It's been a while, but I'm back! We had almost a week off so I took the oppotunity to drive down to North Carolina to visit my extremely (and overdue) pregnant sister and her husband. I was hoping that I would be there for the arrival for my niece, however that was not the case. As of today, my poor sister is now 4 days overdue. Little girl is proving just to be as stubborn as her mama!
While we were there, to say I "splurged" a little in the food department would be a vast understatement. My sister and her husband know all these great restaurants around town that they took us to. Even though we only ate out a few times, I definitely took advantage of all the different food. When we didn't eat out, we ate well at home with food on the grill and homemade pizza. I slacked on the exercise as well, using their elliptical only once while I was there. I did get a lot of walking in, as we took M to the museum and park.
Coming home, I was faced with Easter and a plethora of candy, wine, and other delectable goodies. All in all, I gained about 4 pounds in the past week. I vowed to get back on track starting Monday.
Yesterday started my food tracking and exercising again. Running, I definitely could tell I had taken some time off, but should be able to regain that endurance rather quickly. I also made a double batch of my favorite Peanut Butter Banana Protein Cookie. Following the healthy food trend, I decided to try to make some kale chips. My sister has talked about them in the past, and I've heard good things. Looking at good ol' Pinterest, I got some ideas of how to do it. Unfortunately, I baked the chips a little too long and burnt the kale. I can tell you now that burnt kale is absolutely awful! I didn't use the whole bunch of kale that I had bought, so I'm going to try again later this week and hopefully get a better result.
I've also gotten back on the gym train and now have been back for two days in a row. Yesterday was too crowded to do much of anything; I went earlier than usual and was reminded why I normally go later. I got a quick run in and then focused on abs and arms. Today I ran for a good 45 minutes and got over 4 miles in. I had the gym to myself tonight, so I was able to finish the arm workout that I didn't get to finish yesterday.
So I'm desperately trying to get back on track, despite the ridiculous amount of candy in the house right now. Hopefully I can regain my focus and keep trucking along!
When I first started this journey, my focus was on losing weight. Especially after gaining so much when I was pregnant with M, it was the only motivation I had. It got me started, but it is funny how things change.
Now that I'm well on my journey, I'm shocked at how my focus has changed. Sure, I'm all about losing a few pounds, who isn't? However, now I'm content with healthy. As Tim puts it, I wasn't made to be a size 2. My wonderful sister took all of the skinny genes in our family.
Still, even though I may never be as small as I like, I'm doing thing I've never imagined I'd be able to do. Getting in shape has been one of the most rewarding things I've done. I have energy, I can run a mile without passing out at the end, and I'm teaching my daughter healthy habits.
So as I continue on my journey towards a healthy lifestyle, I need to keep evaluating my purpose and my motivation. Although a smaller pair of pants will always be a nice perk, I no longer thing they are the main motivation behind my efforts.
With my new found exercise obsession, I wanted to get a better read on how much I was burning. After some research, I found a decently priced, decently rated heart rate monitor that sounded like a good fit. I ended up getting the Polar FT4, read more about it here.
So far, after using it twice I'm really impressed. It's extremely easy to use and gives me just the type of information I was looking for.
One thing I realized after using it a few times was that the calorie burn I was originally calculating for myself was far above what I am actually burning. In some cases I was burning well over 100 calories less than what I planned. When I was eating back those calories, I very well could have been overeating. This could explain why I have been getting more fit, but not necessarily losing weight.
So my next step is to start to use the HRM to calculate my calorie burn and see if that helps with the weight loss, I figure it's worth a try!
I was surprised when this morning I woke up and felt fine. After yesterday's long run, I was worried about being sore. I could tell that I had worked out, but it was no different than any other morning.
This morning was another Monday weigh in. I was excited because I may or may not have done a pre-weigh in yesterday. I was down another 1.2 pounds, that puts my total at just about 10 pounds since I started the beginning of February. Not too shabby if you ask me! I will say, this 10 pounds has been much different than any I've lost before. I'm not sure if it is because I'm running or the strength training I'm incorporating, but the weight is coming off very differently than it has in the past.
I did make it to the gym tonight. I was going to take it easy, but then my dad was there. I love working out with him. Not because he is overly motivating or makes me work harder. We barely even talk. However, just working out next to someone is, to me, very motivating. I tried to run a bit tonight, yeah that was a big mistake. I made it about a mile before good ol' jellylegs came back. So instead I walk/ran a total of 2.5 miles. Then I worked on my arms. I can definitely tell I'm getting stronger, and I added a bit more weight today. I thought it was adorable that even though he finished up about 10 minutes earlier than I did, my dad waited for me to finish so that he could walk me out to my car. Always daddy's little girl :)
So I've seen progress on the scale, in inches, and athletically. I've also seen progress in the way I view food. Before I saw food as the enemy. It was something I had to have, but I knew in the end it would just make me fat. This is how I gained so much to begin with. Dieting is hard and by nature makes you hate the foods you tend to love. I no longer view food like this. I'm starting to enjoy my food and look forward to certain snacks or meals. I've learned that it is ok to come home from the gym and have a pepperoni ball (like tonight). It won't kill my progress, in fact it may help it. Before I got in trouble because I denied myself foods that I loved. Now, I know that denial only leads to an all out binge. So I enjoyed my pepperoni ball (just the breading, Tim ate the pepperoni and cheese; I know I'm weird).
So I'm going into this week with a positive outlook. I've got the St. Patty's Day 5k on Saturday and can't wait to see how I do. I feel like I am much better prepared than I was at my last 5k on Thanksgiving (apparently I have a thing for holiday-based 5ks).
So Monday morning has become my least favorite morning of the week. Not only is the weekend over, but for some unknown reason I decided it would by my weigh in day. I think my original idea was that it would keep me honest over the weekend, knowing that it would impact the scale on Monday morning. Instead, I enjoy myself on the weekend, and kick myself for it Monday morning.
The past two Mondays have not gone well for me. First, I gained and then maintained. For two weeks I was stuck at 149.2. I've been working my butt off at the gym, so it was very hard for me to be okay with no change.
Yesterday my mom had turkey dinner, which is normally a huge downfall for me. This time, I tried extremely hard to not overeat, only to succumb to the apple pie. Needless to say, I was not looking forward to this morning.
So the moment of truth came, and I lost! Down 2.1 pounds to be exact. Plus, I was down another inch. It was so nice to finally see some movement. So now I'm feeling great and ready for another awesome week!
M came home from her grandma's the other day with some pictures she had picked out from grandma's "picture cabinet." I didn't think anything of it, figuring they were some old pictures that grandma wasn't too attached to, since she gave them to a 3 year old. This morning I was getting ready and found this gem.
This is me circa 2005. At this point I was still in college, madly in love with Tim and food and alcohol (and obviously really bad hair color). Shortly after this, I reached my highest weight of 201 pounds. I had completely forgotten about this point in my life, most likely because it's not a time I was proud of. It helped to put things in perspective for me.
Lately I have been really focused on the scale and its lack of movement. Still, regardless of which way the scale moves, I am eating better and exercising more than any other point in my life. Seeing this helped remind me that I started this journey because I wanted to be healthy, not just for weight loss. True, fitting into a size smaller is a nice; but living longer and feeling better are even nicer. As much as I hate to be reminded of that time, today it served as a reminder of just how far I've come.
So after yesterday's yucky weigh in (I didn't gain nor lose), I weighed myself again and found that I was down a half pound. I really do think it is the amount of water I've been drinking that is making the difference. And let me tell you, I've been peeing like crazy too!
I've also started making sure that I'm eating more than just three meals a day. Instead of eating three big meals, I've starting eating 3 moderately sized meals along with two snacks, so that I'm eating every 2-3 hours. I must say, I've fallen in love with Power Bars for this reason. They've become my go-to for between meal snacking. I stick with the mainly the Fruit and Nut or Mixed Nut kind simply because they are much lower in sugar than the other flavors avaiable. They are high in protein, and provide enough energy for me to make it to lunch. Plus, they are small enough to throw them in my bag. Plus, the fact that Giant Eagle has them 10 for $10 makes them affordable too!
Do you have any go-to snacks?
So the last week has been a bit exhausting. All the school work, grad school work, exercising and things around the house caught up with me. I barely had a chance to sit, let along blog!
But I'm back. The good news is, even through all the busy evenings, I still found time to go to the gym.
I've been making up my own combination of running and lifting. Alternating strength days and short runs with longer runs and minimal strength. This week, I did gain a pound, however, I lost 3 inches! I even went out with my bestie, Betsy, this past weekend. First, we stuffed ourselves silly at Olive Garden.
After stuffing ourselves silly, we went shopping. Betsy seemed to enjoy being my "fashion consultant" and had me in the dressing room for a good half hour (and I do not try on clothes). In the end, I walked away with some pretty cute outfits, and two pairs of size 6 pants! I haven't been a size 6 since right before my wedding!! Now hopefully I work up the courage to wear my bright blue skinny jeans...haha!
Running-wise, I'm up to doing about an hour on my long run days. I'm still only getting about 5 miles on those days. I just get so bored!! I've started riding the bike to supplement the running and mix things up again. Still, I can't wait to be able to run outside again!
So for the past year I have, in my opinion, exercised fairly regularly. There have been some points where I was less devoted than others, but overall I've stayed pretty active. I was the most active in the period between Thanksgiving and Christmas. At one point, I would do an Insanity workout, and then go run three miles. I was a BEAST!
Right around Christmas I started to slack a little, drinking wine with the family is a much more attractive option! By January, I had all but stopped exercising. In the past two weeks, I've gotten back on the fitness train and have really worked hard to get back to where I was.
However, this time is proving especially difficult. On top of the cold that I just can't get rid of, and the cough that miraculously whenever I touch a tredmill, I have a serious case of jelly legs.
I noticed today when I was starting my workout that I just felt like my whole body was jelly. I made it through the workout, but it wasn't pretty. I was struggling with things I haven't before. I'm trying to decide if this is my body's way of saying that I need to slow down or if this cold is impacting me more than I thought. All I know is that I'd really like it to stop!!
So last Wednesday I decided to kick my diet pop habit. I was up to 8 or 9 cans of diet pop a day (ridiculous, I know) and was starting to feel as if maybe that was a limitation in my weight loss. I knew it wouldn't be easy, but I decided it would be worth it. So I quit, cold turkey.
A week into it, I think the worst is over. Many may find this humorous, but I swear I went through withdrawl. Wednesday night was fine, and even all day Thursday wasn't too bad. Thursday night it hit me, out of nowhere. Chills, hot flashes, nausea, dizziness, headache, tingly fingers....I had no idea what was going on! It wasn't until a good friend of Tim's mentioned that the same thing happened to a girl he knew when she kicked her diet pop habit.
Turns out, aspartame is somewhat like a drug. Your body gets used to it, and when you take it away it doesn't know what to do. Luckily, I did some reading and found that lots of water and exercise help to clense your body of the residual aspartame. After about three days of feeling like my head was in the clouds, I finally got back to feeling normal. Now, I crave water with lemon instead of pop. I've also found that I don't crave sweets anywhere near as much as I did before. I'm hoping I can continue on this new path, because I'm starting to feel great!
So after I finally came to terms with the fact that the snow is not going away any time soon, I broke down and went to the gym. I've never been a big gym person. The thought of other people watching me work out gives me the heebie jeebies. I'm sure that other people aren't really watching me, but it feels that way.
I decided that the best route for me was the monthly membership. We just had a SNAP Fitness open and chose that over the Y. My thinking was, none of my students will be there. If there's one thing I dislike more than random strangers watching me sweat, it's my current or former students watching me sweat.
So I get there, and I can't get in. Now I get the whole key card, come in whenever you want, 24-7 thing, but there were employees working the desk and it was only 4:30! How do they expect to get members if they lock them out? Once I finally garnered the attention of said employees, I come to realize its a girl I swam with in highschool. I almost turned around, this whole sweating in public thing was sounding less and less appealing. But I trudged on.
After signing my life away I was given my key card and the go-ahead to work out as I please. No tour of the place, no explanation, just a card and a nod. Being a complete gym novice, I was totally intimidated. I looked around for something familiar, found the treadmills and headed over.
Of course, the first treadmill I try doesn't work. Out of the eight treadmills lined up, I pick the broken one. So I attempted to move over to the next one without looking like the idiot who just picked the broken machine. This embarrassment was calmed later when another person did the same thing.
Anyway I started moving and quickly realized the flaw of picking the treadmill, the TVs are directly overhead. Knowing my incredible grace, I knew it would be impossible to watch TV and run at the same time without falling over. So, I resorted to staring at myself in the mirror. At first I was even more creeped out by watching myself sweat, but I got used to it. Looking in the mirror also allowed me to check out those around me without staring at them directly (you know they were doing the same thing too!).
After an hour on the treadmill I decided it was time to go. At that point I had had my fill of the gym. I can't gurantee it will be a daily adventure for me, but at least next time I can go when there will hopefully be less people.
One plus of the trip to the gym was the website that comes along with it. Every member gets set up an account at truestar.com, a nifty little website for health and weight loss. Though they are trying to push their brand of supplements and vitamins, there are some pretty useful tools on there. They offer meal plans for weight loss and all kinds of conditions. They also create an exercise plan based on your needs and equipment you can access (complete with examples so you know what you should look like). I haven't had a ton of time to check it out, but so far it looks promising.
So now I'm an official member of the gym, I just have to get my butt there enough to make it worth my monthly payment.
I've learned throughout my adventures that I am the type of person that needs to keep tabs on what I eat. I swear my parents were gracious and handed down the "overeating" gene. There are times I seriously don't know when to stop. Tim makes fun of me all the time because I will get to the point where I am sick, but if it is something I like I'll keep going!
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| Me at my heaviest |
When I first started trying to lose weight for my wedding back in 2007, I started with Sparkpeople. I got pretty involved with SP, posting frequently and having quite a few people that I communicated with regularly. I found the site easy to use, and stuffed to the gills with helpful information.
I lost 50 pounds before the big day, and actually got so small they had to practically make me a new dress. **Word of advice - Don't go out and by a wedding dress 10 months before the wedding, especially if you plan on losing weight!** In the end, I actually paid more for the alterations to my dress than the dress itself. But nonetheless, I credit Sparkpeople with helping me stay on track and get to the smallest I've ever been!
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| Smallest I've ever been |
Shortly after Tim and I married, we found out we were pregnant. Happy news, but terrifying at the same time. I had just lost weight, had lived for eating right and exercising, and now I was faced with inevitable weight gain. To make it even worse, complications in my third trimester led to three months of "light duty." A beautiful daughter and 75 pounds later, I was back to where I started.
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| Two weeks after baby |
This time, I turned to My Fitness Pal. I found the tracking to be easier than on SP. Although it does not have the amount of information that SP did, I've found that the users on MFP are wonderful. They are on way more than those I communicated with while on SP. They are incredibly encouraging, and are constantly helping to keep the motivation going. The fact that I have access to it on my phone is a huge help, as I can "track on the go."
So now I'm about 20-25 pounds away from where I want to be. My goal is lower than I was on my wedding day, but not so low that it would be unhealthy. I'm hoping that by tracking my food and getting back to the exercise, I can finally (after 3 years) say Bye Bye Baby Weight!
So I decided that since I was serious this time (I started a blog and everything!), I would seriously restart Insanity in all it's wonderfulness. This is not the first time I've "restarted." Since I first got the program in May, I've probably started at least 8 times. Everytime I started something would happen that would pull me off track: we moved, my ankle/heel injury, getting sick, the holidays, etc.
I decided this time I would not allow myself to get derailed. If anything, I want my T-shirt! So I restarted Insanity on Sunday (2/2). Tim helped with my "before pictures" and the whole 9 yards. I'll post all that jazz at a later time.
Needless to say, 3 days in and I can barely move! Hard to believe that only a month ago I was close to finishing the program! I hate to make excuses, but I think part of it is this cold, I still get coughing fits from time to time. I'm just hoping that I can stick it out and keep up with it!
