Friday Fave!

Yogitoes is today's Friday Fave!  If you do hot yoga, you know you need to have a towel on your mat unless you want to slip and slide all over.  I love Yogitoes mats.  There are lots of brands on the market, some better than others.  Yogitoes run around $65 on the company's website.  Sometimes you can find them for $40-$50 on Amazon.  I actually got mine for around $45 on Target.com, but they do not currently have them.  I know this sounds like a lot for a towel, and if you haven't tried hot yoga yet, or don't know how you feel about it, I wouldn't suggest investing right away.  A beach towel will suffice for your first couple of classes.  What makes Yogitoes great?  First, they are super absorbent, which is their obvious purpose.  They have little nonskid nubs on the back to keep it from slipping on your mat or the floor.  My towel is light and easily portable.  My sister actually uses hers as a travel mat when she stays in hotels.  Yogitoes also strives to be socially responsible by using recycled materials and environmentally friendly dyes.  They also come in really pretty colors :)  Other yoga accessories are offered as well.  I, personally, also love their headbands. They are inexpensive, can be worn wide or folded thinner.  They are soft and stretchy and stay in place.  I've used mine for running as well.  If you are committed to a hot yoga practice, these towels are for you!

Inspiraton=Responsibility

I've reached the point in my journey where people have started viewing me as "successful".  Its not uncommon now for me to be told by someone that I inspire them.  That they stayed on the treadmill when they wanted to quit, that they're beginning to make changes in their diet.  It always excites me, and I'm so thrilled for them.  Let me be perfectly transparent, though.  I don't feel like a success.  I'm still fighting to drop another 30 pounds.  There are so many days when I don't want to get off my couch and exercise.  Days when my runs feel like epic failures.  I guess in my view, a person who is inspiring hits their goal without setbacks, wants to go run instead of doing it even though they don't, never falls off the wagon. That's probably not the case at all.  It just looks that way from the outside.  In essence, being told I've inspired someone inspires me.  It makes me want to do better and to do more.  As much as I don't want to fail myself, I want even less to fail someone one else.  So it turns out being someone's inspiration is a big responsibility.  Thanks for making me want to keep going.  I'm not quitting on me, and I'm sure not quitting on the people looking at my story with hope for their own.  Just keep  moving forward!

Weekly Wrap Up

Since, I never seem to get this done on Sunday, it is now the Weekly Wrap up which will be posted either Sunday or Monday :)

Monday - Ran/Walked 3.1 miles.  Should have been 4, but the humidity was terrible, and I was feeling Sunday's 10 miles.

Tuesday - Ran/Walked 4 miles

Wednesday - Hot Yoga

Thursday - Ran/Walked 6 miles
Friday - Ran/Walked 5 miles
Saturday - Hot Yoga. I also did the grocery shopping.
Sunday - Ran/Walked 8 miles

I weighed in down 1.8 pounds on Wednesday.  That still leaves me up 2.8 from where I was before Spring Break, but at least I went in the right direction this week.

Friday Fave!

This week's fave is my new favorite money maker.  Ibotta is a free app for Apple or Android devices.  You do simple tasks (take a poll, learn a fact, etc.) to unlock rebates.  When you by a qualifying item, you scan it to verify and then submit a picture of your receipt. In my experience, the earnings are loaded super quickly.  I  urge you check this one out.  I literally earned $14.75 last week.  My favorite rebate right now is on milk.  You can earn 50 cents on a gallon of milk, but if you redeem the milk and two other rebates, you earn an additional 50 cents.  You can cash out for gift cards from Starbucks or Itunes or select a Paypal payout. I'm planning to cash out for Paypal to purchase running gear, so its fitness related too :) Happy saving!

Sunday Wrap Up!

Sorry for posting late again.  I got busy with Mother's Day yesterday and forgot to post :)  Hope all of you mom's had an awesome day.

Monday-Rest Day
Tuesday-Ran/Walked 5.42 miles (Should have been 6, but I literally ran out of daylight)
Wednesday- Hot Yoga
Thursday-Ran/Walked 5 miles
Friday- Ran/Walked 3.25 miles (Should have been 4, but my right knee was really bothering me)
Saturday- Rest Day/Grocery Shopping
Sunday- Ran/Walked 10 miles

Wednesday Weighed in up 2.4 pounds

I'd say this was kind of a rough week.  I'm still struggling with my runs since the temperature and humidity have increased so much, and I'm still discouraged by my recent gains.

Today begins a new week.  I'm planning to make it great.  Hope you are too!

Friday Fave!

If there is anything that gets me as excited as my fitness journey, Its saving money. One of my favorite places to earn free money is Swagbucks. Its a search engine that you use like Google or Bing, but you can earn swagbucks which can be redeemed for rewards.  What are the rewards you ask?  Well, they have lots of options. I typically redeem for gift cards (Barnes and Noble, iTunes, Starbucks, etc.) or paypal money.  I'll be honest, if you only earn rewards through searching, it will take a long time for your bucks to add up to much, but they offer other ways to earn as well.  My favorite way to earn is by participating in their paid surveys.  I typically earn between 50-100 swagbucks per day (Most $10 gift cards are around 1,000 swagbucks. Paypal payouts start at $25 for 2,500 points.). It may not sound like much, but I say free money is free money!  Go check them out!

Transparency and Accountability

This is a discouraging week.  I weighed in yesterday up another 2.4 pounds.  I've gained 5 pounds since Spring Break.  I'll be completely honest and tell you, its because I'm completely off track with my eating.  Over Spring Break, I ate at old favorites in my hometown which were not the healthiest.  I grazed when the kids snacked.  Coming back, I fell prey to Easter candy, then we had my son's birthday last week.  I've given in to more temptation in the past few weeks than in the past year. Even though, I know all the little things add up, I've allowed myself to nibble while cooking and munch on whatever the kids are snacking on.  No more!  I know deep down, its not worth it, and I'm getting back on track starting today.  No more beating myself up for the bad choices. Its time just to pick up and start making good ones again.  No one ever said this journey would be without bumps in the road, but I'm not giving in, and if you're struggling don't you dare give in either!  You aren't alone.  Every day is a new beginning.  Make today count!

Sunday Wrap Up

Still struggling to get back on track.  We had a sleepover for my son's birthday on Friday, and Birthday dinner on Saturday.  I've had too much junk food for sure.  Probably going to be looking at a gain again this week.  I've got to get my discipline back.  My running mojo also seems to have taken a leave of absence, and I've really been struggling lately.  Still not giving up!

Monday- Ran 4 miles
Tuesday- Ran 5 miles
Wednesday - Rested
Thursday - Ran 2 miles (with my youngest son)
Friday- Ran 5.25 miles (fell short of the 6 miles I had scheduled)
Saturday - Rest