Community Hope Center 5K

Several of my husband's co-workers recently competed in a Biggest Loser type competition. Over the course of 12 weeks, the participating employees lost a combined total of 169 pounds!! My sister lost 20 of those pounds - she has definitely found her groove :)  Additionally, I think we can say she has become a runner.  Last Saturday some of the employees participated in the Community Hope Center 5K to celebrate their accomplishment.

Pre-race family (and friend) photo. Guess which one is my husband :)

For those of you who like to play "Where's Anna's Husband?" For the record he is not #8 in the middle of the picture - that guy is 72 and placed 9th overall...you go, dude!!

This was a tough race for my husband. He had a cold with a cough that made sleep pretty difficult. Although he has been getting up every day to go walking with our niece, he hasn't been running as much this spring. I think that is about to change for both of us. As much as I want to take pictures and cheer, I don't want to be on the sidelines.

Looking good - I can really tell how much weight she has lost :)

And down the stretch they come...

My niece and her friend ended up coming in first and second in their age group :)  The girls purposely held hands as they crossed the finish line because they wanted to "tie"yet the official times showed more than a 10 second difference.

This was my sister's second 5K that she has been able to run the whole way. I don't remember her exact times, but in March she ran a 5K in 38+ minutes and this race she ran 5K in 35+ minutes - shattered her PR!

My Facebook challenge group has started a set of  four weekly challenges. The first week the challenge is to drink 100 oz.of water per day and to lose 1/2 a pound. I almost exclusively drink water so I thought it would super easy. I have been surprised by how much of a conscious effort I have had to make to drink the full amount. I drink a couple of glasses before work. At work, I normally drink most of a 16 oz. bottle of water in the morning and most of a second 16 oz. bottle in the afternoon. To get in 100 oz. I have had to finish both the morning and afternoon bottles and add in a third. Then when I get home I drink a couple more glasses of water. I try to finish well before bedtime - and I think you know why :)  I keep two 48 oz. bottles of water in the fridge and last night my husband poured me a glass of water from the "wrong" bottle. I ended up "having" to drink extra water because I just couldn't leave the bottle I normally have to finish with water in it. That's not obsessive, is it?

Several of us, in the challenge group have been struggling with our food. I have noticed this week that the water drinking has made me want to eat better too. I am actually been trying to reacquaint myself with MyFitnessStranger -  "the app formerly known as MyFitnessPal."  I have done well during the day, but the evenings still need work. However, it is a big step in the right direction. I was eating out and snacking (and not the good for me kind of snacks) way to much during the day.

I am not saying that drinking a 100 oz of water a day for three days has fixed everything, but I feel like I am doing something productive and it puts me in a more positive frame of mind.  In turn that makes me want to eat better. Who in the dumps thinks "oh hey I feel like eating better"? Having a little something to be proud of can be the catalyst for gaining confidence to do more.

I can confirm the "snowball effect" is real. I have noticed it when I clean house. If I just plan to spend 15 minutes cleaning, it almost ends up being longer. Once this is clean, I want to clean that. Now that I am consciously drinking water I "want" to eat better and eating better makes me think about exercise. I am going to finish out this week focusing on the water and working on getting my eating in check. Then next week's challenge is to get 30 minutes of activity a day. There will be walking :)

This week I discovered a new deli in a local grocery store. I was intrigued by a kale and Brussels Sprout salad. I don't think I had ever had kale before and the salad did look delicious. The salad had a little viniagrette, parmesan cheese and sliced almonds. It was good. While at the deli counter I noticed butternut squash/goat cheese lasagna. Last Thanksgiving I made a butternut squash lasagna that I loved, so I immediately wanted to try this one. It was very tasty although I am a little on the fence about goat cheese.

It was the type of meal that would give my husband a stroke if he saw it on his plate. It did remind me that this is no reason I can't prepare foods that I love (he hates) and bring them to work for my lunches. 

 

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My husband drew the names last night for the blogiversary giveaway....

Congratulations to the Winners!

Prize # 1 - One Crazy Penguin

Prize #2 - Desiree - Finding the Skinny Geek Within

We will be in touch about getting your prizes to you :) 

Thank you everyone for all your support and encouragement!. Your comments over the past year have made all the difference in me continuing to work toward my goal. 

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