Run, Baby! Run!! - My Quest to prepare for a Triathlon...while nearly 300 lbs

It's been a little bit more than a month, and I'm fully enmeshed in my endeavor to prepare for a Sprint Traithlon at the end of September.  Some things I've tried have been met with success, and others...well....not so much.

For those who don't know, a Sprint Triathlon consists of the following distances:

3.1 mile run
400-500 yards of swimming
12-15 miles of cycling.


I'm still walking.  I am now up to walking as much as 7 miles per day when I hit the trails and I've spent the last month working purely on endurance. When I started, I couldn't even walk for more than 12 minutes before I was a sweaty mess.

Now I'm somewhere around 2 - 2 1/2 hours. It's not been without it's difficulties though.  I'm still struggling with blisters galore, as well as foot pain because I am so heavy.

One of the things I did to deal with the foot pain, was to begin using gel insoles.  These have been heaven sent.  Before the insoles, I could walk about an hour, and then the balls and outsides of my feet hurt too much, and my calf muscles began to hurt because I was compensating for the foot pain.  I received some gel insoles as testers, and have found myself transferring them from one set of shoes to the next because they're so comfortable.
 I was dubious at first, but when I trimmed them down and put them in my shoes, there was no question these were awesome.  Plus, they help (but not completely fix) how much I walk on the outside of my feet because of the arch support. Grade: A

Another thing I tried were infared knee Support sleeves.  These were extra long sleeves that go over the legs and reached from mid-thigh to mid shin.  The premace of these was to create a weak electrical current that aids in the regeneration and repair of your joints, etc but doesn't add extra heat to the knees.

Maybe I shouldn't have tempted fate and used these in the middle of summer, but I did.  And I can tell you they are heavy duty, and not very breathable, which equated into hot sweaty legs.  They had great compression though and I think I will give them a try again in the fall to give them another chance.  Grade: B (though I reserve the right to change the grade at a later date)

Two hours is a long time to be stuck with your thoughts, even when you're in the process of writing your book. Plus, I am using the MyFitnessPal Ap to track my diet, exercise, water intake, steps, etc.  So I can't just leave my phone behind when I go for a walk ( I accrued 17,419 steps on the 9th after 7 miles!!! - that's 1,276 calories, baby!).  So, I tried an Iphone Sports Band.  The one I tested was made entirely of neoprene, which was nice. Other bands I've tried in the past had a thick piece of elastic, which wound up bunching and pinching the skin on my arm.  This one I tried was neoprene, was big enough for my XLG arms (MAJOR BONUS!), had a slot for my keys and ID, a hole to stick the earphone chord into the bottom of the Iphone, and the phone slid easily in and out of the case (another huge bonus because I kept getting freaking phone calls on my walk.  Hey! I'm walkin' here! Quit bothering me ;)  Plus, I also discovered that I was able to use the touchscreen through the plastic covering the phone.  The only problem I had with the band was that I couldn't figure out how to access my stupid itunes! (I have officially become my parents).  So, I had a phone, it was perfectly placed on my arm, and I couldn't get the music to play.  Gah.  My 15-year-old son came to my rescue and graciously offered to take the sports band off my hands and use it for himself when he mowed our lawn.  Note:  He didn't offer to show me how to access the music.  He wanted the friggin' band.  I agreed, thinking there was no way it would fit his arm if it fit mine.  Well, it did.  And now he's a proud owner of an arm band that he uses all the time. Meh.   Grade: A

That's alright.  I'm not one to stay down when I'm beat.  I quickly transitioned to the Runbaby running belt. The one I got was neon orange with a two-inch elastic waistband and a large plastic clip.  When I requested it for testing, I was sure it would be too small.  But I was pleasantly surprised.  It fit!!.  I knew because of my size and my stomach's lumpiness, it would look awkward on the outside of my shirt, so I put it under my T-shirt, but over a tank top and that baby didn't move.  The orange material is about the same consistency as a high-quality spandex, so when I put my phone, key and ID inside, they were held snuggly and didn't move or jingle around and there was room for a bunch more stuff if I needed it.  Plus, it's pretty low-profile, so you couldn't even tell I had the belt on. (Another bonus!).  This one is a keeper.  I haven't even told anyone I have this one.  I'm totally hiding it.  I'm tired of having all the good stuff taken from me.  But when you're the smallest person in the house (and in my opinion, the nicest), you're a bit lower on the pecking order.

That being said, the other product I've staked my claim, rather adamantly, is my water bottle.  I'd seen the infuser bottles around the internet for several months, and broke down and bought one while at my son's basketball camp in Montana several weeks ago, but it was sorely disappointing.  The one I purchased had the infuser attached to the top of the mug, so only 2/3 of the water was infused, plus the mug was large, but double walled, so it actually only held about 16 oz of liquid,which meant I was constantly refilling the mug.  I gave it another try, though and tested the Fruit Infuser Water Bottle by Live Infinitely.  I can honestly say I'm completely enamored with this water bottle.  

1) It's the size of a normal water bottle, so I only need to refill it 2-3 times per day instead of 2-3 times per hour.
2) The infuser is attached to the bottom so I get the flavor for the entire life of my water.
3) Both the top and the bottom untwist which makes the bottle sooooo easy to clean.  Plus it fits nicely in the top of my dishwasher.

I'd totally rate this bottle an A+.

Now that I'm up to 7 miles of walking, I've decided it's time to begin preparing for the other phases of the triathlon.  Stay tuned for my next blog to see what else I've been doing!

*Each of the products reviewed/mentioned (aside from MyFitness Pal) were received for free or a discount in exchange for an honest and unbiased opinion.

Beating the Heat. Enough Already!

It's been CRAZY hot over here.  Warmer than usual.  Triple Digits warmer.  And, yes, I understand that some of you are used to this sort of heat, but I'm not...anymore.

Here in lil 'ol Spokane, Washington, it's hot when it hits the 90's, and that only happens for a few weeks out of the year.  I think we've been in the triple digits for 2 or 3 weeks now.  Ugh!

What does that mean for us? Well, if you have a car with black interior, that means the very strong possibility of getting second degree burns on your hands when you try to start your car after it's been sitting in the sun all day long.

I cannot tell you how lucky (and overjoyed) we were when the AlphaShades Car Windshield Sunshade showed up in the mail when it did. 

It showed up in it's owl bag, and when I pulled it out, it unfolded right into shape with a reflective silver side and a black side.  It slid right onto the windshield and viola!  Instant shade.  Plus, when I went outside to get in the car, guess what?  No burns!!




*I received this product for free in exchange for an honest and unbiased opinion

I now have a YouTube Page!

You know what?  Typing sometimes gets mundane.  Especially since I'm on the computer all day anyway - I have multiple websites, I do transcription work, I have 6 different blogs I contribute to.  Not to mention I'm in a book editing club, and I'm on my third book.  Sigh.  I'm already tired just thinking about it.

The idea of starting a YouTube account has been on my mind for quite some time. And I'm finally getting around to it.

Yes, I'll still be blogging, but if you want something a bit more lively and to get a better feel for who, exactly, I am.  Check out (and subscribe to) my You Tube posts. I'll try not to make them TOO horribly boring ;)

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1DeqcctERkgPGkEQqM79RA/feed

Stretch Marks and Belly Flab And other crazy things I want to fix about my body

There are many things I love about my body.  For instance, I love my cheek bones.  They're my mother's cheek bones.  Every time I look at myself I see those cheek bones that I loved to admire as a child, as well as her nose.  I have a dimple that I kind of like, and I LOVE the fact that, at 41, I don't have gray hairs yet.  I like that my hair is curly, and I'm kinda proud of my boobs.  Yep.  It's the one body part below my neck that I don't despise.

Now that I'm into "quit complaining, start changing" mode, there have several things about my body that I DO want to change.  Or at the very least improve.

I'm smart enough to know that I will never be the 135 lb cellulite-free teenager with perky breasts and the ability to do 50 push-ups without hardly breaking a sweat.  My stomach will never be as toned and blemish-free as it was before I had children.  But I do hope to do the very best I can to lessen the long-term damage.

Below is this week's laundry list of products I've tested and their performance report card. Did they pass with flying colors? Or did they fail?  Hmmmm read on to find out!

Eyelash Growth Serum
Makeup Brush
Adeline Anti-Aging Moisturizer
Bath Pillow
Andre Lorent Cellulite Treatment
Stretch mark & Scar Cream
Frankincense Essential Oil
Peppermint Oil
Oral Irrigator 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Eyelash Growth Serum: I ordered this product because I'd noticed that my eyelashes were becoming more and more sparse.  It became especially evident when I had myself professionally done and they put fake eyelashes on me.  I'd had a niece who was using a growth serum for her eyes and they looked amazing, so I decided I'd give it a whirl.


First off, this is something that is not for the impatient.  You're asking hair to thicken and regrow...on you eyelids. It took about two weeks before I began to notice any differences, but by then, I'd gone from being unable to put mascara on the back of my lashes (there was nothing for the applicator brush to hold onto), to having lots of lashes to grab onto.  Once that happened, my eyelashes began to look much fuller and thicker because I was applying mascara to both the front and the back of my lashes.  Grade: B+

Makeup Brush:  The makeup brush was touted as something to be used for shading & contouring, but I really enjoyed it as a blush brush.  The bristles were nice and soft, and provided a softer 'edge' to the color so that it wasn't as noticeable where the natural color of my face ended and the blush began.  Grade:  A-

Adeline Anti-Aging Moisturizer: I have tested  Adeline products in the past, and this one did not disappoint.  The moisturizer was light, and absorbed quickly.  I especially liked that it didn't make my face too oily and I didn't have any new pimples popping up as a result.  Grade: A

Bath Pillow:  This was another of those items I had to fight my children for.  My daughter, admittedly, was the first to try the pillow because she LOVES to take bubble baths. She's a girlie-girl.  But there are times, especially when my legs are aching from an extra-long walk that I just need to get in the tub and soak.

This pillow wasn't an inflatable like the cheaper pillows you find.  It had foam in it, two pieces, so that my back wouldn't be resting on the freezing cold tub, and suction cups to help keep it in place.  The only problem I had with it was since it was sturdier foam, It was less likely to conform to the curves of the tub. This was only an issue when I sat up, otherwise the weight of my body pretty much kept the pillow in place.  Grade: B+

All my new 'toys' to play with and help me feel beautiful!! I'm so lucky!

Andre Lorent Cellulite Treatment:  I love love LOVE the slight minty scent from this lotion.  I used this on my legs because, duh...what woman DOESN'T have cellulite on her legs.  Because of the coffee (a diuretic), I think this lotion had a fairly immediate result.  This also softened the skin on my legs, which if  you look at the photos have a bajillion red dots on my thighs because as a child my skin was so dry it created little bumps all over, and those dots are the reminder of that.  But the Andre Lorent Cellulite Treatment lotion did a wonderful job of adding tone to the skin and getting rid of the excessive dryness, plus softening the dimples on my legs a bit.  Grade:  A

Stretch mark & Scar Cream This product has a citrus/woodsy scent which can be pretty overwhelming at first. But I cannot deny the changes that occurred in my stomach.  I can't say that the stretch marks have disappeared, but the tone is FANTASTIC, which is what I was looking for because I have so much skin damage that's occurred due to the 160 lbs I've gained over the years.  My stomach has regained a bit of elasticity, which will be vital as my stomach shrinks and I hope (pray) that it bounces back a little rather than being a flat pancake hanging from my body.  I have high hopes as I continue to use this product and lose weight simultaneously. Grade: A- 



Frankincense Essential Oil:  The trouble with getting the undiluted form of an essential oil is that the smell can be overwhelming.  The benefits is that this bottle will probably last me till the millennium.  I did a little research on frankincense oil before receiving it and decided I wanted it to use on my skin and nails.  As I've mentioned over and over, I have really dry skin.  For 11 years, I used to manage apartments designated for persons with disabilities, which included things like cleaning, maintenance, stripping and waxing linoleum, etc.  The work and the chemicals damaged certain areas of skin, including a place on one of my knees and on my right hand.  When I received the frankincense, I took the dropper, and placed a single drop on the eczema spot on my hand - a spot I've struggled with for years using dozens of different lotions and creams.  I've been using this oil for a week and the dry spot is almost gone, leaving me with pink, new skin.  Plus, I've noticed that the spot accepts and absorbs the lotion I put on my hand much better. This equates into me only using lotion a few times a day, rather than every hour or so. I can't wait to see what it does on my nails!  Grade:  A+



Peppermint Oil:  Mmmmm I LOVE the smell of the peppermint oil. This is the ultimate pick-me-up and I love to add it to my bath water to invigorate and lift my mood.  Like the frankincense, this stuff is going to last FOREVER because a little goes a long way.  And the 4 oz. bottle is much larger than other essential oils I've seen in the past.  Though I plan to test that theory on how fast I'll run through this bottle because I plan to use it on other health benefits it's touted for:  Indigestion, pain relief, hair growth, etc. My family will never know what hit 'em, but they'll smell good doing it!!  Grade:  A-


Oral Irrigator: The Greenco Oral Irrigator is designed to be an alternative to flossing (which we ALL love to do!).  It's a rechargeable irrigator that is equally as powerful as the plug-in charger my son used to have.  The holding tanks lasts about 1 minute before you need to refill it, so don't lollygag, but you have three different stream options, which is a nice feature as well.  And, on another, more unusual note, a water pik is what my ear nose and throat doctor used to remove excessive ear wax from my ear when I went into his officer after losing hearing in one side...just in case you cared ;)  Plus, this irrigator is rechargeable, so I'm not running through a bunch of batteries all the time.  Grade:  A-



*Each of these products was received for free in exchange for an honest and unbiased review, though several of them I will be using (and re-ordering) long after this blog posts

Xylacore: The First Tester Product I'm PAYING To Use Again

So, if you haven't noticed, I'm a professional product tester.  I test lots and lots of products.  This month alone, I've tested more than 50 different items.  Don't get me wrong.  I don't test just anything.  I choose each item because I am looking for something, and I'm hoping the items will be 'the one'.

For instance, one of the products I have spent the last month testing is called Xylacor.  I'm in the middle of a major weight-loss journey (160 lbs, to be exact), and I have been looking for things that aid me in the process.  I'm big into supplements and usually shy away from the all-in-one fat burning pills because I'm afraid of the side effects.

I don't know what came over me (maybe it's the hot pink pills that drew me in!) but when I saw Xylacor, I wanted to try it out.

It took a week before I realized what was happening.  I wasn't having cravings any more.  For the longest times cravings were one of the hardest things for me to control.  I am BIG into pizza and pop.  Like I eat pizza 2 to 3 times a week or more, and something equivalent to a 2-liter of diet soda per day.  It's a family thing.  Most of my family is like that. And, quite frankly, it shows on more than one of us.

A few days later, I realized that not only was I not craving sweets or pizza, I wasn't hungry all the time.  In fact, There was an entire week there I kept forgetting to EAT.  For a fat girl, that's unheard of.  You don't just forget to eat.  In fact, we're more apt to forget to STOP eating.  But I had days where I would be entering in my food for the day and realized I'd only had 800 calories.  Not good.  And yet oddly exciting.  How many times do you tell your spouse, "Yeah, I'll come to bed just as soon as I find something to eat.  I've gotta get my calories in for the day."

Yesterday I was 286.8.  Hmm I foresee my period coming on!
You'll see the difference in my belly.
It isn't sticking out beyond my boobs as much as they used to.
  Baby steps...

Then I noticed the extra energy.  I work nights, so I average about 4 hours sleep per night, which meant when my son took a nap during the day, so did I.  But this last month, I haven't felt as strong a need to sleep.  Now I can usually get through the day without crashing mid-day.  I'm not jittery, or hyper.  I just...don't crash.

The most exciting thing, though, has been the inches lost.  Oh my gosh! The inches lost around my belly!  It's frustrating to take pictures because they don't do the loss any justice.

What I can tell you is that I've lost 6 1/4" from my upper abs, 3" from my hips, and 1" from my waist (I just started measuring last week).  My stomach 'flap' has shrunk enough that I can see a difference when I look in the mirror, and I'm down a pant size.


I talked to my husband about the difference and he's noticed too.  In fact, he wanted to know if there's a male version of this pill (which there is).

I can honestly tell you that after nearly 4 weeks of using this pill as a part of my weight loss program, I am thoroughly convinced of the quality of Xylacor.  It truly does what it claims to do. And it is the very first product I've received for free, that I will be PAYING to use again because I like it that much.  Plus I will be buying a bottle of the male version for my husband.


P.S.  Don't forget what I said about the appetite!  Make sure you get enough calories each day to avoid putting your body into starvation mode!!

Trying to catch some Z's

After enduring the sleep study from hell a few months back with my son, the technician suggested to me that I should get my own sleep study because I was snoring. But the experience I'd had with Jake already told me everything I needed to know:  There was NO way I was coming back for a study of my own.  Especially if I felt I was getting enough sleep and wasn't tired in the morning, which I do not.

But, I am mindful of my poor husband having to hear me sawing wood at night.  So, I agreed to test  a "Stop Snoring Bundle", which consisted of nose cones and a strap that would go around my chin to keep my mouth shut, thus inhibiting my tongue from slipping down into my throat and causing me to snore.  I agreed to test the product for free in exchange for an honest and unbiased opinion.  No problem since I was already looking for something like this. 

A week ago, I went on a road trip to pick up my oldest daughter from visiting friends and had to stay in a hotel with my sister (who was kind enough to be the recipient of my night time snore fest test study).  

The strap was a little tricky, since I had my ling hair tied up into a messy bun and I had to finesse the two neoprene straps around the bun, but I prevailed!  My sister was kind enough to only laugh a little bit when I modeled the chin strap for her, then inserted the nose cones into my nose.  

And, for the record, the nose cones, though a bit funny looking, were pretty awesome.  They opened up my nose airways immediately, and there were several sizes to choose from depending on the size of my nostrils.  Plus, they were fairly inconspicuous and they stayed in all night long. 

The chin strap wasn't quite so lucky. Becca said that my snoring was less than usual, but she still heard a little bit.  I guess that's an improvement from the wild, angry bear my kids usually hear in my bedroom at night???  Oh wait.  Maybe that's my husband ;)  

In conclusion, what I can say is that the snoring bundle did improve my snoring, but didn't completely get rid of the sound, and I would totally use the nose cones again.  In fact, they're in my attache' case for the next trip I have to share a hotel room for some poor unsuspecting soul.