The 8 week “Fit By Labor Day” mini-challenge has ended. My weight change?

Zero.

I lost some pounds early on, but gained it all back in Ohio.

My eating habits changes?

Zero.

I still need to drink more water, and have a new weakness to overcome {Vanilla Cherry Dr. Pepper Slurpees…WHO has the will power to resist that?}!

My 5K progress?

Zero.

Well, not exactly zero. I can run longer than a mile now, but only about half a 5K.

Visible difference {sorry for the crappy “after” pictures}?

You be the judge:

But you know what? I’m still going. I’m doing the Wii Fit and I’ve got a new 5K picked out {I just need to register and begin training again}. And if I win the trip to SITScation {winner announced tomorrow!!!!} then I’m also going to do the 30 Day Shred again.

You only fail once you give up.

And just to reinforce that idea here are some of the lyrics to one of my favorite songs:

Get Up – Superchic[k]
I'm not afraid to fall.
It means I climbed up high.
To fall is not to fail.
You fail when you don't try.
Not afraid to fall,
I might just learn to fly and
I will spread these wings of mine.

If i get up I might fall back down again.
So let's get up, come on.
If I get up I might fall back down again.
We get up anyway.

We'll just jump and see, even if it's the 30th time.
We'll just jump and see if we can fly.
I'm not afraid to fall.
I've fallen many times.
They laughed when I fell down.
But I have dared to climb .
I'm not afraid to fall.
I know I'll fall again.
But I can win this in the end.

I know, I know, I’ve been bad about posting about the challenge. It’s no surprise I didn’t update while I was on vacation. But what’s been my excuse since getting back?

I didn’t want to admit how poorly I’ve done.

I did run three times while in Ohio, as promised. But other than that I’ve been a lazy bum. I missed my 5K because I just wasn’t ready {because I didn’t stick to my training plan and because of illnesses}. I’ve been drinking soda {though, not every day or anything like that}. I haven’t been exercising other than a few runs.

I’m pretty disappointed in myself.

But I’m not letting it deter me from going forward. I once heard a running mantra {from here} of “pain is temporary, giving up is forever.” Well, the same is true for failure. Failure is temporary, giving up is forever. I’m not giving up folks. I’ve picked a different 5K to go for in October. And I’m currently on the prowl for a good price on a used Wii fit.

But you know what, and this is where you can be jealous of me, even when I don’t do anything the breastfeeding is doing wonders for my figure. My pre-pregnancy pants are even a wee bit too big on some days. How’s that for progress? This is the last week of the mini-challenge. So I’ll see you on Monday with another update.

As you can probably tell, I’ve totally been procrastinating this post. I could give you some song and dance about being busy with the new site or getting ready to leave for Ohio on Sunday. But the truth is I just don’t want to fess up to my bad behavior this week. When I say “bad behavior” I mean total lack of healthy eating and exercise. And when I say “this week” I mean “for more than a week.” Also? I am the world’s worst vegetarian {pork ribs anyone?}.

I have no idea if I’m still on target with my 5K training because I haven’t run in over a week. Tonight, when Adam gets home, I will run. I will run a nice slow 4mph and I will see how long I can go without stopping. And when I say “stopping” I mean “keeling over and dying.” If I can keep going I will keep going, even if I get bored, even if it’s hard. {And I’ll update this post to let you all know how I did. -update: I did a craptastic job. Half a mile before I hit a wall, freaked out, and gave up. Booo!} And you know what else? I will run while I’m in Ohio. Rain, shine, heat, cold…I am going to run. I’m going to be the freakin’ United States Postal Service of running!

I’m ready to climb back on the Body After Baby wagon. I’m sick of the way my eating and sedentary habits recently have affected my mood. Plus, as much as I love my, new slimming swimsuit*, I don’t want to need a “tummy tamer” panel on my swimwear thankyouverymuch.

I’ll return and report after out trip. And if I didn’t keep my word to run 3 times then I’ll do another giveaway or something. How’s that sound?

*By the way. I got that swimsuit for $10.50 CAD thanks to clearance and SCOP. Not bad, eh? Now I don’t have to keep wearing my maternity swimsuit.

*pant pant pant pant*

I ran…*pant*…one full mile…*pant*…for the first time…*pant pant*…since high school!

No lie. I ran a mile without stopping nor walking! It’s only the second time in my life that I’ve done that. {Yes I realize how pathetic that is.} I’m very proud of myself. I was even more excited when I checked my Nike+ data and saw that I ran the mile in about 11 minutes! 11 minutes! Holy cow! I didn’t know I was that fast! But then Bear reminded me that my Nike+ needs to be recalibrated because it isn’t measuring things quite right. Oh…yeah. I forgot about that. Sooooo I didn’t run my mile in 11 minutes. But you know what, I’m still damn proud of myself! Now I just need to be able to do an additional 2.1 miles and I’ll be ready for my 5K. Can I do it? I guess we’ll see…

Also? My eating is getting cleaned up again. I bet I’ll be eating super well by the time I go to Ohio…the place with the BEST DONUT SHOP IN THE UNIVERSE. Uh-oh. I foresee a problem.

Ohio weather is also miserable in August. It’s going to be hot and humid and I’m not going to have the luxury of an indoor treadmill to run on. But run I will. I guess I’ll just have to get up early to beat the heat.

I’m getting to know my BAB team {GO YELLOW!} through our own private blog. Seems like everybody is doing the 30 Day Shred. And I’m considering doing the strength moves again on my non-running days.

Speaking of running days, today is one of them! I wonder how far I’ll run this time…

You know how “they” say after giving birth a woman has no shame? Yeah…it’s true. I know because Samantha of Mama Notes is hosting a challenge within a challenge and asked for “before” pics. And I obliged. OK…so it’s not a bikini…but close enough! Eee gads! What was I thinking?!

About 3 years ago (shortly before getting married) I looked like this:

Wow. I’m not sure what is more amazing…how much I’ve changed in 3 years or that I posted it for the whole world to see. Truth is, my feelings about my body are mixed. On the one hand I love my body. I love her for all she has done for me (like incubating and birthing my Lovey-Girl!). I love her for her strength and beauty. On the other hand I can’t honestly say I wouldn’t prefer to look a little bit more like I did way back when. I looked good. I looked healthy. And the strangest thing is that though I may not look it I’m actually healthier now. I’m stronger, eat healthier, and have more endurance. I want my outward appearance to better reflect my inner health.

The mini challenge is 8 weeks long. And my goals for that time are to run my 5K race without having to stop and walk, to stop eating junk (including soda*), and to do my best to make my body even healthier. I won’t set a goal weight because I can’t know what weight my body is capable of being now that I’m nursing (hellooo bigger boobs)! Plus I’m trying not to focus on pounds so much as health (remember?). I am however willing to do before and after weigh-ins. My before weight (according to my lame-o scale which is probably way inaccurate) is 156 pounds. That’s quite a bit for my 5’2” frame.

I’m really glad this mini challenge popped up when it did. I already told you how poorly I did the week before last. Well…last week was better food-wise, but awful as far as exercising is concerned. I need this extra motivation to get back on track.

The Fit By Labor Day Challenge begins today! Wish me luck!

*With the exception of the occasional mojito.

1 Body After Baby mama + 2 holidays / 1 week x giving in to treats = 1 blah mama

It all started with Canada Day. Just days before I had commented to friends and family that since I had been eating such a healthy diet my cravings for junk, and even my taste for unhealthy food had changed enormously. But then I found myself indulging in all kinds of foods on Canada Day. It made me feel tired, and blah. So did I get back on the healthy eating bandwagon? No. I continued to eat blah foods and feel blah for some mysterious reason.

So….I’m considering doing a sugar free challenge (one week, one month?). I’ve been looking at the 30 Sugar Free Days website. But I don’t trust an eating plan that entirely cuts out the bottom of the food pyramid. So I’m still figuring out what I want to do and for how long.

But how’s my training going? Eh. Not bad. I’m one day behind (which isn’t a big deal at all) in the 5K training. But I haven’t been doing any weight training. The running workouts are soooo much longer than the 30 Day Shred workouts were that I haven’t really felt like there’s time for long strength training sessions in addition to that. So I’m considering doing this 10 minute routine a few times a week. I think I can handle 10 minutes at a time.

I guess I’m in fitness limbo right now. I really need to get back into my groove as far as eating goes because the junk has me feeling sluggish and befuddled which makes getting out of fitness limbo that much harder.

So, what have we learned?

DON’T EAT JUNK FOOD.

Visit the Body After Baby Challenge. And tell me how you feel when you eat poorly in the comments.

This past week was an exciting one! On Wednesday I did my very last 30 Day Shred workout! I’m very happy with 30DS. I am stronger, leaner, and my endurance and confidence have increased. But I’m also glad to be moving on. 30 days works well because it’s long enough to see results, but not so long that the boredom kills you.

I’m on to training for my first 5K. I’ve registered for the Calgary Women’s Run which is in August. I am not looking forward to running in August heat. But I am looking forward to doing my first race! I began training on Thursday with a nice long walk/run on our new-to-us treadmill. My exercise was cut short by a hungry baby but it was still long and hard! The training continued on Friday with a loooooooong walk through the nearby coulee. I always enjoy this particular trail. The views and wildlife sightings are fantastic (see the pair of deer?)! Plus it’s very hilly so it’s quite challenging.

I was very sick on Saturday (I will spare you the details*) and that totally threw off my groove. It means I’m having to shift around some days in my training schedule. And I’m starting the strength training later than I wanted to by a few days. But such is life. I’ll still be on target for the overall training schedule. I’ve just had to switch my rest days for one week.

I also discovered this week that I’ve been eating healthy foods for so long now that I can’t handle junk the way I used to. Overly processed and super sugary foods just don’t agree with me anymore and I’ve lost the desire for {most of} them. Not even Oreo cookies appeal to me! I used to think that heating healthy would mean resisting temptation for the rest of my life. Boy, was I wrong! Given enough time a healthy diet turns previous temptations into disgusting prospects. That said, I don’t eat perfectly and I still like old fashioned goodies (like homemade cookies) on occasion.

This week my goal is simple, get back on track and keep the momentum going!

Be sure to check out the Body After Baby post on the host site (Mama Notes) for some tips on “accidental exercise.”

What kinds of things throw off your exercise routine? How do you deal with them?

*You can thank me later.