Happy Valentine's Day!!!

Hi y'all!

Thanks for visiting today and Happy Valentines Day to all my wonderful blogging buddies. I Love all your encouraging words. I love to read your funny and heartwarming stories. And, hello to some of the new people who have recently visited my blog.

Welcome. Welcome!!

Usually when I run a 5K, I split it into two parts and leave you all in suspense. For those of you who hate it when I do that...you will be happy to see that I am giving you the full scoop all in one post.

Yes, your welcome.

And you can thank that chocolate covered cream filled bismark (that I will be eating tomorrow) for that since that story will be taking up my post tomorrow.

I mentioned yesterday that I have not been doing any speed work-outs to prepare for this race. My mind just has not been emotionally engaged in racing these races every since "the fall" when I fell during the race in December and had to take three weeks off of running. Then, in the next 5K after "the fall" I ran two minutes slower than the race in which I fell.

Plus it's just so cold and this winter is getting long and I just haven't felt like running speed work-outs.

So, when I got up this morning, and got out to the race site, I felt a little distracted and annoyed at the cold. It was about 5 degrees.

But, as the race started, I did my best to focus on the task at hand. There seemed to be twice as many people as when the race was last ran (you know when it was nine below zero with a wind chill of negative 16). And I recall, making sure I didn't trip over any one at the start of the race.

I also recall thinking, SunshineMeg said to have fun. I'm going to have fun!

I also recall feeling surprised at how strong my legs felt at the start of the race compared to how they felt heavy in the warm-up. Taking that as a good sign, I kicked up my heels and made sure I was lifting up my knees (you know, so that I wouldn't fall again) and kept on.

Then...this is when things got interesting...oh, at about six hundred yards left in the race. I was heading down this hill...which turned right into a major final stretch...when I heard this gal, who was about 20 feet in front of me, yell out to encourage a runner who was ahead of her.

Immediately I recognized her as my old high school running team mate...which also meant she was in my age group, and at present...

About twenty feet ahead of me...

This presented a few problems for Sunshine Mama...because now I just couldn't coast the rest of the race when I knew that I had to beat her to get first place.

All of sudden I cared about doing my best, and picked up my pace. I had this idea in my head that I would just kind of sneak on by my friend, maybe she wouldn't recognize me, you know with my head wrapped up in two hats and two face warmers...

A delusion...

After I passed her...she recognized my stride from high school and called out to me, "Go Sunshine Mama...you can do it (or something to that affect)"

And then added, "Go get those two gals ahead of you. Pick up your feet!!"

It's bad enough that I felt like a complete schmuck for not at least encouraging her when I passed her, but to top it off, she's pushing me to beat the two girls about 30 feet in front of me.

Well, any hopes Sunshine Mama had for a pain free run ended with that. I was already beginning to feel like I was dying... but I launched myself forward anyway toward these two other gals. My stomach felt like it was going to fall out from my exertion. My face was frozen with white frost glistening from my frozen lashes...all the while I am thinking...

"What the heck did I get myself into?"

Alternated with the thought, "I need to get used to this if I want to increase my time."

So, I picked it up and finished only a few steps behind those two gals.

As you can see, I did, indeed, get first overall in my age group with a time of 23:11. My friend claimed second with about a 23:30.

I thanked my friend and chatted a few minutes with her.

When I walked away, I resolved to be more encouraging to other people...like her.

I also wanted to add that my 17 week pregnant sister-in-law was able to finish the five mile race in about the same time that she did four weeks ago, with about an 8 minute mile average.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Later today...after that hard run and a trip to the gym with my husband...we went out to eat.

See, don't we look happy?

"Daddy Rainmaker...Will you be my Valentine?"

"Why, yes, Sunshine Mama, I will!"

"Mmmm....kissy, kissy...smoochie..pie"

(Hey, it's Valentine's Day...there has to be some mushiness.)

At dinner, I had an awesome salad with vinegar and oil dressing.

The 5 oz charbroiled beef tenderloin was UNBELIEVABLE! The brown and wild rice pilaf was wonderful as well. I split this in half and will eat the rest tomorrow. I also ate most of this asparagus.

My husband had this rare 12 oz prime rib.
It was so huge he wondered if it was a 20-ouncer.

And tiramisu for desert. My husband picked it. After studying it for a few minutes, and thinking about how I haven't strayed from my diet once in the past four weeks, and how it was Valentines Day Eve...I decided to have a few small bites...And NOT feel guilty.

It was fabulous of course. I love tiramisu.

I loved that I was able to eat from my whole foods diet even while going out to eat.

--------------------------------

So, that's my story, folks, and I'm sticking to it!

Be sure to visit tomorrow to see me eat the chocolate covered cream filled bismark that I've waited over 30 weeks to indulge in.

Hope you're all having a great weekend!

Bolivian Bomb Pops And Another 5K

Many of you may know by now how I absolutely love bomb pops.

Blue Bunny Bomb Pops that is.

At 40 calories a piece, they are not only good for Sunshine Mama to eat, but they are also the perfect low calorie treat for our children.

Two of the flavors I will get is the Jolly Rancher flavor (pictured right) and the red, white and blue, original bomb pop flavors of cherry, vanilla and blue raspberry.

Tonight at dinner, our 7-year-old was eating the Jolly Rancher flavor when he announces,

"I like the American Bomb Pops."

"Why?" I asked.

"Because we are NOT from Bolivia!

"Bolivia? Why do you say that?"

Adamantly he answers,

"Because I looked at the colors and they are Bolivia colors. You should be glad you are not from Bolivia!"

The colors of the Jolly Rancher bomb pops correspond with their flavors: red for watermelon, yellow for lemon and green for green apple (my favorite color by the way).

Curious about this bit of trivia that apparently our 7-year-old was aware of yet I wasn't...I went online and punched in "Bolivian flag colors". Sure enough the colors of the Jolly Rancher bomb pop are the same exact colors in the same exact order as the colors of the Bolovian flag.

What the heck?!? I thought to myself, all the while smiling and shaking my head.

We have a world map attached to the hallway wall in our home. Below the map in tiny little squares are up to 100 flags of different countries, that apparently our child has spent time studying.

So, I said to him, "Do you always look at the flags?"

His answer is sooo 7-ish. He says,

"Of course! I'm trying to find Germany and I haven't found it yet!"

"Why Germany?"

"Because I want to make sure Germany is actually on the map."

I'm sure the next question you wonderful blogger friends are asking yourself is this. "Why is our son so interested in Germany?"

That would be his daddy, Daddy Rainmaker, who is a world war II book of knowledge. Not only does my husband have an extensive WWII library, but he (and his son) get into playing WWII computer games.

So, there you go...Bolivian bomb pops! How uncanny.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
In other news, I will be competing in another 5K race tomorrow morning at 8 a.m. Lately the morning temperatures have been hovering right around zero degrees, and then climbing to about 25 degrees for a high in the afternoon. So, I'm planning for zero.

My pregnant sister-in-law who is around 2o weeks pregnant will also be running, but will be more interested in completing her run safely versus trying to get a fast time. And me? Well, I haven't been doing any speed work-outs of late, but I will do my best to run as fast as I can. Maybe I can get close to my 22:26 from December when I fell down.

Yeah, the weekend is upon us folks! Hope you are all enjoying it!

Sincerely,
Sunshine Mama

Not To Belabor The Bismark, But...

I was actually going to write tonight's post about how much I absolutely love my salads.

Really I was.

I didn't want everyone thinking that the only thing I ever think about is cream filled chocolate covered bismarks. That, in fact, every day I really, really look forward to eating my big spinach salads topped with cucumbers, green peppers, broccoli, carrots, tomatoes and a tablespoon of Newman's Own Vinegar and Olive Oil dressing.

It's to the point now where I think I want to live with a couple of these big wonderful salads every day of my life.

And the grapefruit?

How can I live my life without grapefruit? ... now, that I've grown to savor every succulent bite of it?

And now, that I've gotten into cooking my chicken fresh every day? And then, trying out a new spice. I just love my new eating routine.

What's happening to me?

But, some of your comments about that last post got me to thinking a little bit more about this upcoming bismark treat.

You see...I had thought that I would only eat, at most, half of it...maybe a quarter of it. But what if I get into it after a few bites, and I want to eat the whole thing?

You guys told me not to feel guilty about eating this treat.

And just so you know, Dawn, I do plan on having steak on Sunday too. I'm not usually a steak person...but for some reason I've been craving a nice juicy fillet with a boat load of steamed veggies on the side and then a nice big salad. I'm really liking vegetables these days.

Anyway, I digress...

So, I've decided that I probably will not be able to combat all the damage a big, because this is a good sized doughnut, doughnut will have on my very cleaned up digestive system.

But, I can do a little damage control by eating, for example, fewer carbohydrates on my other meals, and then perhaps slipping in a five mile run.

This whole doughnut thing also has me thinking about future treats. You have probably all been wondering how Sunshine Mama will be able to sustain such a strict diet for a long period of time. But, honestly, after being on this diet for four weeks, I can see that I like it. Why can't I eat more whole foods all the time?

Why can't I expand my "whole foods" horizon and start eating quinoa?

Ok, I've never had that, but I read about it today, and is sounds like something I would like to try.

But, I was thinking how maybe I can pick out one treat that I want to have for the week and eat it. So, this week...it's the doughnut.

Next week...maybe it could be some chocolate that I'm pretty sure my husband is going to give me for Valentine's Day. That way... I have a treat to look forward to at the end of the week...but I'm not ruining my tastebuds with day in and day out sugar and white flour foods.

I really like how my body craves such delicious whole foods. I love how the taste of everything has been enhanced because my tongue isn't coated with something that blinds my tastebuds to its original flavor.

So...not to belabor the bismark...but I guess I just had to get that out. I promise I'll talk about something different tomorrow.

And, hey, by the way it's almost the weekend! Anyone got any fun Valentine's Day plans or just plain fun plans?

I hope you're having a good one!

Sincerely,

Sunshine Mama

About That Bismark...

Hi y'all!

A few of you have asked me about this here chocolate covered cream filled bismark.

Let's just just take a minute to appreciate how simply delicious this baby looks.

Ahhh....

Look at that flaky outside baked to raised perfection, topped with creamy chocolate and drizzled with white icing. But the real treasure is hidden inside... rich thick cream. I do believe it might be the cream the bakery uses for it's cake.

Well, the mystery of what the inside of this doughnut looks like will be revealed soon.

I have waited a long, long time to share this chocolate covered cream filled bismark with you guys. Heck, by the time I eat this thing, it will have been over 32 weeks that I've had one.

So, let's see...32 weeks is like...eight months? That's about how long it takes to grow a baby inside me.

And, let's be real here. It's not like I haven't cheated and eaten bad food on this 32 week journey. I have. I've eaten movie theatre popcorn, a few boxes of raisinets, ice cream, Pepsi, an awesome tasting chocolate raspberry scone, (that brings back fond memories) white asiago bread, peanut butter on graham crackers...and let's not forget my hang-up with the Reeses Puffs.

With all those calories that I spent eating the above mentioned "bad" food, I could have easily eaten several of these chocolate covered cream filled bismarks.

But I didn't.

Because this doughnut is special.

It's kind of like waiting for that special right person to come into your life, to fall in love with and marry.

That kind of special.

You don't find doughnuts like this every day. It's a special bakery that can craft this kind of goodness.

This doughnut deserved to be waited for.

So, I have waited... patiently.

Now....I will be eating this doughnut on the very holiday meant for love.

Valentine's Day.

Would you all like to see it happen?

I'll see if I can hook you up.

In the meantime, thank you again for visiting me and leaving your encouraging words. I appreciate you all!

Sincerely,

Sunshine Mama

A Re-Cap Of How I Lost Those 14 Pounds...

Hi, everyone!

How are you doing today? I'm doing great. Thank you for all of your wonderful comments today and yesterday about these latest pictures. I hope I have encouraged you all to keep plugging away at your goals.

Don't mind me while I re-post one of the pictures from yesterday.

Can't help myself. :)

If you guys are surprised at this change...I am too. When I lost those twenty pounds in 10 weeks, I knew I looked decent. But I also knew I wanted to lose a few more pounds. I honestly had no idea that I would turn out like this. I mean...I knew I wanted to...but to actually see it feels surprising to me.

I've mentioned before that this latest weight loss was uncharted territory. I say that because I usually stop several pounds short of the weight that I am at in this photo. This time...I kept going. I wanted to see what I was capable of looking like. Having this blog was so crucial in keeping me going too, because there were things that happened that could have stopped me from getting here.

I wanted to briefly go over my journey in the last twenty weeks that led up to this picture.

I lost the first twenty pounds at an average of two pounds a week. I knew that average may slow down with my second round of weight loss attempt.

I was right on that count.

I managed to push full steam ahead at about a one pound a week average. By ten weeks into it, I had lost ten pounds.

But I only maintained that ten pound loss for a few days before my body took back a pound, and I was at a nine pound loss.

Then...something happened that threw me for a loop and slowed down my progress. I injured my knee and couldn't run, couldn't weight lift my legs, couldn't do the elliptical machine, couldn't do the bike or even that rowing machine where you use your arms. Even walking felt like too much at times.

This injury sidelined any kind of leg activity for three weeks. Although toward the end of that third week, I did go "running" in the water. But... by then, some of my "gung-ho stick-to-the-eating-plan-momentum" was lost. I struggled to get back on the weight loss train...but it was an uphill climb. In fact, I even gained another pound.

I spent the next three or four weeks struggling to just maintain. I was having a harder and harder time controlling what I was eating. So, basically I spent several weeks at an eight to nine pound loss.

Then, I decided to try out a new diet plan. I cut out all sugar, all white flour, and added in all whole foods, salads with 2 tbls of healthy oil a day, and a high level of protein, about 135 grams per day, and about one half gallon of water per day. My calorie count averaged between 1,300 to 1,450 a day.

It was a drastic change.

There was no more snacking, no more sugar and creamer in my tea, no more Blue Bunny light ice cream at night, no more bites of my children's graham crackers and food, no more peanut butter on toasted white bread, no more smart Balance light butter on my brown rice, no more cake, no more Jimmy John's subs... no more anything but what was on the diet.

After two days, my taste buds began changing and the food began to taste...wonderful.

Every single calorie I consumed was something my body needed.

After two days, I lost two pounds.

After three days, I lost two more pounds.

After two or so weeks, I lost another two pounds.

I lost six pounds in the last three weeks of my twenty week diet, and I wasn't hungry. That's not to say I wasn't fantasizing about food, because I was. But there is difference between being hungry and just wanting a certain food.

I should also mention that during this whole dieting phase, I was weight lifting four to five days a week and running four to six days a week, except of course during that three week stint when I couldn't run.

What made the difference then? I think the work-outs definitely created tone and muscle, but all of that wasn't revealed until I did that drastic diet switch-up.

There's no other explanation.

Ok...maybe one. The last four weeks of push-ups I felt added more roundness to my shoulders...but still, you wouldn't see that if the extra fat was in the way.

So...that's the recap. The journey was long...the journey was tough...I stumbled and even fell along the way (ok...slight pun intended here), but the real key to getting to look like that picture above was to keep trying and to not give up.

Wherever you're at on your journey, I really encourage you to not give up looking for the solution that works for you.

Well...I think that's it for now. Thanks for listening, and I hope you all have a good night.

Sincerely,
Sunshine Mama

A Sunshine SUPER Spectacular...

Hi, my name is Sunshine Mama, and I just lost 14 pounds in 20 weeks...

That was after I had already lost 20 pounds in 10 weeks here...

So, altogether I've lost 34 pounds in 30 weeks.

See what a difference an extra 14 pounds makes?

Here is a picture that make my arms look huge...

This is better.

And here too...

I lowered my body fat and things look toner.
Push-ups help too. :)

This was probably the most unflattering one of them all.

much better.

I'm still flying high though...

Maybe just a little higher here.
It was hard to get a secure foot hold in the snow.

Thank you for all of your supportive comments and encouragement.
It really has made all the difference in motivating me to accomplish this transformation. I just really encourage all of you out there to not give up on your dream body. It definitely takes work, but IT CAN BE DONE!!

Now let's have some fun!!!!

That chocolate covered cream filled bismark WILL be eaten soon.
How about Valentine's Day?
I'm thinking I'll drop that 15th pound by then...yes, I know I'm getting technical, but it will be such a nice V-Day treat don't you think?

It Was So Romantic...

First we held hands and showed off our muscles...

Then, we knocked our knuckles

Slapped our hands...

And I pushed him around...

To get ready to attempt 100 push-ups on our 100 month wedding anniversary.

Then, we did a bunch of push-ups,

And wore ourselves out.

Then we went out to eat. He ordered ribs and I ordered something plain.

Oh. How many push-ups did we do?

I managed to do 62 falling short of my goal of 82, but doing 21 more than I did four weeks ago, and my husband doubled his count from four weeks ago with 48 push-ups. He did 23 push-ups four weeks ago.

How about 101 on our 101st anniversary?

What do you say Daddy Rainmaker? yes?

-------------------------------------------

I wanted to thank you guys for your encouragement and interest in this push-up challenge. Thank you for your congrats on our 100 month anniversary too . And, as for Dawn's question... celebrating the 7th of each month is just something we've done since we've been married. Mostly we just say, "Happy (fill in the blank)-month anniversary" to each other. I guess we're always looking for ways to celebrate finding each other. So, it's not an American tradition...but feel free to make it your own.

We can't wait till our 200 month anniversary...

---------------------------------------------

P.S. It's picture day tomorrow. We took my pictures today and I think I got a few good ones to share with you. I also will be sharing pictures with you that I did NOT post 20 weeks ago(when I lost 20 pounds in 10 weeks) ago because they weren't as flattering.

Hope you're all having a great weekend!