Non-Scale Victories #6

Non-Scale Victories Linkup # 6! 

Too many of us base our success just on the number we see on the scale, but there is so much more to it! All the little changes we make are helping us make a healthier lifestyle. Whether you lost weight this week or not, let's celebrate your non-scale victories! So whether you said no to that birthday cake in the office, ran a 5k, or tracked your food every day this week. . . it is time to celebrate!

My non-scale victory for the week- Not throwing in the towel! 

I don't have too many NSVs to share this week, but the old KTJ would have spiraled out of control after going so off- plan this past weekend. I needed to take a break from the scale and I'm glad I did and that I didn't pressure myself to weigh in. I know going to the meetings is good for me and I won't be making it a habit to not weigh in, but I've learned a lot about myself the past few days. 

Honestly, in all the years that I've tried "dieting" I would easily take little breaks and eat bad and then just let it get out of control. Instead, I had my cheats, accepted it, and got back on track. 

I know I've kind of repeated this same sort of thought process over and over, or maybe it just seems that way to me, but I can see a change in myself. I'm proud of myself for not giving up. I'm tired of giving up, I won't be starting over! 

So What are your Non-Scale Victories for the Week?

<p align="center"> <a href="http://www.ktjweighingin.com/"><img src="http://i1191.photobucket.com/albums/z468/suit1/nonscalebutton_zps97f0dc58.png" alt="button" width="277" height="314" /></a></p>

How to participate:

Please follow your co-hosts, Lex over at lifebylex.com and me :)

Write a post about your Non-Scale Victories for the week

Copy and paste the HTML code in your post

(When you are in the compose screen, click the HTML button on the left to switch to HTML view.  Copy and paste the code from the button.  Then click the COMPOSE view again to see things like normal)

Visit as many posts as you can and offer encouragement and help celebrate everyone's NSVs

Skinny Banana Cream Pie Cups

I have a treat for you all today! Literally! 

Occasionally I post recipes that I've enjoyed to share with you all. But, I'm not a creative cook so they all are my attempts at recipes I find. Hopefully over time I will develop more (ok, let's try any) cooking skills, until then I will occasionally post tasty, on plan, recipes that I've enjoyed. 

An amazing blog I stumbled upon awhile ago looking for great recipes is ABpetite. Seriously, check it out! I'm so happy that Ashlee is a new blogger friend and I'm so excited that she agreed to share a recipe with me today! 

So, take it away Ashlee! 

Blog // Facebook // Twitter

Hey Ya'll I am Ashlee and I blog over at a little blog I call ABpetite! I am so extremely THRILLED to be here. I love and adore KTJ and her great blog. I look up to her so much. Thanks Katie for this great opportunity!

Katie asked me to give you guys a yummy recipe and I thought this one might do the trick.

Banana Cream Pie Cups anyone? What if they were SKINNY Banana Cream Pie Cups by just switching a few ingredients. I know you guys probably have seen the recipe for these on the back of the Nilla Waffers box now you can make it. AND make it skinny.

You down? Awesome well let me tell ya how to make these bad boys.

_________________________

Servings: 12

Serving Size: 1 cup

Calories: 127

Fat: 2.1 g

Carbs: 28 g

Fiber: 1.3 g

Protein: 1 g

Points +: 4

Old Points: 2

__________________________

 Needed:
2 boxes {small} fat free vanilla instant pudding {3.4 ounces}
1 8 ounce tub of fat free whip cream
48 low fat Nilla Waffers
4 medium bananas {cut}

Create:
Make pudding as directed on package with Skim milk. After pudding is made place 4 cookies in each cup. Layer 2 tablespoons of pudding, then 1 tablespoons of whip cream, 2 tablespoons pudding, and 1 tablespoon of whip cream in each cup. Top with slices of bananas. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours before serving. {The longer the better so the cookies get softened}. One other tip if you are waiting awhile before eating don't cut and place bananas on top until right before so they don't brown.

Looks amazing, right!? Trust me, her recipes don't disappoint! Go over and say hi to Ashlee and let her know that you found her from this post :) I know you all will love her!

Let us know if you are giving this treat a try!

What is your favorite skinny recipe?

Recovering from a Slip Up

One of my favorite things about blogging is that you can really see how you are not alone in so many thoughts and feelings. After my not so great eating weekend I was touched by all the great support I received in the comments and also relieved to see that it is common and an experience shared by so many of us. So, I thought I'd share some tips I like about how to get back on track!

By far one of my favorite books I've read so far that is diet related is "Finally Thin" by Kim Bensen. I found it so beneficial that I even gave a copy away. I enjoy it because it has a lot of wisdom and I feel like I can relate to the author's story. Kim Bensen lost over 200 pounds in about 2 years and has kept it off over a decade. For those of us with a lot of weight to lose this is a long process and I find myself referring to many chapters in her book occasionally when I feel my motivation slipping.

So I made a mistake this weekend. It is fine. I'm human. The important thing is that I can't proceed with an "all or nothing" attitude anymore. When I have a slip up I just need to recover and move on. It's about learning to get back on track. I can't throw away the whole day/week just because I've made a bad food choice. 

The 5 steps:

1). Stop! Clean the House! Throw away anything that isn't on plan. "Stop the madness! Remember, it's either waste or waist! Which do you want?"

2). Plan! Plan! Plan! Preplan your next few meals. Take control over your meal plan again. I personally often find that if I have a bad dinner that if I can plan on "on-plan" set of meals for the next day then I'm ok. Start with breakfast, focus on one meal at a time and get back on track :)

3). Prepare. Go to the store and restock your house, cut up your fruits and vegetables so they are easy to grab, portion out your snacks, buy a new food journal, etc. 

4). Ask for help. This is often a difficult one for me. It is ok to admit that you need help. Tell your accountability buddy, friend, family member that you need a little help to get back in control. Maybe even ask for people to do more non-food related activities with you instead of always going out to dinner.

5). Do it! You can get the diet honeymoon phase again, just clean your house, plan, prepare, and ask for a little help. Stick to it for several days and you'll be back! Just do it! 

"You have to learn to do this Five-Step Recovery Process, because you will always have to do it. Perfection isn't possible, but long-term weight loss and maintenance are. Every person who loses a lot of weight and maintains it has to regroup from time to time and find fresh motivation."

Monday back on the plan has worked for me! I have my meals planned for tomorrow and have a session with the trainer. Thanks to the help from all my readers giving me the support and the extra push to be ok with my mistakes and keep going has really helped! Thank you! I'm feeling better and more motivated already. Let's do this!

What tips do you have for getting back on track after you've fallen off the wagon?

Weekly Weigh In- 2/24/23

First, in good news, congratulations to Meagan on winning the book Blog, inc.

Contrary to the post title, I have not weighed in. Each Sunday I normally attend a Weight Watcher's meeting where I get my official weight for the week and, so far, by each Monday I've had a post saying my gain/loss and what my plans are for the week ahead. But, this week I didn't go to my meeting.

I didn't go this week not because of a perceived gain, my last check at my home scale on Saturday I was actually down, but this weekend has been very hectic and busy. Also, I just haven't been in a good place mentally.

Have you ever felt that if you saw that gain that you might spiral out of control? That is sort of how I've felt. This whole week I've been trying to fight the urge to eat badly. So far while on Weight Watchers I haven't really had an issue sticking to my points or allowing for the occasional splurge, but this week was different. I've noticed that I've been feeling very stressed this past week, for a number of reasons, and in return I've wanted to eat everything in sight.

It would be easy for me to give you the loss total that I saw on Saturday and walk away from this post. Leave it all sunshine and rainbows and give the impression that every week is wonderful, but that isn't real life. With this blog I've committed to being honest with myself. I've disclosed my biggest gains and losses. To have posted the unofficial loss seen on my scale would be a lie of omission perhaps. Because the truth is I saw the loss in the morning but stressed and anxious about many things in my life I went out to lunch. At lunch I had a healthy grilled chicken an on plan meal. As the day progressed I felt that calling to "cheat.' During the day I decided that I wasn't going to weigh in. Then I went out and had a cheeseburger for dinner, yes sue me.

I can't say that my stress disappeared after my food indiscretions, it didn't, but I just felt like I needed a break. I didn't want to see the scale. I didn't want to think about numbers, calories, points. . . .

I enjoyed my dinner. Then I went to see a musical and I had a good time. Then I slept in. I missed my meeting, the first meeting I've missed in months. Then I celebrated my niece's birthday with pizza and a cupcake. It appeared that I lost all willpower. My only accomplishment for the weekend was not giving into the call of Diet Coke, which I now haven't had in almost 3 months.

The weekend hiatus is not ideal. At first I felt annoyed with myself. It would appear that I've made such little progress by allowing myself to go off the deep end, but part of me feels like I needed to. With anything in life, what matters most is what you've learned from mistakes. 

What I've learned is that I need to recommit. It is one thing to say things and another to actually do. I am making such progress on the fitness end. I do feel motivated by all the things I never could have imagined I'd be able to do, but I need to work more again now on my food plans. 

I believe I have changed, despite a bad weekend. I'm ready to keep changing. I'm ready to put whatever negative thoughts that have held me back this past week away and to somehow find it in me to get back to that highly motivated state. I know I can. I'm happy with myself and that is all that matters. 

And really, how could I not be happy? Besides eating, I did have a great weekend! The Pens even won!

Pic from Sunday night's game I attended. The Pens beat the Tampa Bay Lightening 5-3!

How did you do this week?

Why I walked in the door...

I'm completely blown away by the fact that my niece will be 4 years old next week. I'm not a mother yet and she is my first niece and goddaughter. She is the smartest, sweetest little girl and I tell people that she is my BFF. I love spending time with her and sometimes it is difficult to remember life before her in it. It is just crazy to me that she is almost 4 already!

I remember the day my brother and sister-in-law shared that they were expecting. I was so excited! As soon as they found out she was a girl I went shopping with my sister-in-law and we picked out all these adorable baby girl clothes! It really was such an exciting time waiting for her to arrive.

During that time, my mother decided that she wanted to lose weight. She was going to be a grandmother for the first time and that was big motivation to get fit. I felt similarly thinking I want to be able to run around with all my future nieces and nephews and be healthy and all that jazz. Together we joined Weight Watchers and attended meetings. I know I lost a few pounds and at the time it seemed like we had gone a long time, but looking back we didn't finish a whole Weight Watcher's booklet. The weigh in booklets you get are for 16 weeks. That means that we didn't even commit for 4 months.

Sometimes I feel ashamed of all my past weight loss failures. I joined Weight Watchers for the first time while I was a Freshman in high school. I think I lost like 25 pounds or something, but again I didn't last long. I told myself I'd lose the weight before college and that never happened. Instead I gained at college, as many do. Then, I joined before my niece was born. That was 4 years ago! In between those experiences I tried other various diets. Each time I did experience weight loss, but in the end I'd fall off the wagon.

It makes me sad that the motivation of going to college, or more importantly the growth of my family, wasn't enough to have my brain click and realize that it isn't a "I want to lose weight thing" it is a "I NEED to lose weight thing."

My weight gain reached its peak this past summer. In June I graduated from law school. During the 3 years of law school I just packed on the pounds. The suit I bought my first year didn't button in my last. It was obvious that I was gaining weight, but I was stressed, tired, overwhelmed. . . every other excuse and I didn't change. Sitting all day in class and then studying all night isn't the best scenario for weight loss. After graduating, I had a grueling 2 months of studying for the Bar Exam. During that time it seemed like I was living off Diet Coke and restaurant take-outs. Bad news.

The Bar Exam was at the end of July and then I almost immediately went on vacation with my family. Nothing like going to the beach and putting on a bathing suit to have reality slap you in the face!

It was time. My sister and I decided that we needed to do something. We decided that when I returned from vacation that we would join Weight Watchers. My dad actually started this all by trying the Weight Watchers for Men online last February. I watched him make a lot of great changes, but while I was in school I was just too stressed/busy/overwhelmed to focus on anything new. And actually when you are studying for the Bar Exam we were told to not make any lifestyle changes. They even said if you want to quit smoking or go on a diet do it after the exam! It is just one of those things that is huge and actually probably the most stressful experience of my life!

law school graduation

So, at the end of the Summer I walked in the door of the local Weight Watchers. I did it because I am finally so tired and frustrated with what I've become. I'm tired of always being the fat girl. I don't want my weight to be the first thing people notice when they meet me. I don't want to be the funny, fat girl anymore. I'm SO much more than that! I didn't walk in the door of that first meeting to look good for some event, for being something different for someone else. . . I walked through the door for me. You have to need the change yourself is what I'm learning and I'm ready!

It has been far from easy. My weight loss seems slow going and I've had ups and downs, but I finished not only my first full Weight Watcher's booklet, I'm getting close to finishing the second. What is different this time is that I don't have doubts that I won't be successful. It may take a really long time, but I will get there. I can't quit this time. I need to do this, once and for all, for me!

Oh and my whole family is doing pretty well! With my 35 pound weight loss to date my immediate family has lost a total of approximately 225 pounds!!! Seriously, we've lost an obese person. Kind of sad that we got to that point, but amazing that we are making a serious change! And you can too!

What made you decide to lose the weight? If you've dieted in the past, what is different this time?

Non-Scale Victories #5

Non-Scale Victories Linkup # 5! 

Too many of us base our success just on the number we see on the scale, but there is so much more to it! All the little changes we make are helping us make a healthier lifestyle. Whether you lost weight this week or not, let's celebrate your non-scale victories! So whether you said no to that birthday cake in the office, ran a 5k, or tracked your food every day this week. . . it is time to celebrate!

If you are new to my blog, the linkup was inspired by one of my favorite diet related quotes from the book "Finally Thin" by Kim Bensen:

"The scale can't measure your will, your drive, how much time you put into your food plan, or how many temptations you said no to. It can't tell how many old habits you broke or new, healthier habits you started. It doesn't know the effort you put in at the gym , and it doesn't care. It won't  heap praise on you because you chose the stairs over the elevator or know that you passed on a slice of a colleague's birthday cake even though you wanted it with all your heart. 

Most of all, the scale doesn't have any idea how hard you're trying, or how many times you overcame a slip and got back on track when you felt like giving it all up together. Only you know that."

Overall I feel like I need to be doing better with my food choices this week, but I am very proud of how I resisted foods last Thursday on Valentine's day. My office has had an assortment of left over candies and cupcakes waiting in the kitchen and so I've just been avoiding it. I don't want to be tempted. The email that went around announcing all the treats in the kitchen was enticing, but it is so not worth it. 

On the fitness front, I learned what an oblique is. Now, maybe that made you laugh, but my knowledge of anatomy is very limited. My trainer told me we were going to do an exercise for the obliques and my response was "Say what?" Seems like a funny word, but in case you didn't know like me the obliques are your side muscles. Well, I must have done something right during that workout because man my obliques are sore. 

I'm doing so well on the fitness front, but I really need to buckle down on my food. However, I'll celebrate my little victories of not giving in to the various left over holiday treats this week. 

So What are your Non-Scale Victories for the Week?

<p align="center"> <a href="http://www.ktjweighingin.com/"><img src="http://i1191.photobucket.com/albums/z468/suit1/nonscalebutton_zps97f0dc58.png" alt="button" width="277" height="314" /></a></p>

How to participate:

Please follow your co-hosts, Lex over at lifebylex.com and me :)

Write a post about your Non-Scale Victories for the week

Copy and paste the HTML code in your post

(When you are in the compose screen, click the HTML button on the left to switch to HTML view.  Copy and paste the code from the button.  Then click the COMPOSE view again to see things like normal)

Visit as many posts as you can and offer encouragement and help celebrate everyone's NSVs

Blog Friends

First, if you haven't entered the giveaway yet you can do so here :)

I had a lot of great feedback regarding blogging advice from yesterday's post and the majority of the advice was to remember to stay true to yourself. I completely agree! When writing a blog you are doing it for yourself and you have to keep that in mind. So being genuine and writing what you want is important, after all it is your blog!

I know when I write on here I'm being open and honest and what you see is what you get. You can go ahead and ask Steph or Lex about that one as I was able to meet them finally! Honestly, it was so great meeting blog friends and being able to talk face to face and not just through emails and comments.

They are both amazing girls and bloggers and I hope we can get together again soon! It was really interesting that we were meeting for the first time, but we had been talking online so I felt like I already knew them. If you are a local blogger send me an email and maybe you can make the next get together :)

I know I posted yesterday about some blogging things I've learned, but I focused more on growing a blog. A major thing that I've learned blogging and really love the most is the connections I've made. The blog world really has some wonderfully interesting and amazing people and I'm loving the bonds I'm forming.

What do you love most about having a blog?

I know we weren't able to meet, maybe someday! But, until then go over and meet these lovely ladies:

Blog | Twitter | Pinterest | Facebook

Hey everyone!! My name is Kim, and I'd love for you to come visit me over at my little corner of the Internet, Latte and a Prayer. I'm a twenty-something Wisconsin girl, law student, and newlywed who loves nail polish, crafting, reading, and (as you can tell from my blog title) coffee. I love sharing recipes and DIY projects, rambling about school and my (currently long distance) marriage, and just life in general. My husband and I also have a 10 month old corgi puppy named Tucker who frequently appears in my blog posts, whether I intend him to or not. :) If you're a huge geek/fan of Harry Potter like I am, I also co-host a weekly HP linkup! My favorite part of blogging is meeting and getting to know other bloggers, so I hope you'll stop by and say hi!

Blog

Hi! I'm Ann and I blog over at The Journey To Get ME Back. My blog is about my journey through weight loss, getting healthy and being happier. Hoping to become a better wife, better mom and a better me!

Blog | Twitter | Facebook

I'm Brittany from The Domestic Geek blog, where I blog about life and video games. I'm a stay-at-home mom and I go to school online, of course in my spare time I'm always trying to play some video games (my current favorite is Borderlands 2) or I try to catch up on some train wreck reality T.V. Shows, I hope you check out my blog! I have chubby baby pictures and imaginary cookies! 

Blog | Twitter | Pinterest | Instagram | Facebook

Last, but not least, is an amazing blogger and friend! Rebekah blogs over at All That Glitters. She is a pharmacy student by day and blogs about her life as a 20something girl. Some of her favorite things include sports (the Yankees & the Cowboys), the South, fashion, beauty, Dallas Texas, shopping and organizing. Go check out her blog and say hi! 

From one new blogger to another

So, I've been blogging now for what, 15 seconds? That makes me qualified to offer some advice, right?

No, in all honesty I wanted to take a few minutes to go over some of the blogging related things I've learned so far. For the record, I started a blog at the end of November. I wrote some posts, but kept it all relatively anonymous and was still in a phase of not being really sure if I was a blogger. I didn't really start "blogging" for real I'd say until I moved my blog over to blogger.

KTJ Weighing In thus was really born, as I consider it, on January 1, 2013. Since then I've been so fortunate to make so many new friends!

What started this post was that I've received a few emails asking about how I've grown my blog in a relatively short amount of time and if I would be willing to share what I've learned. I actually had a nice little gchat conversation with a fellow new blogger McKenzie over at Chasing Happy the other day, she is actually in the process of moving her blog so it is still a work in progress, but go over and say hi! She was so sweet and we had a great blog related talk. But our talk really got me thinking about what I've learned so far about this whole blogging thing.

I'm relatively new here also and I'm happy to share what I know with you all. You can take it or leave it, no guarantee that I'm right about anything, only my opinions :)

A few things I've learned:

1.) I think I may be part robot. Yes, as strange as this sounds. But, I can never get those captcha codes on a first try. It can be so frustrating! Also, I read a lot of blogs from my iPhone and if you try to do those captcha codes with autocorrect, yeah it isn't happening. Sure, maybe there are easier ways and I'm just too technologically challenged to figure them out, but the codes can be frustrating in my opinion. I may have written a thoughtful comment, but after I can't get the code to work I give up and move on. There are only so many hours in the day. Ultimately each blogger needs to pick the comment security that you feel best, but if you want to turn off the code all you have to do is go to your blogs "settings" and select "posts and comments" then just scroll down and where it says "image verification" select "no" in the drop down menu.

2.) I think it is important to read other blogs and leave thoughtful comments. Ultimately if you want to connect with people then you need to do just that, go connect with other bloggers. Search for blogs written on a similar topic and if you enjoy a post then comment! I know when people comment on my blog I respond to the comments and I do my best to go back and check out the other person's blog also. It is a great way to meet new people and connect. Of course, if your email isn't linked it makes it more difficult for people to reply and share information with you. Check out this tutorial to see how you can make sure that your email is linked.

3.) There are thousands, if not millions, of blogs on the internet so sponsoring is a great option for getting your blog out there. Obviously sponsoring blogs generally requires money. You may pay anything from $1-$100+ depending on the size of the blog and what the blogger has to offer. I've seen some people debate about this and whether or not is good to sponsor, if you are "buying" followers, etc., but honestly it is advertising. It is a great way to get your name out there and to invite others to come over and look at your blog. Whether or not they stay is up to whether or not they enjoy your content and what you have to offer. It is all subjective as to why we read blogs, but I do sponsor other blogs and I do credit the sponsorships I've had with getting traffic to my blog. Think about it, how do you find blogs most of time?

4.) What to look for when sponsoring a blog? Yes, so this one was a question and not a statement, but I will be honest, I feel like I over sponsored, if that is even possible, a little bit. You really like a blogger and you want to support them and buy a spot for your little button. I've had great and not so great experiences and over the past few weeks looking at my traffic sources I've noticed some patterns. In my opinion, in looking at what blogs you should sponsor I would look first at the comments. Is there a lot of interaction? In my opinion, if you see people interacting a lot then it is a pretty good indication that the blog is getting a decent amount of visits and engaging readers on the page long enough to read through posts. I feel like when I started picking blogs to sponsor I looked at the number of followers first, but really you don't know if the followers came from giveaways or what. Not that doing giveaways are bad, by any means as I participate in those too and it's another way to bring people to your blog, but hopefully they will stay and interact! I've had the most success, of course only in about 7 weeks of observations, that blogs that had both a decent following and signs of interaction have created the most traffic on my blog. Also, look at the price and what is being offered, think about what you are looking to get out of it, look at how many twitter followers, etc, so you can see how many potential people could be notified that your blog exists. If you have questions I'd say its a good idea to contact the blogger for more info if you have any questions.

5.) Just because your blog grows, that doesn't mean that you need to accept sponsors of your own. I think it is easy to get caught up in the excitement of having new followers and making new friends. You read all these blog posts about how you can make money and all these things, but really if you make the decision to monetize your blog there is A LOT you should consider. Essentially, your blog is then like a business and money earned could have tax ramifications, for example. I can't advise anyone on what you should do when monetizing a blog, but in my personal experience I think the excitement got to me, but it is ok to take time to think about what you want to do. You can take as much time or as little time in developing your blog into whatever you'd like, it is your blog after all! With that I've actually decided to take more time to think about the direction I'd like my blog to go in. I'm writing to connect with others and to have weight loss accountability. I'm not saying that I won't ever have sponsors again in the future, but right now I'm taking some time to develop my ideas more. I do have some amazing sponsors this month though and they have all been wonderful and brave in sponsoring me for my first month so check them out on my sidebar and share some love!

Did you find this helpful? If you google blogging tips you will find a wealth of information from people suggesting what topics you should consider, your tone, and all that great jazz, but I thought I'd share some information I've learned and based on questions I've received and most seem to be around how I've grown as a personal blog. If people like the information shared then I can always add more, but I didn't want to write a novel!

I'm more than happy to share what I've learned and if you have questions you can always feel free to email me at ktjweighingin(at)gmail(dot)com and I'll try to help if I can, keeping in mind I am new to this all also :) It is all a learning process!

Some bloggers who have been around for awhile actually offer consultation services, like Erin and Living in Yellow. You can find info about her consultation program here. So that is another possible option if you want some extra tips.

Ok, well maybe we should leave it to some professional bloggers! Giveaway time! 

You can enter to win Blog, Inc.! This book has been recommended for new and experienced bloggers alike! There is no requirement to enter, but you can earn extra entries. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

*All winners will be verified

*Participants must be located within the continental United States and be 18 years or older. No purchase necessary.

*Winner will be contacted via email within 48 hours after the giveaway ends. If no response is received within 48 hours a new winner will be chosen. I am not responsible for emails that go to spam. 

*For full terms and conditions please review the "Terms and Conditions" above on Raffelcopter

Running for Beginners

So, you want to be a runner?

Well, me too. I'm a runner wannabe right now, maybe. I don't think I could run very far or for very long though at the moment. Everyone starts somewhere and for most of us we start off by walking more and that's ok. Walking is a great place to start.

I know I am trying to walk more and workout on my elliptical and I will gradually work up to running and plan on starting the Couch25k program when it is warmer out.

I've been using my elliptical more and more and then a couple weeks ago now my right foot would be really sore afterwards. I just shrugged it off and attributed it to me being out of shape, but the pain got worse. After my first session with the personal trainer I woke the next morning and could barely put any weight on my right foot. My heel is where I had the most problem, it really hurt! After google diagnosing myself and seeing a doctor I learned that I had Plantar Fasciitis. Let me tell you, it isn't fun.

Basically, the plantar fasciitis makes me have a lot of heel pain. It can be caused by a variety of factors, but being overweight is a big one. I had pain and I ignored it and then I suddenly had all this pain. This is why it is so important to consult a doctor before you change diet and exercise plans. If you aren't careful you can hurt yourself. Now, luckily my case isn't a serious injury and it will go away and the reoccurrence of the problem will decrease as I lose weight, but it could have potentially been avoided.

How you ask? First, by wearing appropriate shoes when working out.

Ok, so you want to be a runner? Let's start at the very basics. Before we even master running at all, let's start with what we need to run. A good place to start is with the shoes.

Honestly, I gave no thought to what sort of shoes I should have. In the past I would just go to a sneaker outlet or something and grab a pair in my size and probably put a lot of emphasis on the appearance of the shoe. I gave no other real thought to it. 

Truth is, I've learned that if I am going to start walking, and eventually running, I should go to a running/walking shoe store and be fitted. When I was first told this my "fat girl brain" kicked in and I immediately thought to myself, "I can't go there. I can't be a fat girl walking into a running store." That is so completely ridiculous. I was worried thinking to myself that I'd be judged by all the runners walking in there when clearly I don't look like a runner, but you know what. . . everyone starts somewhere!

I went to a local runner/walker shoe store, you can probably find one in your area by googling it. I walked in and was immediately greeted and asked what I was interested in. I explained that I was in the process of losing weight and increasing my activity level and then the employee explained to me the process for fitting me for a shoe.

When you are fitted the store employee should watch you walk naturally. He/she judges your gait and see how your feet are. When I was observed I learned that my arches are apparently week and I need some extra support there. Immediately that apparently narrowed down my shoe selection. Then, my foot was sized and I learned that my one foot is slightly bigger than the other, apparently very common. After observing my natural walk and then sizing my foot the employee came back with 2 selections that he felt were best for me. 

I tried on the first pair and then he had me walk on the treadmill. While walking on the treadmill, he observed my walk. We then repeated the process walking on the treadmill for the second pair. Based on talking with me about how each pair felt and by observing me walk we settled on a pair that was best for me. The proper fit and added arch support that I apparently need should really help with my foot pain and hopefully prevent knee, hip, and back problems. 

If you've been concerned about going to a running store I highly recommend going. My experience showed me that the employees are running enthusiasts and are more than happy to help someone who is new to the sport. Even if you are just interested in walking that is a great place to start. I never realized the importance of having the right pair of shoes for you and the impact it could have. 

Have you been fitted for running shoes, what did you think about your experience? Are you happy with your running shoes? 

Do you have any advice for new runners/walkers?

Weekly Weigh In- 2/17/13

Well, I didn't have much of a loss this week, but it was a LOSS!

What can I expect really, I've been a little crazy the 2 weeks prior having a gain of 4.2 then a loss of 4.4. I'm convinced my body is a little confused with some of the changes. Also, I admit that the lent pizza on Friday night probably did nothing to help a weight loss for the week. Pizza is apparently a food I cannot be trusted with. I'm always looking for ways to lighten up pizza, anyone have any diet friendly pizza options they can share?

Ok, well let's get to it:

This week's stats:

This week's loss = -.4 lb

Total loss= - 35 lb

Normally, I'd be pretty bummed about such a small loss, even though I'm a bit of a hypocrite because I'm the first person to tell everyone else that a loss is a loss. . . and yes that is true, losing is better than gaining. At least the scale is going in the correct direction. But, let's face it, we all get a little disappointed with the small losses.

After a week of tracking and being good, the majority of the time :), I think it is natural to get a little down with these smaller losses. However, I'm ok with it. Honestly, I had a huge gain and then a huge loss and I am in an adjustment period. I'm in the process of trying new things and regardless of the amount of weight lost I am feeling better about myself. I feel a little healthier.

Seriously, on Thursday I did a total of 74 push-ups (girly ones, but still) total during my workout. Sure they were done in increments, but 3 weeks ago I could do like 6 and with totally bad form. Little victories, I'm taking them! I've now lost a total of 35 pounds and that is pretty awesome!

Now I just need to get my goal for February back on track!

Finally, I'm so appreciative of all the support I've received from everyone who is following along! I hope I can continue to support you all as well. Accountability Buddies have been emailed out, so if you signed up be sure to check :) If you are a new reader or you've now decided that you'd like to have an accountability buddy, you can email me at ktjweighingin(at)gmail(dot)com and I will see if I can find you a buddy! You can also join my facebook group for added support.

How was your week?

Week 7 = - 4 lbs

Total challenge loss = -7.8 lbs

A Lucky Child

I love memoirs and I've been so inspired by the book "A Lucky Child" that I wanted to share it with you all today.

There are so many times that I complain about one thing or another. I think it is probably natural, we all have bad days. When I think things are bad I try to remind myself that others have it worse, but in the moment it is difficult to often have that perspective. Then it seems that I am reminded by someone else's personal story about just how lucky I really am.

I had the honor of meeting Thomas Buergenthal in June. Many people probably don't know who he is, but he was a Judge on the International Court of Justice. He obviously had a very successful legal career being a world renown international lawyer, but what he overcame to get to that place is what is really amazing. 

What is so unique about Thomas Buergenthal is that he was a child, only 10 years old, when he survived Auschwitz. He spent his childhood in concentration camps. Before the beginning of World War II his mother had gone to a fortune teller. The woman told his mother that she had a son and that he was a "lucky child." That information kept hope alive in his mother after they were separated and it motivated her to search far and wide until she found her son and reunited with him after the war. 

But how did a child survive? During a selection process he approached a guard and informed the guard that he could work. After this statement he was spared and permitted to work. Was it all luck? There are so many other examples that he shared of occasions where his life was spared and he was left to wonder if it was from his quick thinking, his resolve, or was he just simply lucky. 

I received his memoir as a gift from my Aunt after meeting him. I hadn't taken the time to read it though until this week and so much of it is on my mind. I'm blown away by the courage and strength a child possessed, but also heartbroken by all the tragedies so many faced. 

He encouraged us law students to pursue a career in law and practice in an area where we have passion. To remember our moral compass and to strive to make a difference. 

He even signed the book my Aunt got me wishing me the best of luck "saving the world"

Now I may not be saving the world or anything, but I do hope (as do many I'm sure) that I will be able to make a difference in someone's life at some point. 

I know this post is a little different from my norm, but I feel like I get so down about little things and I needed this reality check. People have been through MUCH worse and have come out the other side and done absolutely remarkable things. Thomas Buergenthal survived and went on to spend his life fighting genocide around the world, absolutely amazing. 

If I am ever going through a difficult time I hope I can remember the wisdom from his memoir and from the information he shared in his speech. No matter how bad life gets, it is possible to survive. Not only survive, but to do something remarkable. 

If you have any interest in history or like memoirs or even you are just looking to be inspired, I highly recommend this memoir. 

Non-Scale Victories Linkup and Valentine's Day!

I will get to the Non-scale victories, but first I want to wish all my lovely blogging friends a happy Valentine's Day!

I'm single, but I don't hate on the holiday. I think you can show love for your friends instead! I really appreciate all the blogging friendships I've made in the past almost 2 months and so today you all can be my valentines. Sound good?

Also, if you signed up for an Accountability Buddy I am currently pairing everyone so expect an email with your buddy info sometime this weekend :)

I did participate in The Sweetheart Swap and I was paired with Kari :) We exchanged some VDay gifts and she got me all sorts of fun stuff! I received some classic sweethearts, some m&ms (hey everything in moderation, right?), some strawberry shower gel, and finally some nice red nail polish! Thank you so much Kari!

. . .

Non-Scale Victories Linkup Week 4! 

Too many of us base our success just on the number we see on the scale, but there is so much more to it! All the little changes we make are helping us make a healthier lifestyle. Whether you lost weight this week or not, let's celebrate your non-scale victories! So whether you said no to that birthday cake in the office, ran a 5k, or tracked your food every day this week. . . it is time to celebrate!

My non-scale victory for the week definitely is my workout motivation. 

As I've recently been talking about, I recently started to workout with a personal trainer in a small group 2x a week. I feel like no matter what the scale says this week I am just so proud of myself. I know I already talked about it yesterday here, but I feel like it has been a long time since I've actually felt this sort of accomplishment. Sure, I excelled in school and found a job and all that good stuff and felt accomplishment then, but part of my known personal identity has been rooted in school overachiever mentality maybe and so I expect accomplishments there. I've been surprised by the fitness accomplishments. 

I've been really reflecting on a lot lately and part of me wishes I could go back and talk to my former self and give me this awesome pep talk and let me know that I need to shut my mind down and just do it. It is never easy, but you will never do it if you don't try and when you try you may just surprise yourself. I honestly can't wait to see how much I can do after another 5 sessions! 

So What are your Non-Scale Victories for the Week?

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How to participate:

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Working out: getting there is half the battle

A few people have asked how my experience with the personal trainer is going, so I wanted to dedicate this post to filling you all in!

I just finished my 5th session with the trainer, I go twice a week. Now two and a half weeks in and I'm loving it. I just committed to another 5 sessions (there is a 10% discount if you book 5 sessions at a time).

Dare I say that I love it? Hmm, maybe love is a little strong.

What I do know is that each day that I'm supposed to meet with the trainer I always do not feel like going. I convince myself that I've paid and cannot waste the money so I need to suck it up and get my butt to the gym. However, once I get there I'm in a good mood. Really, getting there is half the battle!

It is so easy to make an excuse for why I can't fit it in or why I'm too tired, but once I get myself there I'm ready to put in my hour and get the work done.

I can say that I LOVE my trainer. She is so motivational and takes so much time going over things and answering questions. Today she took time, even after our hour session ran over, and reviewed my meal plan with me and made several suggestions. I will be giving the suggestions a try and I will update you all on any new food choices if I enjoy them.

So what do I do there? Each session starts with a warm-up with various stretches, some jogging, just a little to get the heart rate going. Then she has circuits for me to complete. It is always a mix of cardio and strength and in the last 5 sessions we haven't been repeating things. Sure I've done push-ups in multiple circuits, but they are always incorporated differently. I never know what to expect and with each circuit she tells me what muscle groups we are focusing on and by the end of all the circuits we've hit just about everything. To gauge the intervals we test my heart rate after everything and make sure that I'm in my range. At the end we finish with a cool-down that is again a variety of stretches.

Some of the things she has me do are really difficult for me. Like the other day for one of the circuits I had to run 15 yards then do 10 girl push-ups, then run 15 yards and do 20 mountain climbers, then run 15 yards and do 20 toe touches (I think that is what they are called- basically crunches by your legs are straight up in the air and laying on your back you reach up to touch your toes). Then after all that I had to run back to where we started. Sure, seeing it in print you may think that it doesn't look that bad, but it was a lot more difficult than it sounded. We repeated it 8 times.

During a circuit sometimes I think "I can't do this!" I get the urge to give up maybe. To ease up because I get all in my head with those negative thoughts, but I've been pushing through. I don't know who originally said it, but like we discussed at the gym the other day:

No cutting corners here :)

No matter how out of shape I feel, how out of breath, slow. . . whatever it is that I feel, by the end of the work out I feel such a great feeling of accomplishment. I'm impressed with the amount of things I actually CAN do. It just takes getting myself there.

I can barely believe that 3 weeks ago I said that I was too fat to go to a gym and now I am really enjoying my workouts with my trainer. It is amazing what we can do when we put ourselves out there and just try. You may just surprise yourself like I have!

What exercises or fitness activities do you do that you would consider "fun"?