why is eating healthy so expensive??

I have been thinking about this blog for a few weeks now and after today I had to finally write it. I went to dinner tonight and ordered some grilled fish tacos and I asked for a side salad instead of chips and salsa- great right?? Yes!! Until my waitress said "that will be an extra charge, is that ok?" Seriously why is it an extra charge for me to eat healthy. It does not cost more money to throw some lettuce on a plate and put dressing in a cup! And it surely did not cost $2.00 more!! Then you go somewhere like McDonald's where you can get a cheese burger for $.99 but to get a salad it costs over $5.00. This is why people eat bad food- it is cheaper and people are CHEAP!!!

Not only does a restaurant charge you extra to eat healthy but so does the grocery store. It seems the more fresh fruits and veggies I eat the more my grocery bill goes up! Seriously people help a fat sister out!! I am trying to eat the apple instead of the freaking pudding cup but it is cheaper for me to get the 4 pudding cups for a buck than the apple for $1.47 a pound!! It is nuts that a candy bar is cheaper than an apple...no wonder we live in the country with more weight problems than any other....GRRR 

Goals for Jan

It is that time of the month where I need to take a look back at my goals and see if I met them or not this month. My goals were :

Run 3 days a week- I did this 3 out of the four weeks this month!! Not too bad. I only missed because of a blister on my foot- so I did not fully meet my goal but I am very happy with what I was able to do. 

Run a 10k in an hour- I did not do this at my race but I was able to do it while running on my own. One day I will be able to run it in a race! 

loose 8 pounds-  I started at 187 this month and this is where I am! 

Polar Dash 10K

Yesterday was a very cold run :-) 6 miles in some snow at the beautiful lake front. It was a great race and the course was well maintained considering the weather conditions. I learned that I need to be starting closer to the start line of the race. I was at the back and spent almost a mile walking, running a little, and passing walkers- this impacted my time for sure!!! It was really nice to feel like I could keep running when I had finished....when I got to the finish I (for a moment) wished I were running the 1/2 marathon and not the 10K. I finished only 15 secs faster than the last 10K I ran- I have to say that the time really makes me mad because I know I am better than that. I am trying to remember that because of the crowds my first mile was really slow and I was weaving in and out of people and that added a 1/2 a mile to my distance. Overall I should be happy with a time of 1hour and 8mins- but I would be lying if I said I were proud of it.

I am still having no luck on the shoes...so I am ordering the same ones I have but in a 1/2 size bigger. I definitely need a bigger size because I have lost another toe nail and this time it is not pretty. I am hopeful that I will have some luck!

Here are some pictures from this weekend-

:-)

I weighed in this morning at the gym-180.8!! That is the smallest number I have ever seen!! WOOOHOOO! This crazy hard work is totally paying off. I am so glad for great friends that encourage me!

I ran in the coldest weather ever this morning- it ended up being my fastest time yet! Good run with a great partner!

Saturday is the Polar Dash 10k so I will post my time this weekend!

Running Pains- Part2

Well it has been a few weeks since I decided to complain :-) I thought that this morning would be the perfect opportunity to. HA really this is not meant to be a complain session. Just the truth about what it is like to have flat feet and try to get good running shoes. I am on pair number three, these feel better than the other two, are the same brand that I was running in before, but there is one difference....an insole. Which at the time I thought would be great but it is rubbing on my arch and gave a nasty blister; so I have been out of commission since last Thursday. So obtaining my goal of running three times a week is becoming impossible!! I am going to run tomorrow am in my old shoes and my 10k-hopefully my bruise is better by then so I can run it on Saturday. We shall see! I do need to put a shout out to my friends who have been to the running store many times and have not lost patience with me :-) Thanks

Man in the Mirror and Motivation

The Man in the Mirror

I'm Gonna Make A Change,
For Once In My Life
It's Gonna Feel Real Good,
Gonna Make A Difference
Gonna Make It Right . . .

I'm Starting With The Man In
The Mirror
I'm Asking Him To Change
His Ways
And No Message Could Have
Been Any Clearer
If You Wanna Make The World
A Better Place
(If You Wanna Make The
World A Better Place)
Take A Look At Yourself, And
Then Make A Change
(Take A Look At Yourself, And
Then Make A Change)
(Na Na Na, Na Na Na, Na Na,
Na Nah)


This is by far my favorite MJ song and for some reason when I heard it today it clicked in a different way. I heard it today as a message to myself that only I can control who I see when I look in the mirror. I have to find happiness in what I am seeing. For so long I saw a fat unhappy person. The person I am starting to see now is more confident, happy, and content. Only I can change what and who I see in the floor length mirror. It is so easy sometimes to see the bad when looking at your own reflection- but what about being able to be positive about that reflection. I think that when I am happy with what I see I am a better person all around because thats darn reflection affects so much of ones life. It is how I start and end my day- if I can get past the acne I see on my face and the "muffin top" that I swear will never go away, then I can be a positive person in so many parts of my life. I have to start believing what others are telling me and I have to give credit to myself where it is due instead of constantly making a "honey to do list" for myself. 


Motivation- hmmm something that I seem to be lacking lately...hmmm something that can go one of two ways. Motivation is and internal and external part of life. As defined my dictionary.com motivation


The act or an instance of motivating,  or providing with areason to act in a certain way: I don't understand what hermotivation was for quitting her job. Synonyms: motive,inspiration, inducement, cause, impetus.

2.

the state or condition of being motivated: We know that thesestudents have strong motivation to learn.

3.

something that motivates;  inducement; incentive: Clearly,the company's long-term motivation is profit.

So I ask myself this question tonight what really motivates me. Well first of all it is the number on the stupid scale. That number has instilled in me a personal motivation- I want that number to decrease so when it doesn't I am motivated to word harder and when it does decrease I find gratification- on the same side of this coin comes frustration and sometimes a lack of motivation because when I think you are working my  butt off and that number does not change I want to make excuses and find reasons why it is not changing. And if I were completely honest with myself I would know that the number is not changing because I have stopped working 100% and 75 % will not get me where I want to be. 

Another thing that motivates me are my friends. They motivate me to be better and to push myself to places I never thought I would ever go and to do things I never in a million years thought imaginable. 

The final think that motivates me is me....I want this change in my life- yes my friends are happy for me and I am healthier, but most of these people liked me 50 pounds ago. So I am not really changing for them the only person I can change for is me that person that I see everyday numerous times a day in the mirror. 

The more steps I take, miles I walk/run, and weights that I lift I learn from. This journey that I am on is a journey that I determine the outcome of. A journey that I am in control of. Running is a sport of personal bests, personal records, personal times, and personal accomplishments. Running is a sport that does not need teams- this sport needs me! I am trying to remember that in the midst of my crazy good life I have the power to change things and the ability to be the best me I want to see in the mirror. The only person I can hold accountable is myself. I can blame no one or credit anyone for what I do or do not accomplish. I am finally doing something for ME!!! 

First Run of the year!!

Yesterday I ran the New Years Day5k in Chicago! Wow was it a cold one. It was so windy and cold but overall a really good race. My personal goal yesterday was to keep my pace under 10mins a mile and I was able to do that. SO I say hey good race :-) It was full of laughs, good friends, and fun.

For Christmas I got one of the coolest gifts ever- Nichole gave me a running journal that I can write goals in each month and then reflect back on. At the beginning of each month I will fill it out and then post a picture of it- at the end of the month I will re-post it with my reflections! Here are the goals for January!