I'm sure when Jen planned her wedding, the one she's been dreaming about since she met Shawn 13 years ago.  She pictured an outdoor wedding in a gorgeous open field next to sparkling water.  I'm not quite sure her plan envisioned a temperate of 105 degrees and no shade for her or the guests.  

My brides never cease to amaze me.   When I walked into the Villa Maria winery I found my bride Jen smiling ear to ear pridefully sporting her "bride" tanktop and laughing with her girls.   She had such a positive upbeat attitude about the whole thing, so did Shawn and so did their bridal party.  I didn't hear one complaint all day, and truth be told those tuxes had to be unbearably hot.

The ceremony was beautiful.  I don't think anyone even noticed the heat.  It was short, sweet, intimate, and nobody passed out from heat-stoke.   I'd say it was perfect ;)

Shooting through a severe heat-wave the midwest has suffered has not been easy for us photographers.  But having clients like this make even the hardest days worth it. 

Had Jen fell apart, or thrown a pity party over the weather it would have effected everyone around her.  Thank you Jen for pushing the band forward and not letting the weather ruin your day or your beautiful attitude.

I promised I would touch a little bit on eating and diet, but before I do that I want to visit running one more time.

I talked about running back in a blog post here.  

I see a lot of folks posting their runs on facebook, often times it's because they are proud of their time and want a little pat on the back.   No harm in that, honestly, if I was running some of those times, I'd post them too!  LOL

But I'm going to do a bit of the opposite and post my runs for the sake of showing folks how truly terrible I was when I started, and how average I am at it now.  I think people may be a little intimidated by the runs they see on facebook and I want to let people know there is hope for you if you stink at running. 

Below are 2 runs.  The one on the left is the very first run I ever did, back in March.   It took me 16 minutes to make it one measly mile.   It was way more walking than running.  I was so embarrassed.  I used to be a soccer player for crying out loud, and a 16 minute mile???    The run on the right is a more recent run.  (Most my July runs have been on a treadmill due to heat)

As you can see on the right, I've shaved nearly 5 minutes off my miles and can go nearly twice the distance in the same amount of time.   But, even with that progress, 11 minute miles aren't very impressive folks.   Now, here is the beautiful part:

I don't have anyone to impress.

My miles don't have to be impressive.  I am only in competition with myself, and I don't care what anyone else says or thinks.  You don't have to be a good runner for it to be effective, you just have to do it.  And even on my worst day, I'm still lapping everyone on the couch.

A body at rest tends to stay at rest and a body in motion tends to stay in motion.   So if you flop around on your couch all day like a walrus watching TV, that's what you will keep doing.   But if you start a program, stick with it, and get yourself in motion, your body will crave it.  I promise.

If you really want to get yourself moving, sign up for a 5K, now!  Yes, before you set one foot on the ground training.  It will give you something to work for ;)

I knew in the beginning of this journey that working out would not be a problem for me.   I was an athlete- I love sports and love to sweat.  I love pushing my body, and while it's hard at times, it was definitely the lesser of two evils when compared to eating well.

Eating well is my biggest struggle.  I knew right off the bat I would never do any diet that I cannot do for the rest of my life.   The Atkins diet works great, but I will never go the rest of my life without eating carbs.  The HGC diet sounds groovy, but eating 500 calories per day is not my style.  Weight Watchers is awesome, but I don't have time to count points.   I don't believe in drastic diets that transition into moderation because their success rates are awful.  

I wanted to make smart changes that were do-able for the rest of my life.

I did buy this book and found it helpful.   The recipes in there are disgusting, you might as well eat wild bird seed.  But he explains your body really well, and how the things you put into it affect it.

I always try to eat 4 meals a day.   I took photos of everything I ate for 2 days.   (Excuse the iphone photos, I know these can't look very appetizing)

DAY ONE

Plain oatmeal with blueberries and cinnamon

So there you go, 2 days of my diet.   Truth be told, I'm probably the last person you want to ask about eating properly.   I know that "Fresh is Best" and the less processed foods you can eat the better.   

However, I have 3 kids and run my own business.   I don't grow my own garden, I don't shop at Whole Foods, and I don't want chickens in my backyard.  I eat very, very normal stuff.  I'm not above eating processed food once in a while if it means I can get Rocky to baseball practice on time.  

So I always have a couple of frozen Weight Watchers meals in the freezer and toss those in the microwave if I'm in a hurry.  I also keep a few frozen pizzas or boxes of Mac and Cheese to feed to the kids for dinner if I'm making something so healthy that they won't touch it, LOL. 

In the end, this is a photography blog not a weight loss blog.  I've been thrilled and honored to share my little journey with you, but I'm pretty sure this will be my last blog about weight loss and running, etc…   

After all, I've got some gorgeous wedding photos coming your way Friday :)

If you guys have any questions you can always email me or contact me on facebook!

Thank you so, so much for all your support and kind words, it truly does make the hard work worth it.