(27) comments
Add Your Reply
Menu
The year continues to fly as we’re a few days into July. What have you been up to? I hope you had a wonderful Independence Day week/weekend!
I’m joining Hoho, Tricia, and Christine for the Weekly Wrap! It’s such a great linkup where dozens of awesome running bloggers participate and share what’s going on in their active lives!
I’m also joining Courtney for her Weekly Training Linkup! While I’m officially not in training mode right now, I’m getting back to tracking my workouts so that I can keep myself accountable over the next few weeks!
How have your workouts been going? I'm joining in the #weeklywrap with my favorite running bloggers! #runchat Click To Tweet
Gosh, I’ve missed doing a regular weekly wrap. Things have been so busy in my world but I’ve missed connecting with everyone through the blog this way. So needless to say, I have a lot to recap as we’re well into the summer season!
One of my goals for July is to focus on quality family time. One way that I’ve been doing that is by working on finally building a patio in our backyard. Over the past couple of weekends, Bret and I have been doing all of the labor to make that happen – hauling in bricks, pavers, gravel, and stone. We made so many trips to Lowe’s that I lost count. Oh, and we had a LOT of dirt to move as well! Bret also built a brick retaining wall with a little help from me and his mom and we picked up a few shade-loving annuals and perennials on Saturday. It’s looking really nice!
It’s been quite the strenuous project, but I’m so glad that we were able to work on this together. It really has been a bonding experience. It’s almost complete – still some minor touches here and there, but we’re finally ready to start looking at furniture! We’ve gone to a few stores but we haven’t been drawn to anything yet. Our patio is pretty small so a small table with 4 chairs is all we need. Do you have any recommendations on where to find nice quality, affordable patio sets?
Unfortunately, unlike many people, I didn’t have an exciting July 4 week. Having a holiday on a Tuesday is the worst! I decided not to take a vacation day on Monday so I worked the entire week and had the holiday off. It was pretty rough…even though it was quiet in the office, I had tons of work to do on Monday while just about everyone was out, and we had several meetings and phone calls over the remainder of the week. It’s a good thing that we’re busy as it means things are progressing with the project, but still!
Thankfully, I did have Tuesday off and we had a nice time with the neighbors. After continuing to do patio work until the late afternoon, we hung outside on the block where the neighbors had a potluck. The food was great and yes, I helped myself to a couple of beers! I also met some really nice people in the area that I hope to connect with soon. They wanted to party all hours into the night but nope…I had work in the morning and I get up at 5 am!
I have really enjoyed working with Danielle, my dietitian that I visit 6 times a year (thanks, insurance!). This year marks 4 years since we’ve worked together. The morning before my appointment, I spoke highly of the experience with a coworker and how I’ve been able to maintain my weight all this time since the initial weight loss that she helped me achieve. You can even see my post about my first dietitian appointment, it was one of my first on the blog!
Well, here’s the harsh truth. She weighed me last Wednesday, and my weight has gone up…4 pounds since our last visit in May. Now that may not sound bad, but I’ve actually reached my peak weight from 4 years ago – I was at an all-time high after being sidelined with my stress fracture in my foot. That was the turning point when I realized I needed to start seeing a dietitian!
Honestly, I was shocked when I saw the weight, and it’s still a hard thing for me to accept…but the good news is that I know that this is the impetus I needed to finally start making some changes. Danielle has suggested that I try the “Empty Calorie Challenge” over the next 4 weeks, starting on July 10 (tomorrow!). That means no cakes, cookies, chips, French fries, candy, soda, alcohol, or white flour products. She has allowed me to have one cheat meal/cheat day, thank goodness. It may sound extreme, but I know that I can do this!
I’ve bought a food journal and a meal planning journal on Amazon so that I can fully take on this challenge wholeheartedly. Stay tuned as I share my experiences with the challenge on the blog…I hope it works!
Sunday 7/2: We spent all day on the patio and we were exhausted, that was enough of a workout for me!
Monday 7/3: I planned to run on the treadmill at work, but unfortunately the day was too hectic, even though no one was in the office…go figure!
Tuesday 7/4: No Independence Day racing for me, but I did go to a HIIT the Barre class at my favorite local studio. This class was HARD! Barre on its own is challenging enough, but when you add lots of jumps, squats, and pushups in between sets, you really get tired out!
Wednesday 7/5: My feet and calves were still really sore from the previous day’s class, but the weather wasn’t too hot so I went for a 4.5 mile run in the neighborhood after work. It was my first time using my new Garmin 235 and let me tell you…I had some struggles figuring out how to use it! If you’re a Garmin or Strava user, I’d love to connect with you!
Thursday 7/6: Core Flow yoga class after work. This was my first time taking this class and it was a reminder of how terrible my sense of balance is! The class went quickly and I just didn’t feel that I was at my best. Hopefully I continue taking the class and improving!
Friday 7/7: Rest day!
Saturday 7/8: I was hoping for a long run on Saturday morning but we had a lot of errands to do for the house that was more important.
How was your week? Have you ever done an empty calorie challenge? Any tips for me?
