Spring Fling Weigh-in #2

Starting Weight: 155.2

Last Week's Weight: 153.6

Today's Weight: 152.8

Loss this week: .8

Loss for Challenge: 2.4

• I've had a half-way decent week this week. I'm disappointed in my .8 loss only because it was 1.8 down Saturday morning, but I ate my way through the weekend and ended up gaining it all back by Monday morning. I'm glad I've gotten it down to where it is now.

• I've kept up with my c210k program and ran/walked my farthest distance ever on Monday: 6.3 miles! I did another 4.8 miles today and I am feeling very injured at the moment, so that is discouraging. I hate that I'm making huge gains in my endurance, only to have a friggin' pulled inner thigh muscle sideline me. ARRGG.

• I've been shredding every day and I'm moving to level 2 tomorrow morning. It was those damn side lunges that pulled my muscle, so I'm glad to say Adios! to those for a while. I'm sure Jillian will find something else to torture me with, though.

On a totally personal note: It has also been a stressful week for my family. My dad's partner (yes, you read that right-it's what you think) is in the hospital with pancreatitis, gall bladder issues and pulmonary embolisms (clots) and is not doing well. Dad's frustrated and scared and I'm frustrated and scared for him. The doctors can't operate on the gall bladder with the lung issues and the pain from the pancreatitis isn't well controlled. They can't fully diagnose the gall bladder problem without an MRI and he won't fit in the standard machine because he is so overweight, plus his stomach is very distended from multiple hernias. They've been told he would not survive any surgery right now anyway. Either he'd die from the pulmonary embolism or bleed out from the blood thinners they are using to try and shrink the clots in his lungs. Dad lost my mom to cancer after 15 years of marriage and now he's facing that possiblity again. I can't do anything living 1 1/2 hours away and I'm trying to not worry my own kids. I feel totally helpless. It sucks. Prayers would be great if you are the praying type. Thank you.

True Confessions Tuesday

Today is going to be brief. I ate pizza on Saturday. A Lot of pizza. 1/2 of a medium Papa John's Garden Fresh Vegetarian Pizza. Now for the excuses (I mean reasons):

I was with my daughter's gymnastics team at a hotel in Northern Indiana.
It was really late (like 8 pm) and I was starving.
I figured since I shredded and did a wii workout in the morning before we drove down, then walked around an outlet mall shopping for 2 hours, and then did my 1 hour run/walk when we got to the hotel, that I'd be ok with eating anything I wanted since I burned about 1000 calories during the day. Apparently not.
I was still within my calories for the day after factoring in the exercise earnings but I felt like total shit and could not get to sleep because of the heartburn.
I did not drink enough water this weekend, but I also stayed away from the beer and wine that some of the parents were sharing around the pool while the kids swam.
I also ate hospital cafeteria food Sunday night while visiting a friend of the family (grilled chicken caesar wrap without dressing and a handful of potato chips).

Why was this a problem? I weighed myself before we left on Saturday and I had lost 2 lbs since Wednesday-Yeah Me!. Then I weighed myself Monday morning and I had gained the 2 lbs back. Boo Hiss.

On the positive side, I did have my longest ever (distance and time) run/walk on Monday. I went 6.35 miles in 77 minutes. My legs feel like crap today.

The Monday Project: What if I'd Waited?

This week's project has us pondering what our lives would be like if we had not started our weight loss/fitness journeys when we did. What would our world be like 2 years from now if we had waited.

• I would be in my 40's feeling fat and unhappy
• My self esteem would be so much lower because, not only would I have gained back the 50 pounds I lost at 33, but I would probably be even heavier than when I lost weight the first time. It would have just kept creeping up, and up, and up....
• I would not be training for my first 10K.
• I would not have gotten my husband to run his first 5K.
• I would not be setting a good example for my children. They would be teens eating the same crap their mother is eating, rather than at least having some healthy foods to choose from. Who am I kidding, they will be teenagers and probably still be eating pizza and cheeseburgers.
• I would not have brought workout clothes with me to my daughter's gymnastics meet and hit the treadmill at the hotel before visiting and eating pizza with all the other parents. I would have been at the pool with a beer and eating pizza (but not having burned any calories first-so it would have all ended up on my ass).
• I would not be frantically blogging in a hotel room in Indiana as my daughter tries to get some sleep because I didn't get my cyber-homework done on time.
• I would not be getting up at 6 AM every morning to shred with Jillian (damn Jillian).
• I would not have shin splints (sometimes making healthy choices have some painful consequences, too).
• If I had not started this journey when I did, I would not have "met" a group of wonderful women through the world of cyberspace. Although I have never met them face to face, I am truly blessed to call them my friends. I receive more support and encouragement from my "sisters" around the US and the world than I do from my friends next door. I'm so glad I didn't miss this.

Spring Fling Challenge-Weigh-in #1

I am happy to report that I am DOWN 1.6 to 153.6. I lost what I gained the past 2 weeks, plus a little more.

I'm most happy about the serious deposits I've been adding to my bank this week. I am picking up in my 10K training and managed to run outside twice this week. Since last Thursday, I've run/walked 15.25 miles! (Since I started posting on dailymile back in November, I've logged 106 miles!!!!!!!!!! Holy Crap!) The intervals are getting closer (I'm 50/50 now with 2 1/2 minute intervals) and next week the tide shifts to more running than walking. According to my Nike+, I'm also running those intervals faster than I've ever run before. Today's run segments were between 8.5 and 10.5 mph pace. I'm extremely proud of that!

Today's run was particularly emotional for me. I was on the home-stretch and "The Climb" by Miley Cyrus shuffled into my playlist. Have you every really listened to the words? I finished my run with tears streaming down my face. I am going to run a 10K in a little over 2 months.

"Ain't about how fast I get there. Ain't about what's waiting on the other side. It's the climb." This song is about the journey. We are all on a journey, whether it be a journey to work out a little more, lose weight, walk your first 5k, run your first 10k, or train for a 1/2 marathon to fight cancer. We are all on a journey, and no matter how long it takes us to get there or how discouraged you may get from time to time, we will get there. And our friends from the Sisterhood will be with us every step of the way.

True Confession Tuesday: Not So Bad

I don't think I have much to confess this week. I've been a very good girl, so instead of confessing just the naughty, I'm going to confess some of the nice.

• I added a MAJOR deposit to my bank this week. I walk/ran (2.5 minute intervals) 5.8 miles in 73 minutes on Sunday! I did this outside for the first time in the winter. I learned very quickly that I was horribly overdressed and was shedding layers before I hit the first mile.
• I changed my status on daily mile to "runner".
• I bought a new, smaller, belt this week.
• I started the 30 day shred with the DVD I won from the sisterhood (thanks, girls!). While starting this workout, I'm 3 workouts from completing the EA Sports Active More Workouts 6 week challenge. So I'm doing double workouts until next week.
• I've been getting up really early to do the shred, but I also haven't been going to be early enough, so I'm really wiped out.
• I've been staying around 1200 calories a day (I eat my exercise calories). This is really hard on run days because I burn 600-700 calories. I hate eating just because my calorie count is low, but I'm working on the "food as fuel" mentality.
• I've been drinking at least 8 glasses of water a day, but my skin is still really dry and my lips are so chapped they hurt, so 64 oz may not be enough for me. (Excuse me while I go fill up my glass again.)
• I have not been eating enough fresh fruits and vegetables. Don't know why. Just lazy, I guess.
• I posted "before" pictures on The Hood. Scary, but I just wish I'd taken before pictures at the beginning of this journey. I've lost over 10 pounds and have several pairs of pants taken in.
• I ate Stacy's Simply Naked Pita Chips right out of the bag last night while watching The Bachelor. (I guess that's a double confession-admitting to the late night snacking and admitting I watched The Bachelor.)

After 2 weeks of slight gains (while being extremely good in the food/exercise department) I am really hoping and praying for a good weigh-in tomorrow. But if it doesn't happen, I'll get over it.

How did you do this week?

Monday Project Link-Up: The Bank

This week at the Sisterhood, we looked at what types of activities, thoughts, etc add a deposit to our "bank". While I didn't run outside this week or have any scary interactions with the local wildlife, I did manage to add a few deposits (and learning experiences) to my bank.

When I think back on this week, I'm trying to find activities that have deposited into my bank. One stands out. I have been training for 4 weeks now with the c210k program. My training has involved a large amount of technology: my iPhone, c210k app, nike+, the treadmill. This week, technology has tried to do everything in its power to bite me in the butt and get me discouraged. Tech is a great thing...when it works! When it doesn't work it is frakin' frustrating. However, I have continued to run. I have no data from Sunday and Wednesday (9 miles and 2 hours total, thank you very much), but I kept running even when my crap wasn't working. I found I can run without music, although it is very, very, very, boring and I really don't need to know exactly how far I've run or what my pace was since it doesn't matter at this point. Thankfully, my run today was recorded without fail. It appears my tech issues are behind me (for the time being anyway).

• Deposit: I walked/ran 13.5 miles in 3 workouts this week, running 40% of the time. The tech isn't what matters, moving your @$$ is what matters.

I did not want to go to the gym tonight. The weather was terrible, I needed to pick the boy up from swimming at 4:15, have the girl to gymnastics at 4:30 (yep-she was late) and the gym I work out at is in the opposite direction. However, I really didn't want to have to get up tomorrow to do this week's final run and then try to do next week's run on Sunday, so I got my butt to the gym. I was starving but burpy from drinking a diet coke right before I got there (you're welcome) and when I unpacked my bad, I realized I forgot my favorite water bottle. Oh well. I needed to suck it up and drink out of the aluminum one I use during the day. Then, I was so hungry when I got home (after driving back across town to pick up K at her gym) that I completely SCARFED my dinner. Needless to say, the tummy isn't feeling too good at the moment.

• Deposit: I was busy but I still worked out. Schedules and schedule changes happen-suck it up


• Deposit: I learned what not to do before I run: don't drink pop. I also know not to eat a lot first, but maybe bringing a powerbar or some fruit to work to eat on the way to the gym might not be a bad idea.


• Deposit: I improvised, but also learned: don't try to run and drink out of an aluminum, open-mouth water bottle, you might lose a tooth, or at the very least dump water all over yourself.

All of my training so far has been on a treadmill. Western lower Michigan, 25-some miles from the lake, is entirely too cold and snowy for me to train outside yet. Case in point: this is the trail where I run during the nicer times of the year. Can you find it? Yeah, I can't either.

I would love to be one of those women who runs in the snow, but I'm not and don't really want to be. (I will and have run in the rain-don't like it, but I'll do it if I have to. It builds character.) I have a paranoia about falling. Silly, yes, but that's just me. How does this relate to filling my bank? I'm learning NOT to look at the treadmill next to me because it just ticks me off. Who cares that the 22 year old hot guy on the next treadmill is running at a 7 or 8 minute mile pace and I'm barely holding on (literally, I'm holding on to the treadmill) to a 10 min mile pace and only for 2 minutes at a time. It shouldn't matter.

• Deposit: I am steadily increasing my distance and stamina, on my terms. I've walked/run almost 50 miles since starting my c210k training! I'll get to that 6.2 when I get there and not a second sooner.

I'm glad Christie devised this little project for us this week. I honestly didn't think I'd come up with anything. I was wrong. My deposits might not be victories and may not have involved suicidal squirrels, but they are mine.

Spring Fling: Weigh-In 1

I had so much fun with the Shrinking Jeans Olympics and I even managed to win a couple medals. I never win anything, much less something related to sports. Way cool and a total ego boost if I do say so myself. I am so excited for this new challenge to start. Teams! I love teams! I can't wait to see what the sisterhood has planned for us this go-round :)

Now, on to the less than pleasantness:

If you read my True Confessions post this week, you know that I experimented with eating MORE to counteract the amount of exercise I've been doing since I gained weight last week after eating/exercising so well (weird concept, I know). Unfortunately, this may have backfired just a teensy-weensy bit. As of Sunday, I had gained over 2 lbs. Holy Guacamole! Apparently 1400 calories were a bit much after I had only been netting around 1000 or less for the past few weeks. I backed off to 1200 calories and I've lost almost all that I gained, but not quite.

My starting weight for this challenge is 155.2 (up .4 from last week). This still represents a 10.6 loss overall, so at least I don't have to give back my 10# button :)

Here's another number: Alterations for 3 pairs of dress pants: $51.00. Needing to have pants taken in: priceless!

So, bring on the team challenges, bring on the running (have I mentioned I'm training for my first 10K?), bring on the food logging. I am ready!

ps-did you know the Sisterhood is giving away 11 copies of the Jillian Michaels 30 day shred? Now you do. Go here to enter, but you better hurry because the contest ends today at midnight! You just can't have the copy I am going to win-it's mine :)