Dear Carbs, I miss you

We are in the final home stretch of our biggest loser competition #2 with our friends...
2 more weeks
but until then...

Dear Carbs,

I miss you, and can't wait until we are reunited again! I have already planned on how to welcome you back into my life as of May 3rd. Our relationship may rekindle over sushi, pizza, or a sandwich of some sort, we have a few days to figure out the menu/game plan, but until then I'll just be hanging out with some fresh veggies and fruit! You will be missed! Can't wait to have you back in my life again!

Love,
Lindsey

As of today I'm down 9.8% of my weight from when I started in February. With the 1/2 marathon being so close and I have 2 more long runs [11 miles and 12 miles] I should be able to get to my ultimate goal weight! the competition is surely getting tough over the last weeks. I will fight until the end.. and hopefully come back as victorious as last year!

So What Wednesdays....

This week I'm saying
So What if....

*i'm still catching up on my dvr from our vacation [i should have totally taken an extra DVR day when I got back from the cruise and Florida]
*i lost my pedometer last week and you would have thought that I lost my child, this darn thing of plastic is a part of me [well and I get $$ for it based off of the amount of steps I take], i retraced my steps, called security, ect. with no avail, i didn't find it, but i re-programed my original one, and were back up and running! [thank g, i have long runs coming up for the 1/2 marathon training, i can't miss out on 15,000+ step runs!]
*if I was all the way to the freeway this morning before I realized I forgot my pedometer at home, and I knew it was going to be a busy day with quite a few trips to the hospital, so I turned around to get it
*we are in the final stretch of our weight loss competition, and all that i'm craving is the bad stuff.. yesterday it was Nacho Doritos, and pepperoni pizza [srrsly, thats sick!]. i'm going to try and go low carb for the last 20 days [besides my luna bars when i run] and see how it goes.. wish me luck!
*i'm still sore from the 10 mile run that we did on sunday! seriously, who knew that Gahanna had hills?!!? not me!
*it irritates me when people try to drag on a conversation by saying "so, yea..." or "so, ummm...." just end the conversation... there is no need to keep dragging it on
*i'm looking forward to Justin starting softball back up [even though I will be regret saying this in about 1 month], I love being outside 3 nights a week

Now head on over to Shannon's blog and link up

What are you saying so what to today!? or all week?!

So what wednesdays... a little catch up

So What if...

• I wear two hair ties on my wrist even though my hair is too short to pull back into anything..i just can't bear to not have them at all times
• 2 of the most motivating songs that are on my running list are "The buckeye battle cry" and "Carmen Ohio"... i just love them and immediately think of Buckeye football season every time they come on.. and i should probably mention that our Men's BBall team is #1 in the nation right now too - GO BUCKS!
• We [along with the rest of America] in Ohio experienced a pretty nasty ice storm last night.. I had a hair cut scheduled [previously scheduled for 2 weeks ago and my hairdresser was sick.. desperately needed my mopped chopped!] and I went out into the freezing rain and then, because I was out and about, proceeded to go work out.. i figure someone needs my business - and the gym was nearly empty! SCORE! more ice days please!
• I'm still carrying my HUGE that I used as my personal item on the plane - this thing is so big it carried my laptop, a book, all of my purse necessities, and i still had room for a small child inside!
• I use the word y'all on my blog. I rarely say it in conversation, I live in Ohio.. and we say "all of you"n or "you all"... but trust me y'all just sounds so much more inviting!
• I'm looking for my 1/2 marathon training to start in 2 weeks [never thought I would say that at this time last year!]

What are you saying "so what" to today?

Head on over to Mama Dew's and link up!

In other news..
J and I started another Biggest Loser weight lost competition yesterday. Its nice to have some friendly competition in a relationship - right? So it is my mission to continue to try and cook new things, but also stay healthy! if you have any EASY, recipes that are also delicious and healthy - send them my way!

Last night we had Spicy Bean Burritos from Annie Eats, and J liked them even though they were sans meat... he told me that they reminded him of a 7 layer burrito from taco bell... thanks - i think?! Tonight's menu item is an asian chicken burger [yes, I'm going to try and eat ground chicken - but if all else fails I have a back up of ground turkey on hand!].

So far so good, just the adjusting the diet and amount of food is never an easy thing.. but its surprising how encouraged I am to become healthier when there is money on the line! So I anticipate eating in much more frequently and daily visits to the gym for the next 3 months... i'm SO excited [enter sarcasm here!] I think without going out to eat I will just mainly miss someone cooking for me, having a variety of options to eat, and most importantly someone else doing the dishes! oh well in the long run not only will we be saving money but also bettering our health - right!?

Not much exciting to blog about - hence the short hiatus from the blog world - sorry about that... but I hope y'all [mom that one is just for you!] staying warm, and hope your finding something fun to do during this wonderful winter storm!

So What Wednesdays....

So what if:

• I haven't blogged since last Wednesday... I've been out of town, and I will do a whole recap tomorrow of vacation, I did bring my computer with intentions of blogging, however I am so dumb with technology I couldn't figure out how to connect it to the wireless Internet and ended up just relying on my phone with fb and twitter to stay connected to most of my favorite bloggers
  
• I have become semi addicted to twitter... there i said it!
• I was really hoping to peak into the fire truck that ran through the village of Vail when we were there to see if Ryan Sutter was on the ladder truck.. I mean there is a slight chance it could have been his unit day? right?!
  
• I drank straight from the 2 liter when we were packing up to leave Vail because I didn't want to dirty a dish in the condo that we were staying in, and then I realized it was such a novel idea not to dirty a cup I did it again last night at home while sitting on the couch [okay - maybe last nights piece was pure laziness]
• I feel like I should have taken a day off just to catch up on my DVR. Last night alone I watched the following shows : Top Chef, RHOBH [sooo good and juicy!], Biggest Loser [Sorry President Obama, although I would love to have your wife's arms, I do not appreciate you cutting off one of my tv shows for the State of the Union Address.. sorry that i'm not that into politics-please don't hate me for saying that!], 2 episodes of Teen Mom [and yes I'm kinda loving Lea and Corey], and Holly's World ...
• We got a save the date in the mail yesterday addressed to Justin Woogie and Lindsey... Justin's nickname growing up has always been Woogie.. and apparently they found it quiet funny to use that rather than his last name.. i got a kick out of it.. however, I do not think I would appreciate being called Lindsey Woogie - JS!
• I still haven't unpacked my bag - I just keep taking out pieces of clothing that I need and the rest of the suit case just sits in the middle of my floor [i know mom, your shocked! ha!]
• Hate the saying "I know, right?!?!" it just annoys me, and makes my blood pressure rise!
• I read a Nicholas Sparks book on vacation -and yes I realize that I'm 27 and still reading his books, but they are good
• I finished the book in 2 days
• I cried on the plane while reading the ending! I have never cried before during a book.. guess I won't be reading in public anytime soon!
• My attempt to maintain my current weight until we start round 2 of the biggest loser is not working out so well... I have lost 3lbs in the process of trying to gain/maintain. Here's to hoping a lunch consisting of hibachi next Monday will increase my sodium intake so much that I will have water weight for the first weigh in...
• I'm slightly freaked out by the fairly new guy in our office. I swear he is a clone of me - we have WAY too parallel - here are a few that we have caught onto thus far, and we don't even work together on a daily basis:

our birthdays are a day a part, we live across the street from one another, we both drive VW, we go to the same church, we both showed up at work yesterday wearing peacoats and Burberry scarves, we both went to leave for the day and realized we had on fleece North Face gloves, we work out at the same gym...

Would you be kinda wigged out by all of this? Or is just me?


So what are you saying so what to today?

Head on over to Mama Dew's blog and link up!

The Biggest Loser Competition

For the last 22 1/2 weeks I have been in a biggest loser competition with some of my closest friends from college... just a healthy competition to see who could loose the biggest percentage of weight loss... and lets be honest... i needed to do something FAST because I had let my weight get out of hand!

So I started off with just working on what I was eating, and then introduced working out [work out dvd's and running] into my routine, and I am soooo excited to say with loosing 14.25% weight loss- it paid off....

because I am the biggest loser!

I have put together a quick collage of the faces that I have gone through during the competition - unfortunately - i am not as technologically advanced as some of my friends [aka aly] so you just get to see my pretty little face and how it has changed over the course of the last 6 months...

I am so thankful to have a great group of friends who have given me a healthy competition - and it has been so much fun to compete and to see each week who won the weekly bragging rights!

I am hoping to keep up the healthy eating habits as well as running because I do not plan on letting myself get out of control, like the downward spiral I was on - its not worth it! I just continued to remind myself as I was eating healthy, working out and making positive decisions of my motto of the year:

"there is no better time than now!"

It seemed to help me get through my long runs, get through the fact that I am over ordering chicken fingers and fries, and actually enjoying eating salads.... I am not getting any younger, so I might as well keep up with it... because if not today - then when!

I encourage you all to strive to reach your goal weight... and I know that having the support system that I did - helped tremendously and trust me, when you have accomplished something that you have wanted for so long, it feels even better! So whether you choose to do so on your own, in a competition or with a friend - its totally worth it!!

Happy Tuesday Blog World! I hope its a fabulous one for you!

Thank you for all the kind words thus far, you all are too sweet, and it means so much to me to have so much encouragement from the blog world!

I have been asked by a few of you what I did to loose the weight so I thought I let you in on a few things that we did:

FOOD

• initially cut back on the carbs, until I started working out [and then quickly realized that i needed the carbs for energy but I slowly re-introduced them back into my diet {only healthy whole wheat ones!}]

• realizing its okay to eat more if its healthy [srrsly - i was eating 2 turkey burgers to JMs 1, but i was needing the extra calories because i was burning so many]
• making healthy choices turkey meat over red meat, cottage cheese over french fries, string cheese as a snack over chips
• balancing out meals - if I ate a sandwich for lunch, making sure I had a piece of grilled meat and fresh veggies for dinner or a salad
• Unfortunately I'm not good with counting.... especially counting my calories - its just too much work [i know - what an excuse - right?!] but i just use my best judgment when i cook or order food at a restaurant [i always dip my fork into the dressing, rather than pour it on:: i never get cheese or croutons on my salads:: i will ask if they have whole wheat bread or pasta]
• every week I plan a menu based off of what I currently have at the house, whats on sale, and what i have a coupon for - but i stick to the menu, and my menu consists of all healthy choices. i think this helps because i am not scrambling every night to figure out what to have for dinner and its a healthy option, rather than swinging through fast food on the way home for something for dinner - a lot of my favorite meals are under Make Me a Meal Monday
  
• we rarely eat fast food anymore [don't worry - i do not include my fountain diet cokes fast food]
• I drink a TON of water

EXERCISING

• I trained for the 1/2 marathon [if you want this schedule, please let me know and I will be more than happy to send it to you]
  
• I did the biggest loser work out videos and the Wii Fit on my off days from my running schedule

I hope this helps a little more - I would be more than happy to answer any other questions that you may have about the weight loss - keep them coming!!

Memorial Tournament Pics and Updates

Sorry that I have been a baaaaaad blogger lately... we had a full weekend of the Memorial Tournament, my Internet has been broken at home [wahh] and I am fighting off my allergies/cold [and unfortunately my mind of matter typical ill remedy is NOT working this time!] which any of the 3 could lead to me not being on top of my posts... sorry. but in the meantime here at pictures from Sunday.

We went out to the tournament on Saturday but we entered through the main gate which they search your purse and any other personal belongings so I didn't want to risk loosing my camera - so I opted to leave it in the car.

But Sunday we went to our friends house to watch a few groups and I was able to get a few pictures from the porch

#12
the leader board before play started
zach johnson waiting to putt [this one is for you stace!]

and of course one of JM and myself [ha!]
we watched the first few groups come through on #12 and then met up with my parents and watched a majority of the leaders come through on #14 [my favorite hole to watch golf from on the course]. the entire time we were cheering for rickie fowler... I just love his outlook on the game of golf, he is so calm, and so positive... well and his outfits don't hurt much either - this is what he wore on Sunday
image

Sorry to bore you with all the golf chatter... but onto some other exciting news that is going on right now for JM and myself:

• JM has already had his mind set that he wants to switch to an iPhone at the release of the new ones - and I'm starting to come around on it - I just need to crunch some numbers to make sure that it is comparable price wise to my crackberry. I mainly want it for a safety for when I run so I have a phone and an iPod with me... well and lets be honest - for all the amazingly cool apps like a grocery list, and creamy ice.. ha! Do you all have any opinions on the new iPhone that is being released on the 24th? Has anyone switched from a blackberry to an iPhone? was it worth it? or should I just stick with my blackberry? Any advice would be greatly appreciated - as I am stuck with this device for the next 2 years
  

• The Biggest Loser competition is winding down - we only have 43 hours left [phew!] i'm ready for this competition to be over with so that we can go on with our lives and I don't have to eat chicken breasts only for lunch - and i'm pretty sure JM is excited for the varieties of dinners again - rather than just cottage cheese and pretzels! ha
• Aly is coming in town for a wedding on Saturday night, can't wait!
• Jude is celebrating his 1st bday on Sunday - i can't believe his is 1 already!
• We are having a MASSIVE celebration party at my parents on Sunday for everyone's bdays (Mom, Sister, Sister's Fiance, My great grandma) and celebrating Father's Day
  

So with all of this going on I will surely be a little post happy over the next few days!
Consider this your warning!

Happy Wednesday!

The end is near.... Biggest Loser

So i started this weight loss journey on January 5th - with the rest of the contestants on the biggest loser and although their season was over last week - our competition is going on for another 9 days [trust me i am counting down the days until this competition is over].

you can read about my initial weight loss here, here and here
As of today I am down 10.7% since I started this competition - and I honestly feel better than ever... and not only have i been able to tell that i look as if I have lost weight - but people have been mentioning it to me as well - talk about a confidence booster! but the end is near and I want to make sure that I give it my best effort so.....

for the next 9 days [which is about 200 hours - it sounds much less daunting when you put it in perspective of hours ] I will be doing low carb and really watching my intake of sodium- [goodbye everything delicious - i will miss you!]

i'm hoping that this will help me drop the extra needed few pounds to win...
but this is where I need YOU bloggy friends
do you have any quick tricks in loosing weight? like a "miracle food" that boosts your metabolism? or something that helps keep your mind of the delicious foods that you can eat??? any help would be much appreciated!

and yes the thought has crossed my mind - MANY times of sending the same candy bars they had in mean girls to the other top competitors and wish them well - no one said i wasn't competitive.. a girls gotta do what a girls gotta do to win - right?!!?

So until next Saturday - its crunch time... here's to no carbs [bread, pretzels, beer], low sodium food and LOTS and LOTS of running...

i will post beginning and ending pictures next Saturday

Biggest Loser

So last week was the first official weigh in for our Biggest Loser, and I found out that I had lost the biggest percentage out of all of our group! Talk about a motivator for this week... well unfortunately I was not able to loose as much as I did this week, but I was still able to go down 1.907% which I will take after being a rough week emotionally, physically and mentally.... so until next week! I'm on my way to loose my goal 23% of my total body weight - I'm at 5.01% this far and we have 20 more weeks (that sounds like a lot at this point - eek!)

I'm excited to see the results of our group...

Time to Brush off the Scale - Literally

So I have some of the most awesome, amazing, fun friends that a girl could ask for... and some of those amazing friends that I have and I are doing our own biggest loser competition. We are all starting tonight (which is the premier of the new Biggest Loser season) and then sending our weight to our mutual friend Ashley and she is keeping track of all of the weight for us and how much we have lost...

So with that being said - I know that tub-a-lub could loose some lbs... and it was time to weigh in tonight and I went to rescue my scale from the garage (where its been for about a year and a half) and had to dust/clean it up with a clorox wipe (here's proof of the nastiness).

I brought it upstairs and stepped on the scale... well the scale said Lo... and I'm pretty sure it wasn't referring to my weight. So i let the little guy warm up and to see if would work better... sure enough it did.... so I stepped on the scale and it weighed me in KiloGrams.. and let me tell you the number is MUCH smaller in KG than LBS... so i finally stepped on because the 3rd time is the charm and I stepped on the scale and got my starting weight.. and if you thought I was going to post my weight on here - YOURE NUTS! but I will let you know how much I lost every week or my percentage.

So will you please help me in my weight loss effort - this is going on until June 12th:)