Perfect 10 Update #9

Posted on March 6, 2010 by Leah@MyNewEnding
Here’s my second to last update for the Perfect 10 Challenge. While the weight isn’t moving too quickly and the water has been a struggle I have to admit I’m excited that I’ve completed my main goal of this challenge!


My Perfect 10 Goals Are:
  1. Complete the Couch to 5K program. Yes!!!!!!! I finished week 9 on Thursday. So, I have officially completed the Couch to 5K program!!! I am not running a full 5K yet (3.1 mi), so I will be continuing my runs and adding a couple of minutes each week until I reach that distance. Then I plan on working on my speed.


  2. Drink 6-8, 8 oz. glasses of water daily. Kind of. Four days this week I got at least six glasses in, so that is progress with the water.


  3. Adjust my eating to see weight loss. No, but TOM has arrived and PMS seems to bring a gain lately. I’m trying not to use PMS as simply an excuse for such a large gain, but I know it is a fact of life. I’m confident it will come off next week, so I’m not worried.

As for the little tidbit on me….

I enjoy scrapbooking. I’ve dabbled in it for the past twelve years. It’s a hobby I absolutely love, but I also like other crafts, so I don’t sit and put all my extra time into it. In my dreams I have this ultra organized scrapbooked space with everything at my disposal to just sit and create. 🙂 I’m thinking this will happen more when (A) I keep my scrapping area clean and (B) my kids are grown or even (C) I just make myself go spend 30 minutes once a week and get a page or two done.

About two years ago my neighbor friend introduced me to the world of digital scrapbooking. I now really enjoy that also. It’s not traditional at all, but I really like that there’s no mess and I just enjoy using the computer and designing pages.

I don’t have these scrapbooks that are totally up to date, but I work on them when I can. I also use both my paper scrapping stuff and my digital scrapping stuff for card making and such, so I know the investment in supplies has not gone to waste. 🙂

At the top of this post you can see a sample of a digital scrapbooked “card”. Originally, it’s 4×6 in size. I can print it like a photo and adhere it to cardstock folded like a card. This one will probably get printed and put in a little 4×6 album of mini pages of our family.

Any time you see something like this on my blog I created it myself, unless I give credit to someone else.


Some of my favorite scrapbook sites are:

Shabby Miss Jenn Designs

Shabby Princess

Two Peas in a Bucket

Scrapbooks Etc.



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Weigh-In … M&Ms and PMS

Posted on March 5, 2010 by Leah@MyNewEnding

Today’s Weight: 207.0
Loss/Gain: +2.5 lbs.
Total Loss So Far: -24 lbs.
My eating this week hasn’t been all that horrible. I’m still learning to stop eating when satisfied, but after a day or two of “letting go” I was back on track.
However, a few days ago I couldn’t get enough of the dark chocolate M&Ms. I tried some milk chocolate ones, but they just weren’t doing the trick. I have a little (like one cup bowl) full of them, um…well, it was full and I would dip into them and grab about 10 at a time. I kept wondering what was wrong with me?!?! I wasn’t eating them until they made me sick, just dipping into them throughout the day. hhmm…..
Yea. Then it hit me. It’s “that time” coming up.
It’s crazy how for three-and-a-half weeks of the month if I overeat it’s because I just overate, but there are those couple of days where I can’t get enough of one or two certain things – usually chocolate and Pepsi. So weird. I didn’t crave soda as much this time, but definitely those M&Ms.
I don’t think it was reason for a 2.5 pound gain, but it did give me the clue of what was coming. So, I’ve done better the past day or so and I still see this rather large gain. Oh well.
I know it will come off next week after things are getting back to “normal”. 🙂
p.s. Check back tomorrow for some exciting news on my progress with the C25K program!
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Busy Day

Posted on March 4, 2010 by Leah@MyNewEnding

Well, I have a busy day ahead of me, so I’m popping in to say that I hope you are all doing well. I have the signs of TOM coming to visit and I’m afraid a gain will show itself on the scale tomorrow.

So, I keep reminding myself the scale is a tool and I’m not going to beat myself up over a PMS gain…as vexing as it may be.
Maybe I’m all nervous for nothing and that would be a nice surprise. We’ll see.
In the meantime, I shall go on with my busy day and check in with you all tomorrow. Have a good one!
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Chat With the Skinny Girl

Posted on March 3, 2010 by Leah@MyNewEnding

Today as I was doing my 2nd 30-minute jog on a track a slim woman who was jogging faster than me pops by and says, “I am so impressed with you!!”. To which I called out, “You are my goal!!” and laughed… She said something about needing to go faster, but I couldn’t hear her because she was leaping ahead of me.

Me? Impressive?
You know, having someone who is thin and jogs at a nice quick pace tell you (the chunky, turtle jogger) that you impress them is a great encouragement. It made me think I could on forever!! 🙂
After I was done with my jog I happened to see her as we were walking out to our cars and I told her how much it meant to me that she would say that. This was her reply:
She gave me a *BIG HUG* and gushed, “Oh, but you did. I am so impressed that you just kept going. I saw you and thought ‘She’ll quit any minute’ and you didn’t. You just kept going.”
Her mother (I assume) interjected that her husband (who she had been walking with) even commented on how I just kept going.
Amazing. 🙂 Even as I type I’m so tickled with this.
They asked how long I’ve been running and I told them that this is my ninth week. 🙂 We talked about just keeping going and then bid each other farewell.
I’m so excited! Not only because someone noticed that I didn’t quit running, but because I’m actually doing it. I’m doing something I never dreamed I could. Today on the track there was probably 10-15 people walking and only 3 jogging.
I was one of those three and you have no idea what a miracle that is. And to top it off… the skinny chick said I impressed her. That, my friends, was the icing on the proverbial cake.
What a great feeling!!
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Another Giveaway

Posted on March 2, 2010 by Leah@MyNewEnding

Okay, looks like it’s giveaway week! 🙂

Well, as much as I love chocolate, I really love buying new socks and underclothes. Silly, I know, but I enjoy having new stuff (maybe because it’s not an everyday thing). It’s even better when I can afford to buy good quality, so that’s why I’m posting about this great giveaway consisting of some Bridgedale socks. I haven’t tried them, but Trish’s husband says they are wonderful. My socks are getting loose, so I’m going to need want more soon.
However, because I want to win I’m not going to tell you that it’s being offered by Trish over at Endurance Isn’t Only Physical.
I’m also not going to tell you that you can click here to get in on the giveaway yourself.
Yes, because I’d like to be picked I’m not going to wish you good luck! *wink* 🙂
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ATTUNE giveaway

Posted on March 2, 2010 by Leah@MyNewEnding


Lori at Finding Radiance is doing a giveaway of Attune bars. I’ve never tried them before, but I hear they are wonderful. So, I’m going to enter her giveaway and you can too by clicking here.

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Breaking Through

Posted on March 2, 2010 by Leah@MyNewEnding

I’ve started the last week of the Couch to 5K program today. So, I ran for 30 minutes straight. Woo Hoo!

However, about 13 minutes from the end of my run I started experiencing this sharp, jabbing pain in my lower right side. OH, it hurt so bad!! I wanted to quit, but I knew I couldn’t. I told myself that if I couldn’t keep going because it got worse, only then would I stop.
I’m not sure if it’s the lack of water that caused the pain or the quick pace. I have this feeling I started out a tad faster than normal and maybe that was the problem.
So, I slowed down my running and kept getting those laps done until I realized that the pain wasn’t so bad any more.
Do you know how good it feels to push yourself past some pain and finish what you set out to do? Boy it was horrible, and I was even jogging for a few minutes with my hand on my side, but I wouldn’t quit. It was a good feeling to get through it and I’m so proud I did that today.
How about you? Feel free to share a time you broke through something that could’ve stopped you on your weight loss journey. How did it feel when you came out victorious? I know we’d all love to hear about it. 🙂
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Perfect 10 Update #8

Posted on February 27, 2010 by Leah@MyNewEnding


Here’s another update for the Perfect 10 Challenge.

Well, we are on the downhill side of the Perfect 10 Challenge. I didn’t do so hot on the last challenge I took part in, but I feel this one is going fine. I’m beginning to feel very accomplished!

My Perfect 10 Goals Are:
  1. Complete the Couch to 5K program. Yes. I finished week 8 of the Couch to 5K program this week. This week it was running 28 minutes each of the three days. I’m running just under two miles in this time. Technically I’m supposed to be running a 5K (3.1 miles) by the end of next week. I don’t think that’s going to happen, so I’m already beginning to think how I can continue this program until I am running a full 5K – or 3.1 miles.


  2. Drink 6-8, 8 oz. glasses of water daily. No. Just haven’t been getting the water in. This is something I have to work on.


  3. Adjust my eating to see weight loss. Yes. I saw a 1.0 pound loss this week. I’m glad because this shows progress. It’s the lowest weight I’ve been so far and that is exciting.

As for the little tidbit on me….

My husband and I love to have people over for dinner or dinner parties. We enjoy cooking and having friends come over and join us for a meal and some time of fellowship. Sometimes it’s just one family and sometimes, like this past New Years Eve, it’s a few families – kids and all. 🙂 It’s great fun!

This is one of the things I love about Thanksigiving. I love the cooking and planning and setting out a nice dinner. Some people find it all overwhelming, but I find great joy in putting together a large meal and serving it to friends and family.

I’ve catered one wedding for some friends of ours. Since I’ve lived in this state, I’ve also put together a mother-daughter lunch at our church each year around Mother’s Day. This years theme is Asian food with black and white decor.

After seeing the movie “Julie & Julia” I think french food will be on the menu for next year. 🙂 Yes, I plan ahead, because I just love doing these kinds of things. 🙂

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Weigh-In … Progress

Posted on February 26, 2010 by Leah@MyNewEnding

Today’s Weight: 204.5

Loss/Gain: -1.0 lb
Total Loss So Far: 26.5 lbs.
I am pleased with this one pound loss as it shows progress in my journey. I had “weekend-itis” last weekend and overate too many times. So, I was doing my best to be careful and mindful about eating only when truly hungry and stopping when satisfied from Monday on. It is getting easier.
My water drinking has been horrible for February. Last night just before bed I was so very thirsty and I drank a glass full. I think my body was telling me, “Okay, you’ve had your break. Now please hydrate me!!”
All in all, it is progress in the right direction and now I’m getting itchy feet to see the scale break below 200. Soon and very soon!
Have a great Friday everyone!
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First Outside Run

Posted on February 25, 2010 by Leah@MyNewEnding



Our weather has been a little warmer and the sun has been out. So, I thought I’d go ahead and try jogging at the park today. I wore layers of clothes and a beanie to keep my ears warm. It’s a good thing I dressed warmly, because I was reminded that 50 degrees is still cold.
It was very windy and I hadn’t counted on that before deciding to go. I decided I had to do it just this once…I was itching to run outside. Thankfully the wind was blowing very strongly on the first half of the lap, but it was to my back the second half. That gave me something to look forward to as I pushed on in with the wind in my face.
I was a bit excited to jog outside. I made a little video at the end, but it was really long so I’ll have to clip it and upload it to here later. In the meantime, here’s a picture of me after my run.
Yea, I know I look goofy, but I don’t really care… I jogged outside!! Oh, and I passed a woman who was walking almost as fast as I was jogging (yea..I was slow and you know the wind didn’t help) and she told me I was doing great! I told her what I tell everyone..it all started with walking! We agreed that we’ll both keep working at what exercises we’re doing – little by little. 🙂

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