Week 1 - Down

OK, so there have been ups and downs this week! I didn't accomplish everything I wanted to, but I have accomplished something I never thought I could!

THE DOWNS
I didn't track my food everyday like I wanted to, and I didn't make the best choices towards the end of the week. It was that time of the month, and it knocked me on my butt!! I was so preoccupied with how bad I was feeling, that I didn't reign myself in in the food department. I emotionally ate. I ate to make myself feel better. Not the best choice!
I also haven't weighed myself since earlier this week. I know that doesn't sound like that big a deal, but I hate not knowing whats going on with my weight. I'm hoping the not so great choices I made towards the end of this week didn't completely screw up all the progress I made in the early part of the week.

THE UPS
I am for the most part thinking about what I'm putting in my mouth. I'm not just mindlessly eating. This is an improvement!! I am also being conscious of my water intake.
I have begun tracking my food, so considering I haven't done that in a yr+, that's also an improvement.
The BEST part??? I COMPLETED WEEK 1 OF C25K TRAINING!!!! I DID IT!!!
I almost talked myself out of the last day because I had a TON of stuff to do, but a friend of mine told me she was proud of me, and I just couldn't NOT do it!! The last day was a little hard to get through. Again, I am dealing with my little friend, so working out was not the easiest thing to do...hoping tomorrow won't be too bad.

I am repeating Week 1 of training this week. I have a friend who had started C25K a while ago, and was actually my inspiration for trying this...she injured her back and has been unable to train, but she wanted to do this with us. She just got released to start training again and so we all want to be on the same week together. So, training OFFICIALLY begins tomorrow morning!!

MY LITTLE EPIPHANY
Although, I do like Carli's podcast, I mentioned in my previous blog, I do VERY much prefer Suz's podcast(also mentioned in my previous blog). It keeps me interested the whole time. The beat is VERY fun and motivating. I may see what I think of Carli's podcast for Week 2, but for Week 1, I will use Suz's.

So, tomorrow is a new day, and a new week!!! Weigh in tomorrow and my 1st training OUTSIDE!!! I will let you know how it goes!!

Goals for today accomplished!!!! YAY!!

So, I said yesterday that the next step I wanted to start taking was Tracking My Food. I was gonna start by just simply writing everything down, and then eventually I would track it on a website. Well, I decided to skip that mini-step and just go straight to tracking it online so I would know exactly what I needed to change. So, today, I started tracking my food on LiveStrong.com
I may switch over to Sparkpeople.com I have done them both, but not sure which one I like better right now. I would love to hear from any of you that have used either one. Tell me what you liked and disliked.

Now, let me tell you about today.
Today, Cassie had her 6mo well check...so of course she got shots. Then I had to go grocery shopping, to different stores, in the pouring rain!!! And of course with all the running around, had to grab food out. I didn't have enough food in the house to make lunches to take with us, plus I did need somewhere to sit, other than the car, to feed Cassie since she is now on solid baby food. I just tried to make better choices. So, breakfast, of course, Tristen wants to go to McD's!! OF COURSE!!! I can TEAR UP some McD breakfast!!! I usually end up getting 2 Sandwhiches, and hashbrowns. But, today, I made my coffee this morning as usual, with Equal, and Fat Free Creamer, so when I ordered breakfast, I just ordered a Steak McSkillet Burrito, for the 1st time I might add, AND LOVED IT!!! Then for lunch we went to Chick-fil-a, and instead of getting a Sandwich, and Large Fries, I got a 12pc nugget and Medium Fry and Diet Coke. Not great for Breakfast and Lunch, but better...and that was all I was going for. Then for dinner I had a HUGE salad topped with PopCorn Shrimp and Lite Dressing. I'm gonna treat myself to a bag of SmartPop Kettle Corn in a few!!

DO YOU WANNA HEAR THE BEST PART?????!!!!!!
I FINISHED W1D2!!!!!!!!!
I was afraid after running around all day (I left the house this morning @ 8am, and didn't get home til 1:30!) that I would talk myself out of working out. I am the QUEEN of excuses!! BUT I DIDN'T!!!! YAY ME!!!
This time I used Suz's Podcast...can't decide which one I like better...Suz or Carli...but I like switching it up! I didn't start out so fast like I did the 1st time. I paced myself this time, and it was actually a bit easier. I was still dripping with sweat when I was done, but I didn't feel like I wasn't gonna make it to the end, I didn't feel like I might die (lol) and I didn't feel like my lungs were gonna explode! This is VERY exciting!!! I actually enjoyed it!!!
WAIT!!! WHAT??? I Actually Enjoyed Running????? I'm getting more and more excited about it!!!

So, not too bad for this week, so far. I didn't weigh myself this morning...didn't have time. I'm thinking what I might do is weigh myself the day after I train, though I will probably end up weighing myself everyday...like I said, I get a bit fanatical once I really get into this. So, even with working out today, I have gone over my calories, but only by 93 and considering 2 out of 3 of my meals were fast food today, that ain't bad! Although...I feel like I burned more than 350cal doing that workout, but I've never tracked that kind of stuff before...so, let me know about your experience with Tracking Burned Calories...I just looked up activities on LiveStong. They had one called RaceWalking, and when I read the discription it mentioned repeated intervals of brisk walking and running/jogging, so I figured that was pretty close. I'm probably not going to train again until Friday. I want to get on a Monday, Wednesday, Friday schedule, but I might train Thursday, and then not again until Monday. We will see...

I know I've been blogging everyday this week, but I promise I won't be driving you crazy with my mundane life stuff everyday once things get more routine. I will just keep you posted on my progress and any epiphanies I have.

So, what's next?
Continue training, continue tracking my food, and staying UNDER my Calories!!

My Journey has just begun, but I already feel good about it!!!

WOW!!! That was hard!!!

Weighed in 239.6
Lost .4 lbs
I didn't really TRY to lose weight, but I was starting to try and make better choices, so I guess something worked...might have been the exercise I did yesterday...but I will get to that in a bit...

So, as I have said, I have had ENOUGH!!! And my anger motivates me, so I have decided to train to do a 5K! The great thing is that I am not doing this alone. I have, so far, 5 girlfriends locally, that are doing it with me, and 1 in my home town, that are all training with me!!! I feel like I have a little team coming with me...my own entourage. I have to say, it is very inspiring.

So, this is where I went...
http://www.coolrunning.com/engine/2/2_3/181.shtml

It is a Couch 2 5K program that lays it all out for you to easily follow. It is a 9 week program, 3 days a week. We officially start training next week, so by the end of Sept. we will be ready. The Team has already started looking at races in Oct. and Nov. and are deciding which one to do.
I started looking for podcasts that follow this program. There are some that are just the spoken run/walk cues, while others have music on them as well as the cues.

The one I found that I like so far is Carli's Podcast:

http://runningintoshape.com/5k-training-downloads/

This is another one I'm gonna try. Suz's Podcast:

http://www.podcastalley.com/podcast_details.php?pod_id=57826

Both have alot of Hip Hop to begin with. Then it looks like Suz's goes into some Pop and then Week 4 is ALL Micheal Jackson!!! YAY!!!
I may eventually make my own if I can figure it out, but until then, I will use these. If anyone has the iphone or ipod touch, evidently there is an app you can download that lets you listen to your own music, but will chime in to give you the run/walk cues. Pretty cool, but unfortunately, I do not have either, but I will live...
But speaking of living...I did not think I would be doing that for much longer yesterday!!! LMAO!!! I decided, because I was REALLY digging the podcast I was checking out, that I would just go ahead and give this C25K thing a shot. OH! MY! GOD!!!! I figured, "How hard can it be? It's just running for 60secs at a time, and I have a minute and a half before I have to do it again!" OMG!! I was huffing and puffing after the 1st 60sec run...and I still had 7 more intervals to do!!! I figured out REAL quick, that how fast I was running was not the point, it was the bouncing and picking my feet up off the ground. So, basically my jog/run was more like a fast walk with a bounce, BUT...I finished the WHOLE thing!!! I felt, at times, like my chest was gonna burst open, and I was sweating more than I ever have IN MY LIFE, but I FINISHED IT!!!
Now, we don't officailly start training till next week, but I had wanted to see how I handled this. It was hard, but I also DID finish it. Which means, I can do it again!! And, I figure since I haven't worked out at all since about my 1st Trimester with Cassie...so about a year ago...I REALLY didn't do too bad.
So, I'm supposed to do Day 2 tomorrow, but I have a REALLY busy day, so it might end up being Wednesday for Day 2, but I will do it!!!
Next step? Tracking my food...

The Beginning...Again

Apr 07

In April of '07 I was 265lbs. I had chronic back pain, and basically hated myself. I hated how I looked, I hated how I felt and I hated how tired I was all the time and my blood pressure just kept climbing and they were talking about putting me on blood pressure medicine.
I have always struggled with my weight, and I had tried lots of different things, but until I got REAL honest with myself and what I was doing, nothing worked 'cuz I didn't stick with it.
So, in Apr of '07 I tried this weird diet that my sister's friend had tried and had lost lots of weight with. It was called The Birmingham Hospital Diet. It is a total FAD diet...not a long term life change. I had tried lots of these before, but I was determined this time! I did it and in 1wk, I lost 7lbs!!! I was amazed and felt SO good about myself!! I kept using this diet for a couple of months, until I noticed I was cheating alot and not losing weight anymore...but, I wasn't gaining either!!!

Aug 07

One of my girlfriends was having FANTASTIC results with Weight Watchers, and she started giving me pointers on what to do and let me login to her account to figure out points values. I basically was self teaching myself the Weight Watchers program. But, it was working, and I was steady losing weight. By Aug of '07 I had lost 30lbs!!! It was AMAZING!!!
Dec 07
Jan 08
Apr 08
May 08
June 08

Then I got my own Weight Watchers account and started being very religous about tracking everything I ate and my water etc. Then I started working out.
By June of '08 I had lost 66lbs and was weighing in at 199!!!! Holy Crap!!! I couldn't remember when the last time was that the scale said under 200!!! I was THRILLED!!!
That had been my goal leading up to vacation that year. Vacation put on 5lbs, but I was planning on that.
July 08
Sept 08

My sister was getting married in Sept and I wanted to look SLAMMIN' in the dress!!! And despite the 5 extra lbs, I did!!!!
Oct 08
Dec 08

It went downhill from there. I teetered around 210 forever!! I just wasn't buckling down again.
I got pregnant in Dec 08, but unfortunately by Feb 09, we had lost the baby.
As part of my self healing, I began journaling and tracking my food again. But, I was still not losing...but I wasn't gaining either. Because of the pregnancy I was now at 214.


In May 09 we got pregnant again! And this time the pregnancy went as expected. I barely gained 15lbs with the pregnancy. I had Gestational Diabetes, and had to watch what I was eating carefully. The same thing happened when I was pregnant with my son. And like after my son, after delivering my daughter, I went a little nutty with all the foods I could eat again, and not worry about it. Plus, I was nursing, and hungry ALL THE TIME!! I almost immediately lost all the baby weight, but then started gaining it all back.

Feb 2010
Apr 2010
May 2010

I weighed 230 when I gave birth to my daughter in Jan 2010. I weighed myself last week...weight for it!...240!!! AAAAHHHHHHH!!!!! WHAT THE HELL?????!!!!!
I am SO mad at myself for letting this happen!!!
So, I have had ENOUGH, AGAIN!!!! I have decided to train for a 5K!!
I have NEVER run for more than a minute here or there, so this should be interesting.
I am going to blog all my ups and downs and what I learn from this experience. I'm gonna use this as my Weightloss Journal...pictures, lbs and all!!!
I will be posting weekly and weighing in at least weekly if not more...I get a little fanatical...
My immediate goal?...train for a 5K in October.
My ultimate goal?...lose 100lbs and feel FABULOUS!!!

So come along with me on my Journey 2 Fabulous!!!



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