801 Grand Power Climb

Thank you to everyone who helped make the Power Climb a great success. 828 climbers came out today and have so far raised over $130,000 for the American Lung Association of Iowa.

That includes Annette who didn't feel well and still finished in a respectable time. As you know I had to skip the climb this year because of this stupid knee of mine.

It was so fun to see the behind the scenes parts, last year I was too busy climbing. Man were there a lot of gorgeous firefighters there. Even if I wasnLt committed to the cause, that would motivate me to be there.

I'll be there next year, climbing and organizing.

Yours in health, Kate

Another Weekend at Work

I am very tired. Yesterday was a 12 hour day at work. Now, I am back at work. In fact, I got here at 5:30 a.m. and will be here until noon. I have a lot to do in that time. I am very glad to be employed, especially with recent layoffs here, but I am still getting kind of burned out.

It doesn't help that I woke up with another sore throat and achy. I just did two rounds of antibiotics, all the crud should be gone.

I really can't afford to be sick. I can't afford to have my knee throb like it is again this morning. I just got back into the swing of working out and eating right.

When I am stressed I want to eat. Luckily this week I have been too busy to really overeat. But when I am this tired, I get lazy. Hopefully I will be able to work my way through the brambles and stay on track.

As for the knee, I plan to ice it here in a little while. Then later this afternoon I will put on my knee brace and workout anyway.

I was feeling great earlier this week, I had energy again. I felt like the old me, bouncy and able to face off with any challenge. This morning I just feel ick. Maybe I just need coffee. :)

Yours in health, Kate

Finally, the end of the day

This will be very short. I have worked 12 hours, I am going home.

Did not get a workout in because of work and the fact that my knee is throbbing. In fact, the knee is bad enough I might not have gone to the gym, even if there had magically been time.

That being said, after working from 5:30a to Noon tomorrow and going to a lunch for my step-grandmother's birthday - I am going to the gym - period.

Now, I am going home to my turkey burger.

Yours in health, Kate

bodybugg

I love mine. I am becoming addicted to know how many calories I expend in a day. This sucker keeps track of calories burned and steps taken. I plug it in and bam - I know where I am for the day.

Add that to my religiously logging food (a.k.a the FLog) again and I am on my way.

Just two weeks in to my recommitment to me and I have more energy. Thank goodness, because it was getting brutally hard to work 10 and 11 hours day every day. At least now when I walk away I still have energy to go home and get dinner before passing out. :)

Didn't get a workout in today, because work ran so long. But that's o.k. I have every intention of making this my one and only day off this week.

Yours in health, Kate

P.S. - Lori fixed an extremely low cost, reasonably caloried and very tasty meal last night for dinner. I will ask her to post it on her blog and link over.

I'm too tired to overeat

This will be a very short post. I am on hour 11 of my work day. I dipped out for one hour to meet with my new trainer. I'm exhausted.

If I don't sleep well tonight, I have no idea what is wrong with me. Right now my problem is lack of spelling and typing ability, hence the briefness.

Actually worked out hard with the trainer today. I liked it.

Now I need food.

Yours in fitness, Kate

New Me on Monday

That's a little omage to one of Lori's favorite bands, Duran Duran. But then again, there were very few of us who escaped lusting after John Taylor.

Today was the beginning of week two of getting back in touch with my health. I am eating right and exercising, now I want a professional to back me up. So, I am paying for a trainer to kick me in the pants with both.

My new trainer is Desiree. She got her start working at Curves and decided helping people make real changes was a calling. She's petite and fit as hell. She may be shorter than me, but I am pretty sure she could take me. That's what I need - fear. Nah, just kidding.

But it is nice to have someone ready to answer my questions, guide me and want my success as much as I do. Honestly, I will miss trainer Traci, because she became a friend. But new gym and a new trainer may be exactly the remedy to my tailspin.

Today was just get to know the program and online service for logging foods. I also went ahead and bought my friend Lori's Bodybugg. It's an armband that keeps track of energy output.

I am hoping that between the bugg and a trainer I should be able to figure out what works and what doesn't for me. The gym subscribes to the Apex system. They say there are five elements to success - food intake, cardio training, supplements, weight training and personal assistance.

I felt a little like I was in boot camp when trainer D told me I need memorize those. However, she assured me she isn't Jillian. LOL. Hopefully that is the case, I can't imagine I would take that well. No matter how much I want to do this right. ;)

Yours in fitness, Kate

Biggest Loser Update

Up to this point I have been encouraging everyone else while eating cookies. This week I took the reins and am back in the saddle. (My love of horse is showing.)

With eating right and exercising back into the daily habits category I was ready for today's weigh-in.

I ended up with a 2.6 pound loss. That's not bad. The super-control-freak in me wants more.

So I will have to work harder.

Everyone in the familly is doing well. But Gordon is kicking all our asses. LOL. That's to be expected, he's even more competitive than me.

Yours in fitness, Kate

Happy Made-Up Holiday

O.k., now that we have my cynicism out of the way.

I was going to blog yesterday, but as is typical in winter for me - snow screwed everything up. I was too busy keeping up with the national weather service and traffic to blog or workout.

I had it a heck of a lot better than my brother Gordon though, he got hit in the front of his truck and in the back by guys who couldn't drive in the snow. The one who hit him from behind was from Texas, so that's no shocker. However, the creep hit him and ran - low-life. I may look into weather the DOT may have tape of the incident to find the guy.

Back into the gym today though. Just like every other time I have missed workouts and returned to the gym, I was once again reminded of how good I feel after. The difference this time is, that until Tuesday, it had been months. Not anymore.

My knee brace is doing o.k. It shifts more than I would like. Plus sometimes I wonder if it's causing more pain than it relieves. It pinches and it doesn't allow a full stride. So my Achilles has flames again and the front of my ankle was cranky the other day. All of that said, it won't stop me from doing what I need to for me.

I plan to workout in the morning before heading to my mom's. We still have the biggest loser contest going on and this may be the first week I lose instead of gain. That would bring into numbers my new found readiness to get healthy again.

Yours in fitness, Kate

Three m&ms

I ate three of the little candy coated lovelies today and a small piece of chocolate. Afterward I felt horribly guilty. That despite the fact that otherwise I had eaten like a champ.

And I laughed at myself. A week ago I was eating full-on cookies, without guilt. Too funny. I have turned the corner and headed back in the direction of health.

It's not that anyone should feel bad about a little cheat, they shouldn't. In fact, everyone should indulge now and then to avoid a binge.

But with my sad history involving sugar, I am going to be hyper-vigilant for a while.

On Monday I am meeting with my new trainer. We are going to take a hard look at food and the options that should really be in my arsenal. I am sure there will be a bit of culture shock because trainers have a whole different idea about food. But I am willing to give their way a try.

I love learning new things. A different way to eat, that may offer new ideas intrigues me. And maybe they will let me keep just a little chocolate.

Yours in health, Kate

A Woman with a Plan

I met with the manager at the gym again today. I didn't get a workout, but I did finally get a new plan in place.

For months I have wanted to restart, but I have been too busy to sit down and write it all out. Today I began that process. I made a new commitment to myself.

The new program will cost me more than I would like. But it will also make me completely accountable for at least the next 10 weeks.

I am not only going to have a trainer for the physical, but also the food. As I have noted time and again here, I struggle with sugar. Now someone is going to watch my.food intake. I am frankly a little nervous about that.

It's easy to cheat when it's just me. However, now someone else will actually care. Could I cheat and lie about it, but frankly, I would be wasting my time and money.

I want this. I want to be back to being energetic and healthy. I want that feeling to return where I feel like I can go forever. And to be flat out honest - I want to feel sexy again.

For a while I was feeling unbelievably kittenish and sometimes naughty. I want that urge to smile slyly again at a man I don't know, just to see him smile back - that's power. :)

I also want my self-respect back. I want to be proud of myself again. I want to look in the mirror and like me. Not just like the size of my ass, myself.

The plan is in place, now it's time to act.

Yours in fitness, Kate

New Gym

I learned a lesson today, there is no direct way to get anywhere on the skywalk. :)

That being said, I joined Gym F/X today downtown. I am way excited. And I was way good on food today.

I got an extra workout today as I discovered that there are no direct routes on the skywalk. So what I thought would be a 15 minute walk became 30. It annoyed me and amused me simultaneously.

I also tried doing squats, that went o.k. But when I tried doing lunges, uh,no. My knee was not having it. I will have to have a trainer work with me on alternatives.

Anyway, I am really going to do this. I have even made a two year commitment to the gym to get a good deal.

I am working on a new food and workout plan. As soon as I have an hour to myself I will write it down and share.

Yours in fitness, Kate

Getting Excited

Ever since I decided to look into switching gyms I am getting pumped up again. The very idea of having a place, right down the street, to relieve my stress excites me greatly.

That's one of two main reasons for this weight gain - stress. Whether it's work, love, a cancer scare or life, stress has sent me to cookies time and again. Now, even when I am not stressed, I am back to the point of mindlessly eating.

It makes me crazy when I think what I have done to my body. What the fat, saturated fat, calories, sugar, etc. do is, well it makes me ill to think about it. You would think that would be enough to stop me. But no, I am as stubborn a sugar eater as I am in anything else apparently.

Anyway, my meeting with the gym is at 1 p.m. tomorrow. Hopefully it will be as good a fit financially as it is in proximity. I'll let you know tomorrow.

Yours in transition, Kate

Removing the Excuses

The excuses: My knee hurts. I am stressed and I eat. My gym is too far away.

My answers: I am going to wear a knee brace. Not everyone stuffs their face when they are stressed, suck it up. I am changing gyms.

I have really danced around that last one. I did not change gyms when my contract was up because I didn't want to lose trainer Traci. But my contract is up in March and I know this time that's not a good enough reason.

I can't really afford to train right now. And I really can't if I am paying for gas in my beat up '93 Buick that gets 15-17 mpg to get back and forth the 16 miles.

But most importantly, the travel time across time and my messed up schedule have teamed to make me complacent. When exercise feels like a burden more than a gift, I will not do it. This has felt like a yoke around my neck for too long.

This new gym is 8 blocks from my office. Even in the bitter cold, there is a trolley that will take me to the front door and a skywalk to walk back within a block and a half of my office.

I am not naming the gym yet, because I have not signed up. But I will say, after a brief conversation with the manager, I feel exhilarated and excited. Time is no longer an excuse, travel money is no longer an excuse. I can work this in to my schedule. Whether it's going in right before I go to work or running down over my lunch or sneaking in after office hours - I would be a two minute trolley ride or a 6 minute walk from my gym!

No excuses, that makes me happy.

Yours in transition, Kate