sometimes, because it was exhausting--but then I would have a day where I saw some awesome progress (wear a smaller size, reach a weight milestone, wrap a bath towel ALL the way around me...) And during running, all the runs that I bitched and moaned about and just really didn't want to do, eventually came to a head and I had an amazing run or race and just felt on top of the world.

Days like this are few and far between, but that's what makes them so exciting!


...Until my legs
Give out from underneath me
I will not fall,
I will stand tall,
Feels like no one could beat me. 
--Eminem, 'Till I Collapse 

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One year later (lower body lift update)

As predicted, I didn't lose any weight this week. I actually expected to see a gain, but I was 137 on the dot again today (same as last week). My body fat and waist size were the same as well, so I didn't bother to do pictures.

Today is the one year anniversary of my lower body lift surgery. I cannot believe it's been a year!! I am still super happy with the results, and would do it again in a heartbeat. A few people have e-mailed me asking for updated photos of my scar, so I had Jerry take some new pictures today. The first is a comparison--it was taken three weeks post-op.

Scar, three weeks post-op

Scar, one year post-op

My scar has faded quite a bit, and it will continue to fade over time. It really kind of blends in with all my stretch marks, and that's what it looks like--a faded stretch mark.

My belly hasn't changed much, except that my hip bones are a little more prominent now:

Three weeks post-op

One year post-op

My belly button scar is still pretty dark, and I don't know if it will fade much more or not. But I actually really like the shape of my belly button. The actual shape is the same as it was before surgery, but now it doesn't have all the skin hanging around it.

I haven't had any problems arise from the surgery. As expected, my scar is still numb, and an inch or so above and below the scar is also numb. It's getting a little more sensation now, though. Right after my surgery, I couldn't stand to touch my abdomen, because it was a very weird sensation. When Jerry would touch my hips, I would spasm and practically punch him, because the feeling was so WEIRD. But now I can handle being touched again. Once in a while I get an itch, but when I scratch, I can't feel the scratching. It's so strange!

I used to not even allow the cats to sit on my lap, because I couldn't stand the feeling of their little paws walking on my belly. But now it's getting more tolerable, especially if I flex my abdominal muscles. I always have a little numbness, but it should still continue to get better for another year or so.

One thing that I wasn't expecting is that my stomach skin is still saggy. When I stand up straight, it doesn't look like it, but when I lean over (or hold plank) my skin hangs a little. The only way the surgeon could have corrected this would have been to make a vertical incision down my abdomen to tighten the skin from both directions--but obviously I did not want that. I wasn't expecting perfection, and I'm very happy with how it looks.

A lot of people have asked me about running after surgery. I was cleared to run just eight days after surgery, but I didn't have any desire to run at that point ;) I waited until 3 weeks and 5 days after surgery to run--and my first run was TOUGH. I felt out of shape from not having run for nearly a month, but I regained my fitness level very fast.

By January, I was training for my first marathon, which I ran in May. So the surgery didn't hold me back from running at all. I did wear my compression garment while running for a while. It kept my belly from bouncing and jarring, and I liked the compressed feeling. But by March, I was fine to run without it. The first few runs felt weird without the compression garment, but I got used to it right away.

Well, I was going to try and write a huge update with all kinds of details, but the truth is, the last year has been completely uneventful as far as the surgery goes--and that's a good thing! I didn't have any complications, everything went as expected, and I've completely recovered. I'm so happy that I had the surgery!

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Bloat

I spent the afternoon crocheting the most adorable little cell phone holder that I saw on Pinterest. Here is the pattern. I finished crocheting, but I need to buy a toggle button for the beak and acrylic crystals for the eyes.

It was pretty tedious, but I think it's cute!

Unless some sort of a miracle happens overnight, I will not be logging a weight loss tomorrow for my weekly weigh-in. It's frustrating, because I've done everything the same as always, but something happened in the last few days that has made me gain weight like crazy.

I weigh myself daily (not always--about 5-6 days a week), and I know that my weight fluctuates on a day to day basis. I wasn't worried when I saw that my weight was up a pound a few days ago. Then the next day, it was up two more. And then I was starting to wonder, "What the heck?" because that rarely happens where I log a large gain two days in a row when I'm following a food plan.

I was careful with my sodium yesterday, and I drank a lot of water, but I felt SO bloated and gross; and this morning, my weight was up another pound. That's four pounds in three days!

I haven't gone over my Weight Watchers PointsPlus at all, and the only dietary change I made this week was that I ate two CLIF Bars (on two separate days). I wonder if the CLIF Bars have something in them that cause me to bloat?

My stomach was still very bloated this morning, but I've been downing water all day and avoiding sodium and anything that might upset my stomach. So I'm hoping that it goes away soon. Next time I eat a CLIF Bar, I'm going to pay attention to what it does to my stomach and weight, and see if that was the culprit. I hope not, because I just bought 13 of them!

Regardless, I know the weight gain is just temporary, because I haven't overeaten at all. So I'm not worried about it; it's just frustrating.

Today I had three easy miles at a 10:24/mi pace on my running schedule. I've kind of ignored the scheduled paces, and just run whatever I feel like. Today, I just covered my Garmin with my sleeve and didn't look at it for the entire run.

Yesterday, I made a very short playlist to use for my three mile runs, to save my podcasts for my longer runs. I haven't listened to music while running in a long time, and it was kind of refreshing today. I think it made me go faster than I thought I was, because I was shocked when I saw my average pace when I finished:

(That calorie burn is too high--I forgot to wear my heart rate
monitor, so I probably burned more like 280 calories)

I was pretty happy with that! I'm getting more and more confident about running a sub-26 5K race in the near future.

It's kind of funny, because I just recently decided that I was happy with my pace, and didn't really care if I ever hit my time goals. But seeing that I am getting faster is motivating me to work harder on it, and I've actually really enjoyed running faster.

When I finished my run, I made an English muffin for breakfast and topped it with Justin's Maple Almond Butter and Justin's Chocolate Hazelnut Butter. It was so good!

English muffins with nut butter are always my go-to breakfast or lunch when my stomach is upset. For lunch, I had a Butterfinger Protein Shake, and then dinner was scrambled eggs and toast with butter and jam. I ran out of grapes yesterday, and instead of going to the store today for more, I decided to eat an apple. When I cut into it and took a bite, it was mealy--gross! So I'll be going to the store in the morning for more grapes.

My stomach is feeling a lot better this evening, and less bloated, so hopefully tomorrow's weigh in won't be too bad.

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Two years

Today is November 12. This date used to be totally insignificant to me, but two years ago, it had a life changing impact on me.

I've already told the story a few times, so feel free to skip this post. If you want to read the whole story with details, you can find it here. It was two years ago that I fainted and broke my jaw. I know that people break bones all the time, and it's really not that big of a deal, but I had never had a broken bone in my life until that day. And on that evening, I fainted, fell flat on my face, and broke my jaw severely through in five places.

I still remember all the details so well. I remember what I was thinking, what I was feeling, what it felt like to try and clench my teeth together only to feel my lower jaw flopping in a way that it shouldn't. I remember thinking that I would go to the emergency room, have surgery to fix it, and then I'd be home by morning.

I had no idea just how bad off I was until the doctor showed me the x-rays. My lower jaw was in six separate pieces, and my teeth (which I spent five years in braces to straighten!) were horribly misaligned. I had a hole through the front of my lower lip where the bone had punctured through. I had another hole on the underside of my chin. I couldn't talk well to explain what had happened, and people at the hospital kept asking if my husband did this to me. And the pain. Oh, the pain.

I had no idea why I had fainted. I spent the next six days in the hospital having every test imaginable to determine the cause. I also had two surgeries (four hours and three hours), where they put my jaw back together with titanium plates and screws, and ending with wiring my jaw shut.

My latest dental x-rays

The cause of my fainting was never determined, and the doctors thought it was possible that I'd actually had a seizure, because of how hard I had to have hit the floor in order to cause a break that severe. I suspect it was one of two things: 1) I was taking medication for a cold--Mucinex and Sudafed. I've since taken Sudafed, and had no problems; I've taken Mucinex once since then, and it made me feel dizzy, so I would guess the Mucinex may have caused the problem; 2) I had binged on ice cream after not binge eating for a year.

The doctors said the most likely cause was that I have low blood pressure. But we'll never know for sure what caused it. And thankfully, it hasn't happened again since!

The whole experience definitely changed me, however:

• I'm terrified to eat too much sugar in one sitting now--and I won't eat the Turkey Hill Chocolate Peanut Butter ice cream at all (that's what I ate that night). 
• My lower lip is still numb from my lip to the bottom of my chin. 
• I have scar tissue inside of my lower lip that feels weird, and it makes my lip stick out a little. Because of this, I now drool when I sleep because I can't keep my mouth closed (think Bubba on Forrest Gump, only not as severe) ;)
• I can't make 'p' or 'b' sounds when I'm smiling--my lips won't close to make the sound.
• My jaw is now noticeably larger on one side than it is on the other.
• I realized just how important health insurance is. Those six days in the hospital would have cost us over $57,000 if we didn't have insurance. I am so grateful that we do.
• I had the most amazing, caring surgeon. It was he who helped me get over my fear of surgery, which led to my getting a lower body lift (he was also the one who recommended my plastic surgeon).
• My family and friends are simply amazing. I can't even stress that enough. I needed help in so many ways, and they helped without my having to ask.

Nathan, me, Jeanie, Brian, Jerry (and my kids, of course)

This day two years ago became one of those defining moments--"before I broke my jaw" and "after I broke my jaw". So many things had changed from that one moment.

Anyway, I'm not even sure what the point of writing this post was. There isn't a day that goes by that I don't give a thought to when I broke my jaw--when I brush my teeth, put on make-up, eat, talk, smile, sleep, whistle (I actually can't whistle anymore)--all of it reminds me. I actually don't even think of it in a negatively; it was a learning experience in so many ways!

---

The podcast interview that I did with Heather on Half Size Me aired today. If you'd like to listen, you can check it out here. You can also find it on iTunes here. I listened to it this morning, and I was so annoyed with myself for saying "um" way too often. So I am sorry for that! :)

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Veteran's Day

Last night, my kids stayed the night at my parents' house. Jerry was at work, and I had the house to myself. I was in bed by 9:30 on a Saturday night--completely lame!

This morning, I had a four mile easy run on my schedule, so I headed outside for that. It was gorgeous in Michigan today! Even early in the morning, it was 54 degrees. I got to leave my gloves at home. Usually, I don't listen to music while run (I prefer podcasts or talk radio), but I made a new playlist yesterday and listened to that. I felt really good throughout the run, and did it rather quickly:

On Sundays, I like to get a lot of cleaning done, so I spent a lot of the afternoon doing laundry. I did go to Wal-Mart for a couple of things, and I went to Kroger to stock up on the Peppermint Stick CLIF bars. They had 10 bars left, so I bought all of them. I also got an Iced Gingerbread flavor and a Pumpkin Spice flavor.

They were on sale for $1 each, but they all rang up at $1.59. After I paid, I went to check the sign again, and I knew I was correct about the sale. So I went to the manager's desk and ended up getting a refund of 59 cents on each bar. Good thing I was paying attention!

When I got home, I tried the Iced Gingerbread flavor, and was immediately hooked. That one was just as good as the Peppermint Stick! So it looks like I'll be going back for more of those, too. The expiration date isn't until May 2013.

I'm going to keep this kind of short, because I am very sleepy right now--I took a Xanax because my anxiety has been really bad for the past few days, and Xanax always makes me tired.

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Q. Do you follow any of those commonly advised weight loss rules: No eating after 8pm, drink a glass of water before each meal, eat of smaller plates, turn off the TV/computer while you eat, etc. If so, which ones work for you?

A. I actually find that the less rules I have to follow, the better I stick with my plan. I have found certain habits that work for me, but I don't necessarily have "rules" that I stick with. I always eat a bedtime snack (lately it's been wine and chocolate). I eat breakfast in front of the computer while I check e-mail, and I eat lunch in front of the TV. I do eat dinner at the table with my family, but that's the only time I sit at the dining table.

I think those rules are all ways of tricking yourself into eating less food; but since I measure out my food and count the PointsPlus (or calories, in the past), I'm not risking overeating. Some habits that I've gotten into have certainly helped, however: I always drink a lot of water throughout the day, so that I never confuse thirst with hunger. I never skip meals. And I measure out my portions.

I think the reason I dislike the diet "rules" that you mention are because they are always changing and conflicting. I love Dr. Oz dearly, but watch his show for a week and you learn all kinds of different tips that totally conflict with each other! So I just do what works for me, after trial and error :)

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I want to end this with a huge THANK YOU to all of our veterans today (and every day)! I wanted to write this post all about my little brother Nathan, who joined the Army at 18, just after the September 11th attacks, and spent a few years in Iraq. However, he would not be very happy with me if I did that.

My brother surprised my mom at work when he was home on leave

I have a very special place in my heart for the young soldiers spending time in Iraq, because I have seen first-hand how much it changes a person. These 18-year old kids are sent to war without the slightest idea of just how it will alter their lives forever, and their jobs are to do things that most of us can't even imagine doing.

I was trying to think of a way to express my gratitude and care for these soldiers, and I decided that I'd like to send some care packages for the holidays. I know that there are websites to "adopt" a solder, but I was hoping that some of my readers know a soldier who is going to be spending the holidays in Iraq--maybe a spouse or a son or daughter.

If you know a soldier in Iraq right now who you think might like a care package from my family, please send me an e-mail with their shipping address, as well as tell me a little about them--whatever you'd like to share. Eli is very excited to draw some pictures to send as well :)  My e-mail address is SlimKatie (at) runsforcookies (dot) com.

My boys, waiting for Uncle Nate to come home for GOOD :)

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Fall favorites

I did a post like this earlier this year, and it was a lot of fun to post pictures of things I've been enjoying lately. So here are some things that I've been loving over the past few months...

Peanut Butter Ginger Chews

Holy Hell, these things are good! They are individually wrapped candies (kind of like piece of taffy) that taste like peanut butter with a little kick. I eat one every day after lunch, as a kind of signal that lunch is over and I need to stop eating now. They are usually about $1.29 per box (I think there are 9 per box), but Kroger had them on Manager's Special for $0.69!

Sandwich made with: English muffin, egg whites, bacon, and cheese.

I've eaten one of these almost every single day for two months--breakfast, lunch, or dinner. I've never been a huge egg fan, but I can't get enough lately.

Free Panty coupons from Victoria's Secret.

I have no idea how I wound up on the mailing list for Victoria's Secret (I don't have a VS credit card), but I'm sure glad I did! I get one of these coupons about every two months, and there is no catch to the free panties. You just go to the VS store, pick out the color and size you want, and you don't even have to pay sales tax! (Of course, I usually end up buying something else that catches my eye...)

Cabernet and a Dove Promise (dark chocolate)

This has become a nighttime ritual of mine--a glass of red wine and a Dove Promise. I eat the promise very slowly--taking just a nibble at a time and sucking on it until it's gone.

Grapes, grapes, lovely GRAPES!

 My newest obsession. And I'm not even exaggerating when I say I'm obsessed with grapes. I've eaten 2-3 cups of grapes a day for the past 8 weeks or so (since I started WW). I like green ones and red ones equally, and I usually buy some of each. Grapes are 0 PointsPlus, and these have helped me to stay on plan when I'm feeling snacky.

Shorter, faster runs

I've said this about a thousand times since the marathon was over, but I am SO HAPPY to see 3-4 mile runs on my schedule again :)

These mugs I got from Sam's Club

These are the perfect mugs. They hold 16 oz., they are tall and skinny rather than short and fat (making them easier to hold), AND the handle fits all four of my fingers. I bought them in a set of six--two of each color pattern (green, red, and tan). They are also good quality ceramic, not that cheap hollow kind.

Vanilla ice cream cone from McDonald's

 My favorite way to spend 5 PointsPlus! When I feel like indulging and I don't have a lot of spare PP left, I always go for the McD's cone. Very satisfying!

My Teavana PerfecTea Maker

Using this little contraption actually makes it fun to brew tea! I usually brew some in the morning and then again in the evening. I wrote more about this on yesterday's post.

My Simply Vera pajamas from Kohl's

The most comfy pajamas I've ever owned. They are expensive, but totally worth it. I really need to get another pair, so that I have one to wear while I wash the other ;)

My entire Ragnar Relay team

This is a strange addition to my list, but I love every single one of these people! I feel like they are all very good friends of mine, and I've yet to meet nine of them.
Meredith and her husband have lost a TON of weight together, and are super inspiring.
Lealah is incredibly sweet, and helped me get through a miserable 20-mile run.
Ada gave me some encouragement and helpful advice when I was really struggling with my weight this summer.
Andrea and I have a lot in common--the weight loss, the body lift surgery, television appearances, and even the struggle with the last 10 pounds.
Rik doesn't even need an explanation. He came all the way here to run a frickin' marathon with me! And he didn't even leave me behind when I bitched and moaned at mile 19 (and 20, and 21, and...)
Jennifer is hilarious. I could listen to her talk all day and never get bored! It could be the NJ accent.
Linda really is "frickin' fabulous at 40". She's also been reading my blog from the beginning, and she's always been very encouraging.
Jen is a machine. I can't even describe her better than that. She wakes up at ungodly hours to workout!
Allison is my numbers-buddy. She likes data and charts and graphs and all that stuff as much as I do, and she's a champ at organizing stuff for our team. She has also come a VERY long way in her running this year.
Carly, as the newbie to our team, has fit in very well. She is incredibly sweet and enthusiastic about being on our team. I love her determination.
John is so much fun! He's always making jokes that lighten any mood, and I can't wait to sit down over umbrella drinks with him in Key West.
And finally... Mary. As I've mentioned before, Mary is pregnant, so she's no longer an "active" member of our team. But she is my go-to person when I'm feeling an urge to binge. She has helped to keep me in check quite a few times, because she truly understands binge eating disorder.
In less than two months, we will all be running from Miami to Key West together!

Peppermint Stick CLIF Bar

Today was actually the first time I tried this flavor, but it was SO DELICIOUS that I just had to include it. It's seasonal (boo!) so I'm going to go to Kroger and stock up on these. I love the texture of CLIF Bars--kind of like raw oatmeal cookie dough--but the flavors can be hit or miss. These were a hit for sure!

The Walking Dead television show (photo source)

 I never, in a million years, would have guessed that I would like this show. I despise anything having to do with zombies, but this show had me hooked. I had promised Jerry that I would watch one episode while he was at work (and I didn't even think I would make it through one). By the time he got home, I had watched the entire first season. Bahaha! It's THAT good.

Tea/coffee time with Jessica and Renee

 I don't have any pictures of us at the coffee shop, so this one from Winers will have to do. But we've been getting together every couple of weeks for tea/coffee and chit chat for an hour or so. It's been nice to have adult conversation!

Half Size Me podcast

I know I've mentioned this podcast a couple of times, but I've been listening to it during my runs. I'm almost caught up on all the episodes now, and I've really enjoyed it. Heather interviewed me for the podcast a couple of months ago, and she said it was going to air on Monday. I'll share the link when it does. But if you like podcasts and/or weight loss success stories, this is a great one to listen to! She does a lot of interviews with people that have lost weight, and I love to hear about their stories.

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So tell me... what are some things you've been loving lately?

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