Running Week 10 of 10!

I just couldn't wait until the end of the week to post! This morning I ran for 20 minutes without stopping! 10 weeks ago I could not have even imagined this being possible! But it is! This morning was very hot and humid, even at 630 am. It make it much more tiring to run, but I didn't struggle to finish the 20 minutes! All thanks to God for giving me the motivation to start this running program, and to stick to it! I could not have done it without Him.

Now to change up the diet and drop some of this weight already!!

Running Week 9 of 10

Last week I ran 10 minutes, walked 1, ran 10 for a total of 20 minutes running! The first day it was pretty easy, but the last 3 days were brutal. I didn't get enough sleep (6 hours or less) and I wasn't feeling that great. The first two days I made CRAZY distance, I think because it was so cold that I was running harder to stay warm!

Tomorrow I run for 20 minutes at time. I am *SO* excited to try it out, yet nervous that I won't be able to do it.

Running Week 8 of 10

Last week I complete Week 8 of running! The schedule was run 8, walk 1 x 2, then run 2 for a total of 18 minutes running. I didn't push myself too hard, and it was doable! Jumping it up an extra two minutes was not so bad. I am still waiting to loose some weight as a result of this, but Eric and I are going to follow a meal plan starting sometimes this week. It will be nice to be told which recipes to make. It gives us a shopping list for the week, then we just make what it tells us! So many times we get home and have NO clue what to make for supper, so this will help. I am NOT referring to a diet, because they don't work for me! We will see...

Heartland

We had our appointment at Heartland yesterday. We got there extra early, because I was so paranoid about missing it!

Dr. K was an interesting man, to say the least. He greeted us and took us into the room. We sat down and he said "So you make sperm and you make an egg when given drugs". Then he proceeded to read our file, and about 10 seconds later he was groaning and said "I need to take some tums. Do you guys want some?" We kindly refused. He continued to read the file, without saying anything, for what felt like an eternity. So long that the silence got akward. He was making all sorts of odd expessions. I didn't know if I was supposed to say something or not. He also kept glancing out the window (he had a great view), and finally started fretting about whether a tornado was coming towards us!

Oh dear, I thought to myself, this guy has no clue what is going on. Then we talked about weight loss, and how there is only a 30% chance that will help, anyways. He told me I could go off metformin, which is awesome. I told him about my running, and he said that it might interfere with ovulation, and that I should not run that much. And then I asked him how much is too much, and he told me not to train for a marathon! Lol. Well yeah, I doubt running for 20 minutes in the morning will affect my ovulation, buddy.

In the end, I got sent for some bloodwork, got some meal plans and healthy living literature (yeah, because I don't know any of that already, weight doesn't just disapear the minute you start working on it, and your "miracle" photocopied meal plan is not going to do that either. I wish), and we are trying clomiphene again. We have a follow up appointment in 2 months.

I am disapointed. I was hoping for something more drastic I guess.I just really think the clomiphene is not going work, because it didn't last time. This guy in a reproductive endocrinologist, so he should know what is going on right? I have to trust him. But I just feel like we are wasting even more precious time.

The Call

Today I got the call that my appointment at Heartland Fertility Clinic is moved up from October 18th to THIS FRIDAY!! I am so pumped! I cried at work and had my coworkers jumping up and down for me and giving my hugs!

I feel like I have been given back some hope! God is certainly great.

I am so thankful the waiting time has been cut short, it was killing me. I am excited to get things moving forward again. I can't wait to be a mom!

Our vacation

I will not bore you too much with the details, but we had a great time last week on our summer vacation. It was much needed, I was really needing a break from work!

The first weekend at lilac was fun. We spent most of our time swimming, eating, naping and just hanging out with family. Eric went to the bombers game on saturday with Robert, while my mom and I napped. Hahaha.

Sunday we left Lilac for Star Lake. It was a great week. I ran every morning, and it was tough! I usually ate breakfast then napped before lunch. One morning Eric, Terry, Eloa and I attempted to bike to Falcon Lake. It was a hard bike ride with lots of uphills. We biked for 1 and 40 minutes! I wore my heartrate monitor and it said I burnt 2000 calories!! We didn't make it all the was to Falcon because it was taking too long and we wanted to make it back for lunch. The rest of the time was spend swimming, boating, reading, playing games, relaxing. It ended far to quickly.

Then Eric and I headed to Fargo for the long weekend. We went to the small border crossing at Tolstoi and waited for almost 2 hours to cross the border! It was insane! We got to Fargo far later than we expected. But, luckily we still had time to swim in the pool!! The hotel was great, and it was a good deal for everything it offered: pool/hot tub, microwave and fridge in room, king bed, free breakfast, fitness center. Saturday we shopped, Sunday we went to the Zoo (which had very few animals) and watched a movie. Monday we headed home after stopping at a few stores.

We were going to have lunch at the Texas Roadhouse in Grand Forks on the way home, but it didn't open until 4. So we looked across the street and saw the Golden Corral. We had hear it was good from several people, so we decided to try it out. It was horrific. The food was not bad, but there was so much. It was obscene. I felt like we were cattle being let in the gates to the troughs. I was so ashamed to be in there. I felt so guilty eating there that I barely ate anything!

After that experience, we heading home. I am glad to be home, I missed my animals, but it is just so good to get away for a while!

Running Weeks 5, 6 & 7 of 10

A very brief running update! Can't believe I have missed so many weeks.

Week 5 was run 4, walk 1 x four. It was pretty good!

Last week I ran in the Whiteshell with Eric. There was a lot of uphills (and downhills), that made the run alot harder! I ran 5 min, walked 1 x 3, then ran 2 minutes.

This week I am running 6, walking 1 x 3. This morning was the first morning running at home (yesterday I ran on the treadmill at the hotel), and it was relatively easy! I cannot believe how far I can run!

It is really hard to believe that in 2.5 short weeks I will be running for 20 minutes at a time! I can't wait for this to get easier!

My Journey To Fitness - Month 1

As promised , I will do a monthly overview of my fitness progress. I enjoy reading about it in Shape, and it will be good for me to journal my progress! I wish I had a Month 0, but I only got this idea a couple weeks ago.

Minutes running at a time: 5

Pounds to goal: 71

Acceptable Goal: Run for 20 minutes at a time.

Challenging Goal: Run for 45 minutes at a time, run a 5K and not get last.

Ultimate Goal: Loose 71 lbs, win a 5K. To be active every day. To run 5x a week, strength train 3x per week, and bike 2x on the weekends.

Today I read an article saying that many women who have PCOS loose weight, reverse PCOS and get pregnant without fertility treatments! If that is not motivation, I don`t know what is!

What changes I have made this month: began running, drinking more water, limiting salt addition to food, adding more fresh produce to diet, make more lunches at home and eating out less often. Making healthier choices when ordering out.

What I have learnt this month: I love running. It is easier to get started than I thought. It is a great way to start out my day. Exercising makes me crave healthier food. I am thinking more about what I put into my body. Making small changes at a time is easier than overhauling my lifestyle. It is easier to stick to, and it motivates me to make more changes. I feel alot less like a failure. Weight loss is not achieved by exercise alone, I have not lost a pound yet! Diet is equally important. Reading material, like magazines, on fitness helps to motivate me press on and it gives me lots of great tips and ideas, and great work outs!

What I want to change next month: Add some biking in on the weekends, continue running, and do more strength training. I also want to work more on my diet this month. I want to cut out as much processed food as possible, eat more fresh produce, and find healthy but yummy recipes. I would also like to add more avacados and asparagus to my diet, because I decided I like them!

Vacay!

Today Eric and I left for our summer vacation! I could not wait for this week. I really needed a week off and away from home. Even though I have weekend off, if I am home I just can't relax, cause there is always stuff to do at home!

This weekend we are at Lilac Resort with my Furgala family. We have been going every year for the last 15 years at least!

On Sunday we go to Star lake with all of Eloa's side of the family. I am really looking forward to relaxing there for the week. We will also probably go for a ride to Kenora one day, and several bike rides to west hawk. I will also do my week 6 of running there too!

Friday we are off to Fargo to stay in a hotel, just the two of us. We wanted to go camping, but pretty much everything in the whiteshell was booked up. This is probably the first time in a long time we haven't gone to the icelandic festival, but there is just nothing there for me any more. We don't have a lot of shopping to do, so we will probably go check out some of the local attractions!

I am excited!


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Lime Ricki

Today I got my bathing suits from Lime Ricki, and I seriously could NOT wait to get home to try them on. They are all beautiful and well made, but only one fits me great. They are true to what they say on their site, their suit run small, so order a size up!

The NickiThis suit was super cute, but I was really unsure about how the top would fit, and I was right. The bust area is much to small for me, and the thinner strap side did not have enough coverage at all. The torso area was also a bit tight, but it was a nice length. I think this suit would be best for someone with a smaller bust, there is just not enough room. It was my favorite one when I was ordering, but I am returning this one!

The Gen
I was not crazy about the look of this one, but it said it was good for C cups and over so I was willing to try it. I look like a submarine with it on. Paired with the yellow boy shorts I ordered, there was just too much yellow. And this top was VERY tight. And it did not have great support. It is going back too.

The Lizzie
I love the colour of this one. It is a bit longer and had more room in the torso than the other ones. For the most part, I really liked this suit and thought it fit great, except for the bust. It was a bit small, and it is kinda low cut. I was really on the fence about this top, but I think I am going to send it back cause I would like to try a different top. And if I kept it I would have to order yellow bottoms, and they are see through!

The Sadie
I immediately loved this one, I love the colorful dots! When I was ordering, I was thinking this one would fit the best, and I was right. Because it ties like a bikini top, it has great support that is adjustable, unlike the other tops. It is not quite as comfortable as the Lizzie, I am a little scared of popping out the sides, but I don't think that will actually happen. It just feels a little more exposed than the Lizzie. The bust could stand to have a little more room for me. I am keeping this one. I am pretty sure I am comfortable enough in it to go out in public! As comfortable as I will ever be in a bathing suit anyways!

Boy Shorts
I don't even know why I ordered these (Eric thinks they are really nice, that's why) because I hate boy shorts and these are no different. I just don't think they look right, plus the yellow is see through, I could see my underwear through them, so I can only imagine what they are like when wet! Embarrassing! But I ordered the yellow cause it matched every top I ordered. They were also a bit tight.

Original Bottoms - Turquoise Dot
They don't really match anything I have perfectly, but I will wear them with the Sadie top. They are SO comfortable.I love the extra band on the waist. I have no fear of plumbers crack with it, and it covers my belly nicely. They fit perfectly They are just super comfortable, and they have great coverage. I have to keep these ones cause I ordered them on clearance, but I think I will get another pair of original bottoms because these are so awesome! And believe the site, they definitely don't match the Lizzie top!!


All and all, I am happy with the purchases. I plan to order the Hallie tankini top (they say there is ample room in the bust!) and brown bottoms, and I will get a refund on the rest! I think if I was in better shape, these suits would have fit much nicer! But I am just glad I found something I could like!

Running Week 4 of 10

This week I am running 3 minutes, walking 1 minutes times 5, (total of 15 min running) it is surprisingly easy. I mean, it is not easy, but at then end of the 3 minutes I feel like I could keep going for a bit longer. I got a Timex Ironman Road Trainer heart rate monitor for my birthday, and it helps keep me going at the right pace.

I started reading Shape magazine a few months ago, and I really like it. Each month it has two people check in to talk about their weight loss and what changes they are making each month. It is fun to watch their progress. So I am thinking of doing something like that on here! And I welcome anyone to join me!

Running Week 3 of 10!

This week I am running for 2 minutes, walking for 1 x 6, then run 2 minutes for a total of 14 minutes running (20 minutes all together). It is hard. But it is doable!

This is actually my fourth week of running, the third week that Sarah is joining me! I am still loving it. I started going to the gym in Gimli with Coralee, a co worker. The gym there is small, cramped and it feels like a dungeon! I don't like it, and I probably won't go another month. But yesterday I did a workout from my Shape magazine and I really liked it! It was fast, the moves weren't complicated and I could feel the burn! I am going again tomorrow.

On another note, I just ordered a bunch of bathing suits from Lime Ricki to try on! I doubt I will keep them all ( I ordered 4 tops and 2 bottoms), but I can't wait to get them. I am sick of wearing a bikini with shirt over the top. The shirt always hold SO much water and it slows me down on water slides!

Running: Week 2 of 10

Week 2 of the running schedule is run 1 minute, walk 1 minute x 10. So we run for a total of 10 minutes this week, with a shorter rest period. So far, so good. I still can't imagine running for 2 minutes straight next week will be easy, but we will cross that bridge when we get there! We still have 3 days left of this interval.

I love running. I love running first thing in the morning. So far we have had good weather each morning, no rain. We get up early enough that it is still cool. This morning we went at 730, it was still cool, but I think if we had gone any later it would have gotten warm. Running is a great way to start out my day.

With all this running, you would expect that I would be loosing weight. But no. The scale is staying the same (Eric and I FINALLY bought our own bathroom scale the other day, so now the readings will be consistent) I am still telling myself the weight loss will come with time, but being human, I need some immediate gratification! My diet is not great right now. I mean, eating a handful of chocolate chips, and when I mean a handful I mean as many chocolate chips as my greasy paw can possible hold on to at once, is not exactly conducive to weight loss or a healthy lifestyle. That is just not a habit I want to hold on to.

I am thinking of reading Thin Within again. I never really finished it last time, and I know I said I would take things one step at a time, but this eating needs to get reined back in! Or maybe I should wait a few weeks until I get the hang of this running thing.

I also need to start working my muscles. Running as cardio is great, but I know I need to weight train as well if I want to be as healthy as possible! I joined the gym in Gimli with a friend. I haven't gone yet, but I will tomorrow. I will probably only go for a month. I think it is kinda yucky, and I would rather do P90X at home. That way I know I am working all my muscles properly and not leaving anything out.

Does anyone know of a good Yoga DVD that I could try? The P90X one is 1.5 hours long and that is just too much for me at a time. 45 minutes would be perfect, but I could do an hour it if is really good.

YAY!

Thank you so much for praying! I really appreciate it! The test went very well, I got in a bit early and was done fairly quickly. And the best part of all is that everything looked fine and there are no blockages, "unofficially". They cannot tell me for sure until the final report, but the radiologist was in the room for like 20 seconds and said everything looked good. So I am not worried. I am so thankful that I am over and done with this step, and I am looking forward to the next one!

HSG

If you think of me today at 1:30, please pray. Pray that the test gets done, that is will be as pain free as possible and that the results will be good.
Thanks! :)

Week 1 of 10

Tomorrow Sarah and I start our 10 week running plan. So by the end of the summer we should be running for 20 minutes without stopping. Right now 1 minute is hard.

This morning I started the schedule, running for 1 minute, walking for 2 minutes- six times, then run 1 minute, plus warm up, cool down and stretching. And it was HARD. I can run for a good 45 seconds, but after that I just want to stop!

I am very glad to have a partner to run with, it is so much more motivation! I am excited for us to get fitter and healthier together!

Running

I started running last week. I am terrible at it. But that is to be expected. I have talked to a couple runners this week that said they could barely run 30 seconds when they started, but now, one of them at least, can run for 2 hours without stopping! Actually both of them are running in the marathon this weekend! Now if that isn't encouragement....

So I am going to press on. I am starting slow, going out for 20 minutes. My short term goal is to run for 20 minutes without stopping. When I reach that goal, then I will run for longer. My long term goal is to run for an hour.

I have been going to bed earlier and getting up earlier to go for a run. I think that will work best for me, because I know I will not feel like running after a long day of work. And I think I am going to love it. I do love the feeling of running, but I don't love how I feel after 30 seconds of running!

This is going to be the start of a healthier lifestyle for me. I have tried so many diets and exercise plans, and I will probably try some more. Not diets so much, but exercise plans. I like switching it up. But I always try to change everything at once, and I get burnt out. So this time, I am going to fit running into my schedule. Once that become a habit, I am going to start working harder on my eating habits. I am still going to try eating as healthy as possible in the mean time, but I am not going to stress about it! I think taking little steps will be longer lasting that changing everything at once!

On another note, I passed my Fitness Theory exam! So my first step of becoming a fitness instructor is complete! I still have much more to do though...

Happy Birthday!

Twenty-five years ago the most amazing man in the world was born, and 20 years later he married me! :)

Happy Birthday Eric! You are the greatest!

Rescheduled

I have debated for a long time over whether to go into detail about some of our fertility treatments and stuff, and I decided now I will. Perhaps it will add some interest to this blog. So to get you up to speed, it has been over 2.5 years of trying, I have had tonnes of blood tests, an ultrasound, a MRI, I am currently on a daily medication/vitamin schedule to help control the PCOS, and we have tried 4 unsuccessful rounds of a fertility drug called clomiphene (Clomid).

Today I was scheduled for a hysterosalpingogram, which is sort of an video xray to see if my fallopian tubes are open. I was waiting for the appointement for a long time, and really looking forward to getting it over with so we can move on with other fertility treatments. I gowned up (YAY) and went into the xray room. They started asking a bunch of questions, and then realized it was too late in my cycle, and they don't normally do them that late.

The doctor came in to talk to me, I tried to convice her to still do it, but she said we would have to reschedule. Like a baby, I immediately burst into tears. I felt so dumb, but I just couldn't help it. It was just so disappointing. I am just sick of waiting for appointments. Because I was so upset, they scheduled me in for another appointment in two weeks. I am sure I made it really awkward for all of them, and I don't really want to go back there cause I feel so dumb. I hope it is different people....

It also hurts extra cause this is not the first time I have left an appointment in the city empty handed. A couple months ago I had an appointment with my ob/gyn but she had to rush out for a procedure and they had to reschedule. Which means I had to take another day off work and I wasted that trip into the city. Same with this, I took a day off work for nothing, and now I have to take another one off. Having a baby is NOT supposed to be this complicated, people!

Wedding Rings

I haven't worn my wedding rings in weeks. Truth is that I was not really sure where they were. I thought for sure they were somewhere in my house. This past Saturday was the first real time Eric and I had looked for them. We didn't find them, but I wasn't too worried, I figured I would find them when I cleaned the house. Saturday and yesterday I prayed that I would find them. They have probably been missing for two months or so.

Today a co-worker, Coralee, walked up to me with a ring in her hand and asked if it was mine. Sure enough, it was my wedding band. She had just found it in the rubber door liner of our front loading washing machine! I had no idea they were even at work! I must have forgotten them in a scrub top pocket and they went through the machine. My engagement ring, however, was not in the liner. Nor was it under the machine or anywhere in the laundry room.

It just so happens that our washing machine had not been working great for the past couple days, so today the repairmen came to fix it. I told them that my wedding ring was possibly lost in the machine. He thought it was probabl y in the pump. I asked if my ring could be causing the problems, and he said no. He asked how badly I wanted my ring back, and I asked him how easy the pump was to get into. He said easy, so I said I wanted him to check for it. After all, it is worth more than the washing machine itself!

I thought he would come tell me right away when he found the ring, but when I went in to check on him, he was all done fixing it and I didn't think he had found it. Until he held it up and asked me if I wanted it back! OF COURSE I wanted to back! It was pretty dirty, and a bit tarnished! But I am just so thankful!

Now, I am amazed at the way God orchestrates things:
-had Coralee not found the first ring, I would never have known they were lost at work.
-had both rings been in the pump, I would NEVER EVER have found them.
-had our washing maching not been broken, the repairman would never have been there to retrieve my ring from the pump, nor would I have known it could even get into the pump.

Eric is now saying that we are getting them recoated with rodium so I don't have allergic reactions to them, and then I am never allowed to take them off. And he wants to buy me a chain to wear them around my neck if I ever need to take them off. This is not the first time I lost them. The first time I lost them in the turkey barn and Terry found them with a metal detector. I was lucky a turkey didn't eat them!

Thanks God, for caring about every little detail of our lives.