thirty pounds

Thirty pounds, it sounds like so much, and so little.

In one year that is how much weight I have lost - no gimmicks, no fads. Just running.

Granted in comparison to the Biggest looser this loss pails in comparison. But lets look at it like this, one bag of sugar is 4lbs.

I have lost more than 4 of these bad boys. Have you ever tried to carry 7 bags of sugar? It is cumbersome, bulky and tiring. 

This is the first time in my life that I have lost weight with no gimmicks, fads, or diet pills. It feels good to say that I did this - the 'right way'. And I did it on my own (with a little help from my friends). My diet did not change much - cut back on my pepsi addiction, ate more soup and salad and less fried food - but really I never gave up the foods I love. I never stopped drinking beer and wine.. I just have a water with it. All good things are best in moderation right?

Today was Chasin Booty's second 5 mile training run and it was a blast. Our group seems to have rebounded from the holidays nicely and we had a fun run with loads of chatter. Saturday morning runs are always hard for me to drag my self out of bed for but they are always so much fun and I love running with my "Runners World Family" it really is hard to have a bad day with so many awesome people around. Ruby gets to put in her miles on saturdays too and she loves it. Both of us look foward to our Saturday afternoon naps too.

My weight loss goal for the new year is to keep loosing. I would like to loose another 30 the year I turn 30 but who knows if that is in the cards... I would have never guessed that in one years time I would have ran 650 miles - lets see what I can do this trip around the sun.

an up hill battle - literally and figuratively

What a week.

Last week I was unable to run during the week due to work stuff. I missed my weekly runs and was none to happy with missing them.

Friday I was laid off.

Friday after cleaning out my office I came home and went for a run. I went as far and as fast as I could. I needed to cleanse my mind and get some 'focus'. I took a hilly trail and I threw myself at that trail. I ran to a portion where the trail goes under the highway by way of foot bridge - what I didn't know is the foot bridge sways and vibrates due to the traffic overhead. I thought I was getting dizzy so I turned around and headed home.

I didn't sleep well that night. I got in about 2.5 hours sleep.

I had a 11 mile run scheduled the next day.

I managed 5.5 before I was exhausted - physically and emotionally.

I came home and crashed.

Since then my eating habits have been reckless - not bad, not good, no thinking behind them.

I am getting my miles in yes - but I need to get this bag of saltwater taffy away from me!

I read this post on moving 4 life and she hit the nail on the head. That is me that Shawn discribes.

Its time to refocus. I can do this.

Loads to be happy about

This morning I weighed my self and I am now officially 180lbs! Bringing me to a total of 15lbs weight loss since January.

It has been a hard struggle and this puts me approximately half way to where I would like to be.

The hardest part for me has been doing this with out the aid of diet pills.

I may have alluded to this before but I have in the past been very dependant on what I called ‘caffeine pills’. I called them that because that was the number 1 ingredient. But to be honest they were diet pills. They were highly habit forming and were a way of life for me. I mean, I lost 100lbs in approximately 4 months! It was amazing and to this day I have no regrets on this.

It has been over a year since I took one. To be honest each day when I weigh myself I think ‘if I had been on the caffeine pills I could have doubled that number’. It is a little self defeating if you really think about it. I should be very proud of what I have accomplished 15lbs loss with little modification to my diet and increased activity. I have earned each foot fall and each pound with no assistance from any substance. It hasn’t been easy, but it has been worth it.

In January I could not run a solid block with out stopping to gasp for air. Now I can run a solid 5 miles – I just prefer to run it in intervals (I can go faster).

Also tonight marks the start of Fall.

Fall is bar none my favorite season. Last nights run on the river you could feel the weather stating to change. The humidity was lower the temp slightly cooler. I felt up to running further and thoroughly savored my 5.25 miles at a much more brisk pace than I logged during the summer months. (14:35 last night v. 19:34 in July). Ahh fall! On the return of my out and back I was thrilled to be treated to a brief sprinkling and a rainbow.

Ahh.

Now I don’t need the group to run. Don’t get me wrong I love running with my group but now I also love running alone. Just the music, my feet pounding pavement, and the air. Ahh. I have often thought of Darcy in What Women Want while she was creating her ad for Nike.

She's running. It's early, it's quiet. Just the sound of her feet on the asphalt. She likes to run alone. No pressure, no stress. This is the one place she can be herself. Look any way she wants, dress, think any way she wants. No game playing, no rules. Games, sports, rules. Games, sports, rules. Playing by the rules. Playing games versus playing - Playing by the rules. Playing games versus playing.

Who would have thought when I started the couch to 5K program in January that I would fall this in love with Running?

smoothie - yum

I have been wanting a personal blender for some time now. Recently I took the plunge and got just that.

For the past 2 weeks I have prepared myself a smoothie made from frozen fruits, yogurt, soy protein, and spinach. Or a Green Monster.

Admittedly I went a bit too green on my first attempt. Now I am beginning to get the hang of it and surprisingly I am less likely to snack since I have started doing this.

It took a few trys to get all the proportions just right. But now that I have yum! I am loving my little breakfast! So, with out further a due. I introduce green monsters 1 and 2. The first was my ‘epic fail’ the second was this AM and it rocked my world!

1

2

Today’s creation was Mango, Pineapple, Peach Yogurt, Soy Protein, Spinach, and Peaches. It was gone in just a little over 5 minutes – it was just that good!

This weekend I am joing to be running my butt off – literally!

I have a 10 mile training run Saturday AM – early AM like 5:45 AM. I will go out with my training group and grab 3(ish) miles and return to pick up my couch group to get in 3 miles and then finish off my remaining 4 alone. Head home for a nap and then head off to the Scottish Games for the Ladies first 5K (aka the skirt chaser) where women get a 3 minute head start. Some of my couch group will be participating in this 5K as their first ever 5K and I am so proud of them, last night we finished our 3 mile run in 44 minutes.

I fully expect them to complete in 44 min or less. I am shooting for a new PR (sub 40) and am not sure how that will go since I have my 10 miles first thing I am not sure just how I will do. In any case I am going to be there and I am going to finish!

As you can see my weekend is pretty full. And that is just Saturday! What about you? What healthy things do you have planned for the weekend or next week?

The battle of the bulge, the battle of indulge(ing).

I love my weekends – I count the days, minutes, and hours to Friday at 5.

During the week I eat ‘good’ mind my caloric intake – replace electrolytes as necessary and in general don’t give my self a pass to eat garbage. I do good.

Fridays are my ‘good weekend day’ light meal, early to bed. I have a 5AM wake time for my Saturday morning run.

Saturday post run is where the ‘suck’ seems to start. If Hubbers did not go running with me he is still slumbering when I get home from my run and hop in the shower. I reason he wont be there much longer I can wait to eat with him – and I wait. Then the morning drags on – gosh I am hungry… A friend calls needing assistance finding ‘the’ new jeans – you know the Jeans that fit just right – since every few years designers change the styles this seems to be a normal event once every two years. Sure I’ll go. Can we stop so I can grab some grub? 2 for one Buffalo Chicken junk foodie items – ok. I will round that out with a diet pop. All is well. I will eat healthy for dinner. Hubbs wakes up. Lets grill! Bratwurst! With Buns! Chips! French Onion Dip! Beer! Carb-o-riffic!

Not to be out done by Saturdays fail on comes Sunday with a very busy Mexican joint! It takes the wait staff a longer time to take orders. They are packed! ‘That’s ok we have never ending chips and salsa!’ Reasonable meal – swimming and mixed drinks with friends. Lets grill! Bratwurst! Chips! Dips! Beer! Carb-tastic!

On comes Monday – weekdays I weigh myself. +5lbs. A.w.e.s.o.m.e.

Recap of the weekend. Oh, I see where I went wrong, I know what I did. No one to blame but myself. No way to undo my mistakes. When I drink I snack. If snacks are handy when I talk, I snack.

I do not have the metabolism of a lab rat on crack. I am not genetically designed to loose weight easily. I have a sturdy frame with curves. I have a body that will gain weight at the drop of a hat.

I know this. I also know that I will likely loose at least half of what I gained over the weekend in the next few days. My point is that if I allow these 5lbs over the weekend to remain the norm I am never ever going to hit my goal of 150lbs.

This entry is serving as a mental slap across the face to wake up and realize what I am doing to myself.

I can attend a bbq and eat what I want –in moderation. Say no to popsicles (unless they are post run). I need to remember to bring some ‘safe’ snacks for me. Carrots are good! Moderation is good! Being healthy is good!

I feel better when I am being healthy and I am proud of myself for being healthy. I can do this!!!

image taken from istockphoto.com

Summer revelations

Well folks it seems like July heat finally arrived. I have been dreading this for some time. I have had some good days running but I will be the first to say that 110 heat index can really take its toll. Tuesdays run along the river went well the first mile-ish. The next half mile was worse. At that point I believe I said “aww screw it. I am out here in the heat putting my miles in which is more than I can say for the majority of the 918 and I will call that good” after that statement I walked an tried to not puke. Heat stress and heat stroke is a reality that many runners can battle with in this heat and we need to be tuned into our body enough to recognize the signs and know what to do when it starts.

I am still running intervals at this time and am ok with this. Some runners consider intervals to be training wheels. That’s fine, I really don’t care if you do or not. I am out here, putting in the time and miles and really that is all that matters right? When it cools off these will be phased out a bit.

In my last post I mentioned shin splints. Well a running buddy was kind enough to lend me her Zensah Calf Sleeves to see what I thought – OMG what a difference they have made. I may be wearing them for some time still but the difference is AMAZING!

I busted out my compression shorts from roller derby last week and have started running in them. It is really funny how much of my derby stuff was running gear and I was clueless of this fact.

Now on that weight front. It is no secret that I am fighting my body to loose the weight. Clearly I am out here trying. Well I am seeing some progress. As of this AM I am down 7 lbs from 2 months ago. I am averaging a pound a week. Last night I was able to wear a smaller pair of jeans. Nothing earth shattering but it did make me feel pretty good. I am hoping as my miles increase I will see a increase in loss as well. It is exciting to go shopping in my closet and revisit some of my favorite clothes!

What about you? How is your summer training going? What are you learning about summer training that you had never expected?

Calorie Tracking – a love hate activity (and other news)

So I recently started calorie counting again on http://www.livestrong.com/ using the daily plate.

I started tracking my calories about this time last year but quickly gave up. Well I am back at it. The nice thing is in writing down (or keying in) what I consume it causes me to think more carefully about what I put in my body. This is key for me to loose weight. I am a eater. I eat for fun. I eat when I am bored. I eat when I am upset. I eat when I celebrate.

The fun thing for me on calorie tracking is days I run. I keyed in my details from Tuesday, food, exercise and what not. When all was said and done I came up with -11 calories. Yes that is a negative 11 calories. Granted at the moment that is a ball park calorie figure for my runs since I do not have a fancy pants Garmin with a heart rate monitor – hint hint. But still it is pretty cool. Take for example my friend that stopped by last night bearing gifts of beer. Knowing I had nearly consumed all of my days allowable caloric intake I calculated up how many sit up and push ups I needed to do to counter act the beer. I then did the said exercises and popped open a cold one. Who would I be if I denied myself beer? Not me that’s for sure!!! I just need to physically earn the beer before I consume it!

If you like me are struggling with loosing weight you might consider tracking your food in a journal or using the free tracking tools offered on http://www.livestrong.com/ . It certainly is no magic bullet, you have to actively do it but I think it might help.

In other news we are in for another scorcher of a day here in the 918. We had some rain come thru last night and cool us off a bit – now it is just looking like it will hit a high of 93F and a 30% chance of rain the humidity looks like it will be off the charts. My only hope is for a actual rain during my run. But who knows how lucky I will be on that hope.

With the heat and humidity still climbing I am constantly reminding myself to slow down and drink more H2O. After all no one wants heat stroke. At the beginning of the summer my minutes per mile time was seriously bugging me. Now that the heat is really beginning to climb I am finding myself not so bothered by that. As a matter of fact I am feeling pretty proud of not having to call 911 due to pushing to hard. I think I will be making the plunge into a camelbak this weekend.

So far we have not had a Ozone Alert here. I know those days will be here soon. And I know I will be out running in that too. Glutton for punishment I guess – or maybe I am just learning to know my limits and push just a little beyond them.

Speaking of pushing beyond limits we kicked off the training for the Route 66 half marathon last weekend with Runners World Tulsa – click over to the RWT blog for photos and details (thanks TZ) you cant see me but I am in the back with the rest of Team Coma Toes.

Next weekend after my morning run you can catch me helping to serve up breakfast for the runners just completing the Midnight Madness 50 mile Ultra . Also you need to mark Aug 21 on your running calendar. This year I am helping to organize the TATUR Mud Run. It is shaping up to a good muddy time.

Incentive to push harder.

It happened. At long last it happened. The weight is slowly beginning to drop. I want to emphasize SLOWLY.

In the course of 5 months the only change was that my legs we toning up. The second month of running I gained 5lbs, in the Third month I lost that 5lbs. Now after six months of running 3 times a week religiously I am beginning to see that damn needle on the scale move – and it is going the way I want it to go. DOWN!

In the past month I have lost 3lbs. I know it doesn’t seem like much and the number 3 is relatively small but it is a renewed hope for me. Just as I was thinking that nothing was going to change I got change! You have no idea how much of a needed push this is! This compensates for the sluggish times this summer - now I am pretty ok with that.

Cross training before was a notion I toyed with. I did it for a week – did I see results, not really. How could I? I stuck with it for a week. Now here I am 3lbs down and all I can think about is getting home and weight training – mind you still nothing crazy. 2lb hand weights. But I have to start some where. I got home from my run last night and busted out 100 crunch thingys on my Ablounger. I am feeling the burn today but I will be doing that again tonight.

I am determined to not allow myself to fall back in the weight loss supplement trap again. I did loose the 100lbs quickly, but as you always hear I gained a little over half of that back over the course of 4 years. I am not letting that happen again. I am going to work hard and earn every pound.

My husband pointed out over the weekend that I am skinny from my waist down. Now I need to focus on waist up. From all I read, and all I hear this is the hard part and the part that will take the longest. My only comfort is I have friends that will not let me give up. I cannot restate enough how much of a help it has been to join the Runners World Tulsa training group. The accountability is the push I have needed. I have friends of many different groups; we all have our different things we do when we are together. It is really nice to have friends who help you focus on putting in the time to be healthy and active when you are together.
Of course this really doesn’t change the fact that I still run for beer… (and all those other high cal high carb things I love – I just need to be smart about it now.)

Image taken from goodhousekeeping.com

thoughts on running

One of the girls I run with (we have informally started calling ourselves the C6 or Core 6) was stating last night that she thinks joining the couch to 5K program was one of  the best things we could have ever done for ourselves. I am inclined to agree.

Most of my group had not been very active prior to joining the couch to 5K program. It is after all called COUCH to 5K for a reason.

Aside from the obvious benefits of running, like toning of legs, increased energy and heart rate / cholesterol levels I think we have each found a boost to our self confidence.  It has indeed not been easy. But we started with nearly 100 other couchers. Now we have a solid group of about 12 that are still out there running, pushing and determined to push even further.

Tonight at the half way point I was not quite ready to resume running but the other 3 girls were going to. I wanted to walk. I made it about 3 steps and caved. With the remark of "damn you people and peer pressure" I resumed my running.

For me to be consistent in working out I need that peer pressure. I will push harder and further so long as there are other people there doing the same. I am coming up on my 'solo' run the Remember the 10 run. The run that got me motivated to join the C25K program in the first place. I am more than a little spooked about running alone. I am afraid that I will not push as hard on my run. I am afraid I will find it easy to slack.

I haven't mentioned it but my weight has not changed much. When I started running I was 195. 3 months in and I am still 195. At one point I had gained 5lbs. Hubby has been after me to start some cross training or weight training. Nothing crazy, just some 2lb hand weights. I guess I will start that soon. I bought the hand weights and there are Jillian Michael's Workouts on Cox Cable on Demand. At this point I want to see some improvement. Don't get me wrong, friends and coworkers are seeing a difference. Sadly this difference evades my detection.

2 months ago the idea of weight training even a little would not have been entertained for even a moment. Now thanks to the little bit of confidence that came with finishing the C25K program I am now ready to take my training to that next level. Runners World Often says "Run with your Friends, Change Your Life" and they aren't kidding. When I started the C25K program I did not know ANYONE. As I was struggling along on one of our first runs a girl in the group sees me lagging a bit behind and said "come on just run to the red car" and with that a new friendship was born.

If you are on the fence about joining a group because you cannot con anyone into doing it with you, do it any way. Stick with it a few weeks and you will find that people will open up to you and you will find people there for the same reasons, they will help push you to that next level.

Have you experienced any positive changes from running / working out? What are they? How long did it take to see these changes?

**Oh, and about that nike + thing I am still figuring that out. Until I rule out operator error I do not feel comfortable reviewing it.

the break thru

I feel the need to celebrate and share.

This week we ran / walked 3 miles and I feel like I could have gone one more. Now running 3 times weekly with my group is a treat for me that I look forward to each time. It is me time, fun time, and just great. Running is addictive.

Equally exciting is the fact that this week I fit in to a pair of slacks that have not fit in nearly a year. I am still in the 13 / 14 size range but the smaller of this size are fitting now. I am hoping by the end of summer to be at the small end of the 11/12 size range. Maybe I will get lucky and surpass that goal but lets start small.

Speaking of starting small after about a month of regular running I gained 5 pounds. I was majorly annoyed. Super annoyed. Well you get the point. As of this Monday I have lost the additional 5 pounds and this morning I have lost 2 more. At long last I am seeing weight loss. This time with no diet pills or gimmicks. Just good old fashioned effort. I am not going to lie. I have been struggling with not buying the diet pills as I was showing NO numerical improvement (at least by way of the scale). In the past I have tried a variety of weight loss formulas (if it did not contain ephedra I tried it). Some worked, most didn’t. The ones that did work only worked if I was working out religiously. Looking back this leads me to wonder if it was the pills or the working out that really did it.

So at last I have shattered this weight monster. I am down two pounds. Now I cant wait to loose two more. Baby steps on to the bus, but at least the bus is finally here.

inches, not pounds

I started this blog to loose weight right?

Well after a month of running I am down a pant size. Not a single pound. Just a pant size. Part of me is very happy with this change in size. The majority of me is seriously irritated that I have not lost a pound.

This article pretty well sums it up for me.

It looks like I need to focus on those inches and not those pounds. Discouraging but I guess I will get over it.

In other news I am still enjoying running. Come run with me some time!

I did it.

I went to my first meeting for the couch to 5K program. I go running for the first time Saturday AM, here goes nothing.

3 days in

Last night I returned to Zumba.

A little slower than I was when I left.

But I was there.

The cursed cookies are gone. I ate 4. 4 cookies @ 180 calories each that is ZOMG that is 720 calories for cookies.

For 700 calories I could have had one of those bowl dinners at KFC. Truth be told I would have preferred that. But I am better prepared today. Hubbers went shopping and got me yogurt (100cal), a banana, almonds (10 for 100 cal), apple sauce (50 cal), fruit (50 cal), green beans (65 cal for the WHOLE CAN!), sugar free jell-o (10 cal) plus a lean cuisine (280 cal). Hopefully with me being better prepared I can avoid giving in. In my opinion the first week is the hardest on a diet - a few weeks in you know you can resit. You are stronger. I think the Couch to 5K training starts Monday. Getting the new running shoes this weekend.


Also if you havent yet discovered my main blog the sarcastic cynical optimist I would like to invite you over. My resolutions are posted there.

baby steps on to the bus

Day 1 back on the diet.

I arrive at work to discover that someone has placed a box of sugar cookies with sprinkles in the break room. I love sprinkles. Day 1 is going to be harder than I anticipated.

Curse you sprinkles!