The 2014 40/40 Challenge!

I have to apologize because I should have posted this last week. I'm cutting it a bit close here. For those who don't know, tomorrow is Ash Wednesday (I guess it's probably sacrilegious to call it Ash Gwensday, although I'll probably do that anyway), which begins the season of Lent. My friend from high school, Rose, is part of a group of women who started the 40/40 Challenge with the idea of picking up a good habit during Lent instead of giving up a bad one.

I posted about this last year, and if you missed it, you should check it out if only for the 80s pictures of Rose and me. Classic.

So here are the "rules:" Do some form of exercise for 40 minutes every day for 40 days. That's it. Technically Lent lasts 46 days, but Sundays are optional, so you can have a rest day each week. With any luck, you'll start a habit that will last long after Easter.

I desperately need the challenge this year because the habit didn't last for me last year and I've become a slug.

That needs to stop.

Interested? Of course you can do this on your own, but if you're on Facebook, there is a 40/40 group. It's private but if you friend me on my personal FB page, which you can do here, I'll get you added. It's a great way to get and give support and motivation. Either way, I'll do a 40/40 update of my own each Gwensday during the challenge and you can report in here if you like.

And if you're reading this after the challenge starts, don't worry, it's never too late to get moving!

Random Thursday

Happy Halloween! Apparently Columbus is bracing for serious storms tonight which might cause problems for Trick-or-Treat. In our neighborhood we have ONE child and he's still young enough that his parents have convinced him that instead of going from house to house getting candy, he goes from house to house and gives out candy. That surely can't last much longer!

Last year's costume; this year he'll be a firefighter.

Last night was Yahtzee night at Theresa's house. She had some fantastic food, including chicken & dumplings and a pumpkin bread pudding that I may have to make ... someday. I didn't even see the cocktail napkins until I was leaving but y'all know I love a good cocktail napkin and this was perfect.

A couple months ago when Jeannie hosted, she had these, which I forgot to put on the blog but it's also a keeper:

Speaking of fat pants, I saw this the other day and could definitely relate:

I normally don't repost things with random capitalization or
other grammatical issues, but this is an exception.

Yesterday a bunch of bloggers participated in a link up called "Someday I Will ..." One of my responses to that is someday I will not be such a huge procrastinator. Hahahahaha! But I did actually make a step in the right direction of that goal:

Sign of the apocalypse? I already have my Christmas cards!

And finally, if you'd like a chance to win some PayPal cash in preparation for the holidays (or just for whatever the hell you want), check out Helene's blog, where I'm participating in a giveaway!

Monthly Measures #6

Let's just pretend you're reading this on Monday, OK? OK.

I don't have a lot to report this month. The 12 days of travel in Europe netted me a two pound gain (I was totally fine with that). We walked a lot, of course, and I ate what I wanted. The hardest thing about the travel? Drinking enough water. The joke was that we couldn't afford to stay hydrated. I mean, in a lot of places beer was cheaper than water, and then unless you were patronizing a restaurant or in your hotel room you had to pay to use a public restroom. Adding to that difficulty was the flooding in some of the areas we were in, which made the tap water questionable.

Last week, as you know, I walked to work. When I added up all the miles I walked just during the work week, it was 18.1 miles. (Holy crap!) Too bad that doesn't translate into weight loss, but then again my eating and drinking were kind of stupid last week. Must. Get. Back. On. Track.

And in the meantime, I have a good bit going on in my head right now so I'm pretty unfocused and for all I know nothing I write makes any sense. But it's all good -- or it will be! This week I'll probably only walk one day to work, but next week I should be good for four days.

Linking up with Nicole

Monthly Measures #5

Yeah, so that squat challenge that I was going to do last month? Didn't happen. Rather, it started but I didn't finish it. I always have the best intentions when starting some fitness challenge and then, well you know what the say about good intentions.

BUT I do have some good news to report. In May I saw a number on the scale that I haven't seen in probably five years, and I finally got to put the new charm on my bracelet! I'm down about 20 pounds; I was hoping to have lost 30 before going to Europe, but I'll take it! We leave this Friday and will be gone 11 days. I don't plan to deprive myself of any food or drink, but we'll be walking a lot too so I'm just hoping for a wash, weight-wise. Tune in next month to see how this worked out for me. Oh, but then when we get back it's Festival time in Columbus so there's another challenge.

I don't have a lot for this month's entry, so I must leave you with this:

(Not really, but I do love the idea.)

What do you miss?

The topic for Day 12 of Blog Every Day in May is "What do you miss?" This is a tough assignment, and I thought about skipping it, and technically it's a day late, but dammit I'm still going to post.

To be sure, there are people I miss, and I miss my first two cats, and I miss "simpler times," but right now all I can think is that I really miss having a flat belly. And while it may never be totally flat again, I hope I can beat it into submission and get back the illusion of a smaller waistline.

Monthly Measures #4

I totally jinxed myself by prematurely buying the new charm for my bracelet and now I've hit a plateau. Ugh. But for this month's post I'm talking about a couple new things I'm doing to mix things up.

I'm doing a 30 day squat challenge, which I guess is all over Pinterest, but I first heard about it through Nicole (who is also the brains behind Monthly Measures). So far, so good, but it's only day 6.

I also recently downloaded the Daily Workouts app to my iPhone. There is a free version, which I started with, but then I sprung for the $3.99 to get the full version. You can focus on an area or do cardio or a full workout and you specify for how long you want to work out. Then a video starts which shows you the exercise and then tells you when to switch to the next one. There are also in-app add-ons you can purchase, like kettle bell workouts or stretches or Pilates (I haven't done any of those yet).

I really want to step it up a notch this next month. We leave for Europe in 32 days!

Monthly Measures #3 - When XL Isn't L Enough

So, how did I get here? Growing up, I was very thin without even trying. I was warned that it would catch up with me, but why on earth would I do anything about it (and what would I even do, until it's too late)? Even in college I stayed pretty thin. I've never been an athlete, but I guess traipsing around campus from class to class provides exercise. How about that?!


After graduation, I settled into a desk job and ever-so-slowly started putting on a little weight. Then I married someone who is ridiculously thin and even 20+ years later shows no signs of ever NOT being thin. He could eat whatever he wanted whenever he wanted, so why couldn't I?

I love clothes and I love to shop. I became irritated when the sizes got bigger. I tried different weight loss plans - the Zone Diet, Slimfast, Weight Watchers, Eat Clean... I participated in a "biggest loser" type class at my gym, and actually saw success. But something would happen: illness, surgery, death in the family, and I'd get off track and not get back on.

Over a year ago, I ordered a T-shirt online. I'm certain that I ordered an extra large, but I received a size XXL. I was disappointed, but I was pretty much mortified when I tried it on and it wasn't too big. Granted, sizes are all different and I don't wear XXL in everything, but still...

My trouble area is my stomach. This apparently gives some people the idea that I'm pregnant. I've actually been asked by complete strangers "when are you due?" And please note that it's always been women, not men, who ask the question. Seriously? Why do people DO that? And of course, I'm usually so thrown off that all I can say is "oh, I'm not pregnant." But what I'd often LIKE to say is:

I don't have any wise words for this month's post. I guess I'm just venting. Since last month, I have lost a few more pounds, and I did buy a new charm for my bracelet. But I'm not putting it on until I get to a certain point and I'm super close but not quite there yet.

Stay Tuned,

Monthly Measures #2

Check here for my first Monthly Measures post. I struggled with what to write this month. I only lost two pounds since February's post, but I'm seeing progress in other areas. My jeans are loose around the waist (even fresh out of the dryer!) and I can take my belt to the third notch instead of battling to fasten at the first one. And I know a lot of women don't like it that one of the first places to notice weight loss is the boobs, but I'm really OK with it, and I've had to change where I fasten my bra and frankly, it's exciting.

I joined in on the 40/40 Challenge for the season of Lent, and I've done it although some days it's 10 minutes here and there at the office. With the door closed.

A year (or maybe two) ago I tried to come up with a reward system for myself. It didn't last, but now that I'm being accountable to Blog World I'm going to resurrect it. I'm a girly girl and I love clothing and shoes and jewelry. So I have this charm bracelet from Swarovski. (I think this is the one but the 6 3/4 inch length can't possible be right because what adult has a wrist that small?) I currently have only two charms, and I've decided that for every 10 pounds I lose I'll buy a new charm.

My charms (I don't think they're still available because I bought them so long ago.)

I think my next purchase will be this Crystal Double Star charm. Let's see if I can get my ass in gear and buy it soon!

Stay Tuned,

The Gila

Linking up with Nicole

40/40 Challenge 2013

Logo for last year designed by one of the participants.

About a year ago I was invited to participate in an exercise challenge called 40/40. My friend Rose and two of her friends started this (I'm not sure how long ago) as a twist on "giving up ______ for Lent." Rather than give up something, how about committing to exercise for 40 minutes a day for the 40 days of Lent?

In the Christian tradition, Lent begins on Ash Wednesday (or, the day after Mardi Gras if that's how you roll) and goes until Easter. Technically it's 46 days, but Sundays don't count, thus 40 days. For the purposes of this challenge, Sundays don't count either, although you're certainly welcome to exercise that day as well.

Rose is very athletic and runs a lot. I fall into neither of those categories. She also lives in Arizona so us Northern folks can be jealous right about now. Anyway, the idea of this isn't to run everyday; it's just to MOVE.

There's a Facebook page for this group; it's a private page, but I have connections. If you're interested, leave a comment or shoot me an email at gwen.carmack@gmail.com. It's a great group of people from all over who inspire and encourage each other. I'm doing this again to keep up the momentum in my weight loss journey. Are you in?

And now, for your entertainment, a couple pictures of Rose and me from high school days (keep in mind this was the 80's).

That's me (in a bizarre and unflattering pose) and Rose.

A toast! Me, Maret, Rose, Stacey

Stay Tuned and Keep Moving,

The Gila

Monthly Measures #1

I'm joining up with Nicole for her Monthly Measures. The first Monday of every month I'll be posting something related to health/fitness/weight loss. Back in November I embarked on a new weight loss journey; I even thought about doing a separate blog about it, even if just for myself. But I like this idea of checking in on a monthly basis, making myself accountable, and hopefully encouraging others along the way.




Since mid-November I've changed my eating habits. I don't deprive myself of something if I want to eat it (on Saturday I really wanted pizza so we ordered one, and it was delicious and I don't regret it one bit) but I am making smarter choices and doing much better at portion control. In 12 weeks I've lost 14 pounds. I'm happy with that. I'm not looking for a quick fix that will eventually backfire. I'm not quite ready to give you numbers as to how much I weigh, but suffice it to say that I still have a ways to go.

One of the things I've been making sure I do is eat breakfast. It might only be a protein bar, but I try to make sure I eat something that's balanced. To help me stay on track with this, I downloaded an app to my iPhone called Commit ($2.99). It helps remind you to do something (anything you want) every day. Right now my only one is eating breakfast. I once had flossing in there but that didn't stick...yet. I have it set to ask me every day at 10:00 am if I've had breakfast, and at the bottom is a visual guide to tell me how many days in a row I've done it.

Today made 62 days in a row!

I try to switch up my breakfasts so I don't get bored: eggs, oatmeal, protein bar. I also have a new favorite smoothie, which I found at Green Plate Rule. Here's a link to the original recipe:

It calls for almond milk, almond butter, blueberries, greens (I use spinach) and chia seeds. I haven't tried chia seeds yet, but I already have ground flax seeds so I use that instead. I also add whey protein powder, vanilla flavored. And lately I've changed it up a little more by substituting lemon flavored fish oil for the almond butter, making it a blueberry-lemon smoothie. I just love the combination of blueberries and lemons - so refreshing!

Here's the fish oil supplement I'm using. I get the lemon zest flavor, but I'm looking forward to trying other flavors as well. You can by it from the Barlean's website, or Google it to buy from another retailer.

Barlean's Omega Swirl

Thanks Nicole, for hosting this link up! I'll be checking back in next month.

Stay Tuned,

The Gila