New website

I finally have my new site up and running, I have quite a few posts on this site so I will leave this site here but there will be no more updates or posts.

Come check out my new site

WWW.LOSINGWEIGHTANDHAVINGFUN.COM

My facebook page will remain the same but if you did sign up for email updates for my blog posts, you will need to sign up again on the new site.

Thanks for stopping by
Sarah xxx

Jillian Michaels DVD giveaway # 2

Time for the second part of my DVD giveaway.

This time the prize is a sealed copy of Jillian Michaels No More Trouble Zones

Just realized that is a blurry photos (sorry!) and I'm too lazy to go get my camera and take another one.

I have not tried this DVD so can't comment on how good it is, I purchased it without realizing it was region coded (only works on US DVD players) and I don't have a US DVD player - hence the giveaway.

All entries must be via the rafflecopter widget below.

Sorry only open to US residents as I have to pay for the postage myself.

Good luck everyone xxx

Disclaimer: I purchased the DVD's myself and am not being compensated for this post or giveaway in any way.


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Diablo Trails 5k

Completed my 4th 5k of 2013 yesterday :)

I must confess I was not really looking forward to it as I hate hills, so I was thinking about this far too much prior to the race. Turns out it was nowhere near as bad as I was imagining. There were two steep parts at the beginning, but other than that the incline wasn't too noticeable.

This was my first actual trail run, so I wasn't sure what to expect. I've been on a few courses before that are mainly paved with a small amount of trail, but this was 100% trail, and we ran through four creeks (each one twice), they told us at the start just to run through and get wet then we wouldn't be bothered on the others. The first two we tiptoed across the rocks and stayed dry, but then we came to the third one...

 

and the only option was to go through and get wet, which was actually really refreshing, and the fourth one was even deeper. We soon got used to the creeks, although some rocks were slippy, so we walked rather than run through. The trails had lots of random rocks and tree trunks in the way and I saw a lot of people slip and trip, so I became extra cautious and only ran on the very flat parts.

I wasn't expecting to create any new PR's today, but still went faster than I expected considering I stopped to photograph, stopped at each creek and had the rocky steep parts of the trail.

I finished 3.25 miles in 59:21 with a 18'14" pace, so 1'44" slower than my fastest time.

Another medal for my super full medal rack, must look into purchasing a new rack at some point.

Next 5k is the Divas 5k on May 5

We have a winner...

We have a winner for the first Jillian Michaels DVD.

Congratulations to....

I will be emailing you shortly about the prize.

I hope to schedule the second DVD giveaway in the next few days.

Hope you are all having a great weekend

Sarah xxx

Weigh In and catch up

My first blog post from my new house :) Move went well and everything is now unpacked.
Slowly adjusting to my new surroundings, loving the new neighborhood as it is super flat so that will help with my extra walking.

Today I hung the first items on the wall in our new home, I was busy sorted my office/gym and decided to hang these. They take pride of place in the room, plus there is plenty of space on the wall for another rack which I will need very very soon. Next race is this weekend it's the Diablo Trails 5k (the one with the big elevation!!) and its supposed to be hot this weekend too. Luckily the race is at 830am, also its only 3 miles from our new house, so won't need to get up early ;) Should be a good challenge, don't expect to create any new PR's though!!

It has been 3 weeks since I last weighed in and food wise I haven't really been on track, but I have been super busy packing, moving, unpacking, which I guess worked in my favor,

Previous Weight: 275.2

Today's weigh in: 274
 +/- :  -1.2lbs   

Total loss 31lbs

I saw the scales go up to 281 over the last few weeks so was glad the number went down again. I've not tracked as such this week, but am trying to focus on eating clean as much as possible, and the last two nights I have cooked meals from scratch, turkey burgers Monday night, chicken curry and cauliflower rice last night and tonight I am making a ground beef and cauliflower dish.

Those of you who haven't entered my Jillian Michaels DVD giveaway - you have two days left to enter. Good Luck

I can't finish this blog post without mentioning Boston. What happened on Monday was horrific, but it has taught me one thing the power of the running community is amazing. Also social media is such an awesome tool for staying in touch and showing support. I didn't have the TV on so didn't heard about the incident until I got a tweet from a friend in response to my message earlier that day wishing people luck in the marathon, her tweet read 'hope anyone you know is okay' - I was confused and thought maybe the tweet was for someone else, but went and checked twitter and facebook anyway, and then I read about it and immediately felt sick. I turned on the news and was shocked at the images I was seeing :( I then immediately thought of some friends on twitter who were running the marathon. Neither of whom I have met in real life, but who I was deeply concerned about, one of them Dani had crossed the finish line moments before the blast, she was able to get a message to friends who in turn tweeted and reassured us all she was fine, my other friend also tweeted she was safe. This is a valuable tool to remember if (and hopefully you will never need it) you are in a similar emergency situation and want to let loved ones know you are OK. The running community came together yesterday to show support for Boston and I particapted by wearing my race shirt and walking for 26.2 minutes, it was exactly 26.2, but I hit un pause instead of stop!

I will definitely be thinking about everyone affected when I run this weekend.

Have a great week everyone - stay safe
Sarah x

Jillian Michaels workout DVD giveaway

A few months ago I purchased a bundle of three Jillian Michaels DVDs online, last month I finally got round to doing one, but came across a hurdle - since moving to the US (over 3 yrs ago!) I haven't purchased a DVD player, I didn't think about this at the time of buying them, as a couple of other workout DVDs I have are region free and have played fine on the PlayStation - but not these, they are Region 1.

I decided that rather than go buy a DVD player (which to be fair I probably wouldn't use!) I would instead share the love and give them away on my blog. I was going to do a bundle with all three, but wanted to give you all a good chance to win, so I will be giving one away each week (a bit longer for the first one as I am moving house).

The first DVD I am giving away is the Banish Fat Boost Metabolism DVD, this is the one I was going to do first, so the case is open but the DVD is brand new, other than being inserted into the PlayStation once!

 


















All entries need to be via the rafflecopter widget below - sorry the giveaway is only open to US residents.

Disclaimer: I purchased the DVD's myself and am not being compensated for this post or giveaway in any way.



a Rafflecopter giveaway

Checking in

Hey everyone

Hope you are all well, I thought I would do a quick check in post to let you know I am alive and well.

Super busy packing up the house ready for move day this Saturday. I have been jumping on the scales off and on - and it's not pretty :( I will be posting an official weigh in Monday morning. 

I have planned lots of different 5k walks around my new neighborhood, and I am going to be unpacking all my lovely cookbooks straight into the kitchen to get me on track cooking proper meals again, as I have been eating on the go far too much, I'm not sure when I last ate a vegetable - I don't think the garlic in the garlic bread counts!!

We have a brand new fridge freezer installed in our new house and I am super excited to go to the grocery store and stock it with healthy food, when I pack up the kitchen here any processed and junk food will not be making the journey to the new house. I know I can do this - I just need to focus.

I have found another thing to motivate myself I have signed up for diet bet again - this will be my third one and hopefully I will win a share of the pot this time.
If anyone wants to sign up and take part here is the link http://bit.ly/10Va9xF

Have a great week everyone and I will be back posting on Monday (providing our internet connection is up and running)

Nearly forgot - I want to say a HUGE congratulations to my friend Marisol who completed her first ever half marathon last weekend - you rock and are a huge inspiration to me :)

March Foodie Penpals Reveal Day

Woohoo - its reveal day. I love sharing all the goodies I have received each month with you, and am super excited that Kerry A in England signed up and participated this month :)

This month I was matched with Susan in Kansas who blogs at http://solesearchingmamma.com and got to send her a box of goodies. She is gluten free so I spent some extra time looking at ingredients to make sure I sent her something suitable. She replied saying her and her family loved everything.

My other match was Anna from Missouri and she blogs at http://simplelifearmywife.blogspot.com/ 
At the time of the match I was attempting low carb, so that was the request I gave Anna and she did a great job. She said it was interesting to look at the carb content and was surprised at how high in carbs some items were.

  My box was beautifully package and contained a lovely handwritten note from Anna explaining all of the contents.

The first thing I took out was the Turkey Perky Jerky, this lasted all of 2 minutes, it was so good. My husband loves jerky and I planned to let him try some but ended up eating all myself.

  I have seen this in the shop a lot and always wanted to try them, but wasn't sure if I would use it. I planned to keep it in my purse, but was worried it would leak, so I kept it in my car and it has proved handy as I am always drinking bottles of water in my car. It took a bit of time to get the number of drops right, too many and it tastes too strong and not nice, but when you get it right it tastes really nice. I looked in the grocery store to see how many flavors there are and was shocked at how many different brands and flavors there are available.

 I love almonds, and this is the first time I have seen coffee flavored ones. I haven't got round to trying them yet as I already have a big bag open, and I like to finish off one bag before opening another, but I am excited to try them.

 I drink lots of almond milk, but have never tried this brand, it was handy having it in the cupboard as I ran out of milk the other day and didn't want to drive to the store and remembered I had this. It tastes just as great as my usual brand, and I will definitely keep a few cartons in my cupboard in the future.

My final item was some homemade spicy honey mustard. Anna warned me that is was super spicy! I am not a fan of mustard but my husband is and he tried some on his steak, and he agreed it was super spicy, but he really enjoyed it.












Thanks Anna for an awesome box and for taking the time to make sure everything was suitable for me. I hope you enjoyed the box you received from your match as much as I enjoyed mine.

And now it's time for some details about Foodie Penpals.  In case you’re a new reader, here’s a reminder of what the program is all about:

-On the 5th of every month, you will receive your penpal pairing via email. It will be your responsibility to contact your penpal and get their mailing address and any other information you might need like allergies or dietary restrictions.
-You will have until the 15th of the month to put your box of goodies in the mail. On the last day of the month, you will post about the goodies you received from your penpal! 
-The boxes are to be filled with fun foodie things, local food items or even homemade treats! The spending limit is $15. The box must also include something written. This can be anything from a note explaining what’s in the box, to a fun recipe…use your imagination!
-You are responsible for figuring out the best way to ship your items depending on their size and how fragile they are. (Don’t forget about flat rate boxes!)
-Foodie Penpals is open to blog readers as well as bloggers. If you’re a reader and you get paired with a blogger, you are to write a short guest post for your penpal to post on their blog about what you received. If two readers are paired together, neither needs to worry about writing a post for that month. 
-Foodie Penplas is open to US, Canadian & European residents.  Please note, Canadian Residents will be paired with other Canadians only. Same with Europeans. We've determined things might get too slow and backed up if we're trying to send foods through customs across the border from US to Canada and vice versa. 

If you’re from the US or Canada and are interested in participating for April, please CLICK HERE (www.theleangreenbean.com/foodie-penpals/) to fill out the participation form and read the terms and conditions. 

You must submit your information by April 4th as pairings will be emailed on April 5th!

*If you're from Europe, please CLICK HERE (www.thisisrocksalt.com/foodie-penpals/) to signup.

So many 5k's

I signed up for another two 5k's this week :) I'm so going to need a new medal rack!!

My aim for this year was to run one 5k every month. So far this year I have run three.

Brazen New Years Day 5k

Bay Breeze 5k

Jelly Bean Virtual 5k

I have another six that I have registered for, hope to register for the others in the next few weeks.

April: Brazen Diablo Trails 5k

May: Diva's 5k
         Rave Run 5k

June: Foxy Virtual 5k
         Progressive Marathon (a total of 26.2 miles including a final 5k race)

July: Brazen Dirty Dozen 5k (not registered yet)

August: Brazen Summer Breeze 5k (not registered yet)
              Brazen Bear Creek 5k (not registered yet)

September: Brazen Drag N Fly 5k (not registered yet)

October: Brazen Rocky Ridge 5k (not registered yet)

November:  Awesome 80's 5k
                    Considering doing the Nitro Turkey and Quarry Turkey 5k's over Thanksgiving

December: Plan to do the New Years Eve 5k as I did in 2012

If I complete everything I have planned that will be a total of 16 5k's plus a progressive marathon in 2013 - which I think is pretty good going. If anyone wants to join me on any of the races, let me know. I will be fast walking/jogging each one. Hopefully getting fitter and faster as the year goes on.

Weekly Weigh In

Yes I know, I am a day late again...

It has been a hectic week, we are moving house, so I have been busy organizing and cleaning and packing, so much to do.

As a result I never tracked at all last week, and I wasn't great at eating proper meals either, I was grabbing food on the go and not making the best choices when I did grab food.

So wasn't surprised to see the numbers go up slightly this week. I am trying to avoid the grocery store and eat what we have in the cupboards and fridge/freezer so there is less food to move with, most of it is healthy so I just need to make the time to prepare some proper meals in between racing around.

Previous Weight: 274.4

Today's weigh in: 275.2
 +/- :  +0.8lbs   

Total loss 29.8lbs

On another note I have sold (well will have in the next hour) my treadmill, I was reluctant to get back on it after the incident where I fell off it. Our new house is in a very flat area, and there are lots of trails, so I am excited to do more walking, plus there is a swimming pool 1 mile from my house, so I plan to start doing some aqua classes again. I do still have my exercise biker which I use, and I hope to get back out on my regular bike now we are moving to a flat area.

My knee is still giving me a lot of grief and I am going to go see the orthopedist tomorrow, my Dr thinks I may have a meniscus tear and may need surgery - I am hoping that is not the case. I had my annual physical last week and all is good, my cholesterol is slightly raised, but it has been the same consistent level for the past 3 years, so he isn't concerned, also my vitamin D levels are slightly low, but not enough for him to be concerned about. I guess I need to spend more time in the sun :) He did the usual chat about my weight and would I consider weight loss surgery and I said no. My weight is going down (all be it slowly), so I don't want to consider the surgery.

Have a great week everyone
Sarah xxx

JellyBean 5k

Today I took part in the 3rd Annual Jelly Bean race - although it was only my first time taking part.

I opted to do the 5k, I did plan to go out first thing this morning and walk/jog 5k, but I wanted to go around Lake Temescal and today was the Oakland marathon and they used that route so it was a no go. So in the end I decided to take the dogs with me this afternoon, which is great as I get the 5k done and the dogs get walked, but it was super busy and I ended up stopping around 6 times for people to pet the dogs and tell me how cute they are. So it wasn't a very quick 5k.

Lake Temescal is beautiful and it was really nice out today and there were lots of people on the beach and swimming in the lake - I personally am not too keen on the whole swimming in the lake, but people seemed to be having fun. Also there were lots of picnics and BBQ's going on and the smell of burgers made me sooooo hungry!!

 

So a rather slow 1:24.31 5k, but I enjoyed it and I completed my 3rd 5k of the year :) Another medal on my rack - I am now doubling up on the hooks, so need to start thinking about a new rack soon.

Thanks to Jess for hosting the Virtual race.

Next race is in 4 weeks and is the big hill....

Weekly Weigh In

Just a quick post this week as I have a super busy day with lots planned.

This past week I tracked 100% using My Fitness Pal - I was under calories everyday apart from Saturday and Sunday, did two workouts, so need to work on that more.

Previous Weight: 280

Today's weigh in: 274.4
 +/- :  -5.6lbs   

Total loss 30.6lbs

So I lost the exact amount I gained last week - so I am edging back closer to the 270 mark. Have a busy week this week, but hope to try and fit in some workouts. I signed up for FitnessGlo so need to plan some workouts with that too, more about that next week.

Have a great week everyone
Sarah xxx

Weekly Weigh In

The prize for the person who ate and drank the most in Vegas over the weekend, goes to......

Me!! Yes I ate and drank far too much, but I also had lots of fun, so it is all good. Won't be having sprinkles for breakfast again for a long while!!

Last week I told you all how I was going low carb for March, it was going OK, I wasn't missing bread or pasta, but was struggling with breakfasts in the morning and really missed fruit (yes something I thought I would never say). I'm also not a huge meat fan, especially not red meat, so did have indigestion a lot.

I also found that although I wasn't hungry I was constantly thinking about food and what I could and couldn't have and I became obsessed about it :(

As a result I decided that I would start back counting calories again using My fitness pal - I know what you are thinking - find something and stick to it!!! 

Time for the numbers and it's no real surprise that I had a big gain this week after all the fun of Vegas.

Previous Weight: 274.4

Today's weigh in: 280
 +/- :  +5.6lbs   

Total loss 25lbs

I always seem to have an excuse for eating 'willy-nilly' so need to work on getting rid of the excuses. I have just under 14 weeks until I go to Hawaii and I want to be able to wear some nice shorts and enjoy shopping for a nice new swimsuit and bikini (don't worry it's a private pool - so I won't be scaring the locals!!)

It's also 15 weeks till Fitbloggin - and I did say in a previous post I would like to be around 250lbs by then, so I had better get my arse in gear!! Plus I still need to properly start using my TRX and my Jillian Michaels DVD's still haven't been unwrapped - so no excuses!!

Have a great week everyone
Sarah xxx

Weekly Weigh In

I have totally decided to shake things up!
For the month of March I am attempting to eat low carb, and based on how that goes I may stick to it long term or may gradually increase my carb intake.

I have been on plan for 3 days so far and finding it easier than I expected, although the first day as you will see I ate far too much calories/fat, but stuck to my allowance of 25 carbs. As I am new to this it will take some time to adjust to, and I want to try and keep my calories around 1600 a day, and my recommended fat intake is 101g and protein 148g. I have a fridge and freezer full of meat so need to start getting creative and find some recipes to follow.

Low carb is something I have never tried before as I always thought it was a lifestyle I couldn't do, I love bread and pasta! My brain seems to work in a strange way, when following weight watchers I knew there were foods I shouldn't  really have, or should have in small quantities, but this didn't stop me from eating lots of them. Now there are foods I CANT have and I am fine with that, it doesn't bother me. Am I the only one who has a brain that works like that?! So I think this will be relatively easy to stick too.

Time for the numbers, prior to deciding to go to low carb last week (Friday) I ate far too much the beginning of the week, so the scales went up, although since starting low carb they have gone down, so I hope to be posting better numbers next week.

Numbers time:

Previous Weight: 272.4

Today's weigh in: 274.4
 +/- :  +2lbs   

Total loss 30.6lbs

I am hoping that doing low carb will mean I eat a lot less junk in Vegas this weekend too - it should do :)

Have a great week everyone
Sarah xxx

February Foodie Penpals Reveal Day

 

It's that time of the month again, it's reveal day :)

This month I sent my package to Abbey in Ohio, sadly she doesn't have a blog for me to link too :( She has a walnut allergy, so I had to check labels extra carefully this month before I sent anything to her.

The person who sent me my wonderful box this month was Ashley, and she sent it me all the way from Bloomington, Indiana.

She wrote me a beautiful note on a gorgeous card, the card was designed by an artist from the UK, and it turns out the artist lives in the same place my mum grew up - Falmouth, Cornwall, which is one of my favorite places to visit in the UK.

I know you all want to see what I got in my box - so here goes.....

 

I loved the heart paper she wrapped everything in - especially as it is February and the month of love. The card had a Coco Chanel quote on the front 'A girl should be two things Classy and Fabulous'.

Ashely loves buying local foods, so her box focused on this. The mustard I have yet to try, but it looks good. The bread was actually baked on the street Ashely lives on - and it was amazing, it didn't last long at all!! The spaghettini isn't something I have seen before, Ashley said she loves to find new ways to introduce more vegetables into her diet, this is such a cool idea - spaghettini made with carrots, green beans and spinach. I haven't got round to trying it yet, I must plan to use it soon. I love all of those vegetables so imagine it will taste great. Apparently Ashley's friends are always saying how much she loves salsa and chips - who doesn't?! The day after the box arrived I went out and bought some chips, and they probably lasted two days - the salsa was so good, it tasted so fresh. The pasta sauce was also amazing, I had it with some regular pasta and also as a sauce on some homemade pizza, the tomatoes had such a great taste.

Thanks again Ashley for such an awesome box, I hope you loved the box you received as much as I loved mine. I have signed up for March, and am super excited to see who my next match is. How many of you are also signed up? What do you enjoy the most - shopping for your match or receiving your box? I love the challenge of shopping for someone else, but also love the element of surprise when I receive a box too.

And now it's time for some details about Foodie Penpals.  In case you’re a new reader, here’s a reminder of what the program is all about:
-On the 5th of every month, you will receive your penpal pairing via email. It will be your responsibility to contact your penpal and get their mailing address and any other information you might need like allergies or dietary restrictions.
-You will have until the 15th of the month to put your box of
goodies in the mail. On the last day of the month, you will post about
the goodies you received from your penpal!
-The boxes are to be filled with fun foodie things, local food items
or even homemade treats! The spending limit is $15. The box must also
include something written. This can be anything from a note explaining
what’s in the box, to a fun recipe…use your imagination!
-You are responsible for figuring out the best way to ship your
items depending on their size and how fragile they are. (Don’t forget
about flat rate boxes!)
-Foodie Penpals is
open to blog readers as well as bloggers. If you’re a reader and you
get paired with a blogger, you are to write a short guest post for your penpal to
post on their blog about what you received. If two readers are paired
together, neither needs to worry about writing a post for that month.
-Foodie Penpals is open to US & Canadian residents.  Please
note, Canadian Residents will be paired with other Canadians only. We've
determined things might get too slow and backed up if we're trying to
send foods through customs across the border from US to Canada and vice
versa. 
If you’re interested in participating for March, please CLICK HERE to fill out the participation form and read the terms and conditions.
You must submit your information by March 4th as pairings will be emailed on March 5th!

Weekly Weigh In

So last week I was expecting a bigger loss on the scale, I ate nearly all my weekly points, but also earned 40 activity points - so maybe I didn't eat enough.

This week I tried something different, I went back to clean eating wherever possible - probably about 75% of the week, I didn't track points I just tried to stick to three meals a day and no snacks. I wore my active link, but I never did any exercise other than my usual walking and walking of the dogs. 

Still managed to earn 12 AP's - as you can see yesterday I spent most of the day on the sofa - Daytona 500 in the morning and Oscars in the evening!!

I wasn't really sure what to expect when I stood on the scales this morning, so was pleasantly surprised with the numbers

Numbers time:

Previous Weight: 276.6

Today's weigh in: 272.4
 +/- :  -4.2lbs   

Total loss 32.6lbs

What's that all about? Maybe I ate a lot less than normal, I'm not really sure. Just hope that it doesn't go the other way next week. I am going to adopt the same strategy this week, I will eat clean as much as possible, cut out snacks and try and increase my exercise.

I signed up for another dietbet, after today's weigh in I am half way to goal, but I am going to Vegas in two weeks, so not sure how that will play out with my plans, part of me wants to try super hard, and part of me wants to say 'f**k it I'm in Vegas lets party!'  I always do lots of walking when I'm in Vegas so that should help, depends if we hit the buffet or not, do have one meal planned, we have reservations at Gordon Ramsay's Steak on the Friday night.

Have a great week everyone
Sarah xxx