First race of the year!

So, I've officially decided on my first race of the year - a 5K on July 12.

I re-connected with a high school friend on facebook a year or so ago and she has also been on weight loss & running journey so we're planing to do this together. It's gonna be epic! So much excited!

Now.....I best be dusting off my runners....

30 Day Shred: Day 2

I didn't feel as bad this morning as I thought I would. But - woa - did I ever feel the burn while doing the workout for Day 2! Totally doable, however...ow. Also, I hate jumping jacks. Hatehatehate.

30 Day Shred: Day 1

I first tried 30 Day Shred a year ago. I sorta flailed my way through it twice and realized I was just not physically capable of the intensity of this routine.

So it was not with a little trepidation that I put the DVD in again today. But...I did it I did it I did it!!!  Of course, I wanted to hurl a hand weight at the TV when Jillian said we were doing jumping jacks for like the 20th time. I survived, though, and it really wasn't too terrible. I'm gonna feel it in the morning. I'm sure of that.

I read somewhere that Jillian actually recommends not doing the program every day but to alternate it with a cardio workout and to include a rest day, so that is what I am going to attempt. (2 days of 30DS, 1 day of cardio, 1 rest day, 2 days of 30DS, 1 rest day)

And....I'm back!

At the beginning of November, I cut my finger when I was doing dishes and a casserole dish shattered in my hand. I managed to get that cut in just the right spot, in just the right way to sever both tendons in the finger so I had to have surgery the week before Thanksgiving. I had a cast until the middle of January.

I was exhausted. I was in pain. And everything was complicated. I could barely shower, or dress myself, or cook, or clean the house, or type. (Also, do you have any idea what it's like to deal with snow boots, coat, hat, gloves, etc. when you're one-handed? OMG.)

I pretty much depended on people to bring me food. They got the gluten free part, but not really the low carb part so my eating was wildly off-plan. And my physical therapist discouraged me from exercising because of potential problems with re-injuring my finger, elevated blood pressure. etc.

So, for 4ish months I was a whiny pathetic carb-consuming blob. And I gained about 15 pounds. And it's taking me most of March to get my head back in the game.

But now I'm back and I'm gonna kick that scale's ass. And when it FINALLY stops snowing (grumblegrumble) I'll start running again.

Gym membership

Squeee! I'm so excited!

A local gym has recently started offering a corporate membership and the company I work for is participating. How this works is that the company pays the cost of one membership ($485/yr) and then divides it among 7 employees ($70 per person/yr). That's a savings of over $400! And for about $6 a month I'll have access to a fully equipped gym with a pool and indoor track plus fitness classes. That's crazy.

I totally need this because I HATE workout DVDs and running is about to become a non-option as the weather gets colder and the days get shorter. And I'm definitely reaching a point in my weight loss where I need to start focus on some toning.

I've researched gym prices and fiddled with the budget and it just didn't seem possible. But now it is! Assuming, of course, that six other people sign up to participate in the corporate membership. The company is big enough that I don't expect that to be an issue, though.

Back to Basics in September

The Back to Basics challenge is being hosted by Brooke of Not on a Diet. You can read all about it HERE. The challenge is mostly geared towards Weight Watchers participants (which I am not) but I thought taking part would provide some support as I focus on adjusting some things in my life in September.

On January 1st, I (like thousands of other people) made a list of resolutions. Some of those resolutions I've been successful at, such as losing weight. I'm only about 20 pounds from goal....wheee! But the other resolutions? Not so much.

My purpose in setting those resolutions was to pursue wellness in all areas of my life - physical, mental, emotional, etc. I don't want to just get skinny; I want to be happy and balanced.

In September, I want to get back to diligently doing what has worked well for my weight loss: meal planning, calorie counting, and food logging. I've become neglectful of this and I need to get back to it before my scale punishes me for being a slacker. And I also want to focus on some other things that I believe are necessary for my overall well-being.

So, my goals for the month are.....

#1

FOOD LOG

Plan my meals weekly, calculate them on sparkpeople.com, and post a daily food log on the blog.

#2

EXERCISE

My "exercise routine" so far this year has mostly been running. And, honestly, I haven't even done as much of that as I should have. I would like to be my usual overachieving self and say that I'm going to exercise every day during September, or that I'm finally going to conquer the 30 Day Shred, or something equally ridiculous. Instead, I'm going to keep it simple: 2 days each week of some sort of toning/strength training. That's it. Just two days. I can do that, can't I?

#3

QUIT SMOKING

I've been trying to do this since January 1st. (Yeah, I've been running while I'm still a smoker. Stupid, much?) I've tried tapering off and have gotten to a point a few different times where I'd only be smoking about 5 a day. I never quit entirely, though, and I always seemed to find myself back to smoking a pack a day. The company I work for is instituting a no smoking policy on September 1st - no smoking anywhere on the property, not even in your own car. So that's 9 hours a day, 3 days a week, when I absolutely will have to be smoke-free. So this seems like a good time to go cold turkey and just freakin' STOP ALREADY. 

#4

CLEAN THE HOUSE

Clutter. Everywhere in my house there is CLUTTER. This year has been chaotic and my house really reflects it. I desperately need to do a mad purge-and-clean. I'm not a lazy slob. I'm really not. I just have difficulty reigning in the messes once they start to become unmanageable. I need to implement a cleaning routine, maybe something like this. 

#5

ORGANIZE RECIPES

I have several thousand recipes pinned on pinterest. Some I've tried, most I haven't. I want to somehow permanently save the ones I've really liked - possibly printing them out and placing them in a binder. I also want to create an indexed list of the ones that I need to try. Also, I need to decide which of my cookbooks I really need to keep, because who even uses cookbooks anymore? I don't think I've opened any of mine in about five years. 

#6

BE CREATIVE

I've been woefully neglectful of pursuing creative endeavors this year. Some specifics things I want to do in September:

1. Writing. Last November, I participated in NaNoWriMo. The purpose of that event is to write 50,000 words of a novel. Instead I wrote several short stories. I intended to edit/rewrite them and possibly submit some for publication. I haven't even looked at them since December 1st. My goal for September is to work on edits of just one of those stories and research possible publication markets for it.

2. Art. The local art association is offering a class that combines art with body movement. The purpose is to "recognize bodies as art and our art as something that we embody." You can visit the instructor's website HERE. This sounds so fabulous! There are several obstacles that I'd have to work around in order to participate but I'm certainly going to try. If I'm unable to take the class, I'll get out my art supplies and make something. I used to do a lot of art journaling, so I think my goal for September (if I don't take the class) will be to make two journal pages.

3. Knitting. My mother gave me knitting lessons at the beginning of the year. I loved it, and I really want to start doing it again. Goal for the month: one day of knitting with mom. Not ALL day, but - you know - several hours.

TO RECAP

1. Food log daily.
2. Exercise (toning/strength training) two days per week.

3. Quit smoking.

4. Purge-and-clean and implement a cleaning routine.
5. Organize recipes.

6. Be creative. 

a. Edit one short story and research markets for it.

b. Take art class or make two art journal pages.

c. One day of knitting with my mother.

THE REWARDS

Mary Kay lipstick in "Red." I tried this at a Mary Kay party and it is my perfect colour.

I've had two cameras die in the last two years. I keep telling myself I'm going to save up to buy a really nice one but that never seems to happen. Not having a camera is making me batty so I just need to buy something reasonably priced that will be good enough for now.

Mum Fest! 20,000 mums. Arts & crafts. Library book sale. I've always wanted to go to this but every year I make excuses not to. 

June: The Month in Which I Failed

June. June was a bad month on an epic scale.

At first I thought I just needed a break from the whole dieting-food log-exercise thing, as I described in this post. It turns out it was more than that. I spiraled into a depression like I haven't dealt with in months...one of those times when you feel like life is just running you over and it's all just too exhausting and complicated. There's no THING that causes these depression. They just ARE.

I didn't eat too terribly. It was more like skating on the near-edge of On Plan. But I did have to log a weight gain on two different weeks, which I haven't had to do since beginning this journey in January. And my total loss for the month was only 3 pounds. *le sigh*

I did get in a few runs, including the fabulously fun Color Run 5K (which I wrote about in this post). Running definitely helps to battle the Depression Beast.

I'm finally feeling a bit better and I'm hoping (believing!) that July will be a much better month.

T4CR and food log and stuff

I got so many compliments on my new haircut at work that it was crazy. And several people said they had to do a double take to even realize it was me. Happiness!

I had a surprise attack from the Whoosh Fairy this morning and weighed in at 187.8. Guess who wore their size 13 jeans today? *grin* I'm glad I was able to wiggle into them because the temperature dropped today - 30 in the morning, barely 60 in the afternoon - and I thought I had no pants that fit.

Food log. I woke up ravenous and ate a huge breakfast, so much so that I wasn't hungry at all for lunch. I ate a quick snack (grapes & crackers) before heading out for a run in the afternoon. Then I took a shower, ate a snack (cottage cheese & blueberries), and fell asleep (because I slept for crap last night). No dinner. So, my numbers for today are pretty ridiculously low and I'm not gonna post them.

Training for the Color Run (heretofore to be referred to as T4CR). I'm following this program and today was run or run/walk for 30 minutes. I ran a mile, walked a half, then ran another mile. It wasn't an easy run day, but I blame that on my food (or lack thereof).

Training for the Color Run 5K (Day One)

The Color Run 5K is in four weeks and I am so NOT ready. I've decided to work on this 5K training plan, but I'm starting at Week Three so I can reach the end by race day.

On the program today was strength training. (I really wanted to go for a run but I'm stickin' to the plan!) I looked through my workout DVDs and nothing appealed. And then I found this - Basic Strength Training Workout for Runners. It's a series of seven moves that you do for 2 sets of 15 reps. (Yes, I had to google to figure out what that meant.)

I'm always skeptical of these types of workouts. It just seems weird to follow a list of instructions and move. Workout routines, like DVDs or classes, make more sense. I don't know why. I realize it's kinna stupid.

So, I put on some tunes and went through the routine. It was harder than I expected but it was totally doable. And I felt pretty great afterward - not exhausted but just hot and loose. Wait, does that sound wrong?

Tomorrow is a 30 minute run. Yay!

5K Training

My exercise routine has been haphazard and unfocused. I realized today that it's only FOUR WEEKS until the Color Run 5K. O crap.

Today I found this 5K training program that sounds totally doable and should get me ready for race day. I'll have to jump in at Week 3 but randomness has looked a bit like Weeks 1 and 2 so I think I'll be okay.

30DS Epic Fail and the Pants Problem

I excitedly began the 30 Day Shred. And then I almost died.

I made it through Day 6. I was doing it four days a week, so I only lasted a week and a half. During that time, I also ran twice. I have never hurt so much in my whole entire life. I think it was a combination of Too Much Too Soon, and the fact that both of my jobs are moderately active and require me to be on my feet for the entire shift.

I'm really not sure what to do about exercise at this point. I desperately need to do some toning, especially in the tummy, because I'm having serious pants problems.

My size 15 jeans are barely staying on. I spend all day long hitching them up as they attempt to slide down to my ankles. (Annoying, much?) I have two pairs of jeans that are size 13 which fit great EXCEPT.....serious disgusting unbearable muffin top. There's just too much flab.

(I tried on a few pair of size 14 jeans at the store but seriously? Who is shaped like that? Either the waistband comes up to my neck or the crotch hangs down to my knees. Junior sizes fit me much better than misses sizes! I do have one pair of dress slacks in size 14 which are lower rise and fit okay, but they are starting to get very balloon-y in the legs, butt, and hips.)

I'm thinking maybe I can just do the abs portion of 30DS and skip all the up-down, standing-lying, and lunges and stuff. And keep running (as the weather allows) maybe two days a week so I have some hope of not dying at the Color Run in June. (Only six weeks until race day. OMG.)

Argh. The fatness.

One mile....oh yeah!

I RAN A MILE WITHOUT STOPPING! 

(you can see on the graph where I almost started to walk at the half mile point but I pushed through)

My total run for the day was one mile run, half mile walk, one mile run. Completely fabulous!

Onederland, 3DS, and a tiny triumph

I made it to Onederland! Hooray! I started the 30 Day Shred. Ow!

And I found out today at work that we're having a breakfast meeting next week. Oy. The easiest thing to do would be to just eat before instead of at the meeting but that would be rude and weird and awkward. But what if it's what a lot of people consider breakfast food - muffins, pastries, pancakes, etc.? Then I wouldn't be able to eat anyway and I'd be starving.

So, I did the smart - but scary - thing: I told my supervisor that I'm on restricted diet and needed to know if there is any way that can be accommodated. She was very polite and professional and didn't ask for any details. She just said she'd contact human resources about it. Later she told me that hr will provide me with the planned menu and the name of a contact at the restaurant who I can call with any questions. And if there is absolutely nothing on the planned menu that I can eat I am allowed to arrange with the restaurant for a special meal. Sometimes it's the tiny triumphs that make us happiest.

Today: The bad & the good

The bad: I'm trying to kick my diet soda habit so I don't keep it in the house. Occasionally, like once a week, I'll allow myself to buy one at the drive-thru or a convenience store. Considering the cost is about the same for a 22 ounce fountain drink as it is for a 12-pack, I'm really not tempted to indulge terribly often. Today, while out running errands, I stopped at Burger King for a Diet Coke. Just a Diet Coke. But then...I saw it. A new menu item. Loaded Tator Tots. OMG. I just couldn't NOT order them. So, epic fail on the impulse eating. 380 calories and 36 grams of carbs. And do not ask me about the sodium. Also *oh joy* they have a wheat allergen warning. My tummy doesn't seem to be reacting to the wheat but one impulsive choice just blew 3 months of wheat free eating. Drat.
The good: It was sunshiney! It was 50+ degrees! I went for a run! It was grand!

The bad: My sil made me a gluten free Cadbury cupcake. (It's like a Cadbury egg but in cake form.) I ate it.
The good: My sil took some progress photos of me. Wearing the fab Aéropostale jeans I just bought recently. The pics look great in the little view thingy on the camera. Hopefully she'll be able to figure out how to load them onto her computer so I can share them.

The bad: I look fat and frumpy in the only outfit I could pull together to wear for Easter Sunday.
The good: My manager at Job #2 commented on my weight loss today when I went in for my schedule.

The bad: I watched 3 episodes of FlashForward instead of working on my to-do list. (Read: the health department is about to condemn my apartment if I don't get off my ass.)
The good: I packed up 3 boxes of too-big clothing to donate to the thrift store!

Analyzing past diet attempts

I've been thinking back to previous diet attempts in order to puzzle out what did and didn't work.

In 2005-2006 I lost 75 pounds (from 273 to 198). The first half (2005) was "accidental" - a result of illness and crazy life stuffs. The second half (2006) was more intentional, though I wasn't tracking or counting anything. Based on memory, I think I was eating low carb and wheat free. And I exercised 5 or 6 days a week, mostly doing water aerobics but a few other things also. The weight came off pretty effortless until I hit the 190s and then I stalled. Why did it stop working? My guesses are that I needed to lower my caloric intake and switch up the exercise routine.

In 2010 I lost 32 pounds (from 240 to 208). I have pretty detailed records from this weight loss attempt. I lost the first 20 or so quite easily by going wheat free and monitoring my calories. Then I added wheat back to my diet. I started running, and I was subtracting exercise calories from my daily total. If I ate 1,900 calories and burned 500 calories I'd log it as 1,400 calories. I really struggled to lose ten more pounds over the next six months. I probably wasn't burning as much from exercise as I thought I was so I most likely was eating too many calories. And the only exercise I did was running, so there was no variation in my routine. My daily carbs were usually between 100-120, which is lower than most people consume but probably too high for me. Wheat is an obvious culprit as well.

So I'm thinking that to continue the weight loss that has been effortless thus far I need to:

• Continue to monitor calories. My only concern is that I'm currently eating about 1,300 calories so I don't really have much room to decrease calories if I need to. Maybe once I start running I'll be more hungry and want more which will give me more room to decrease if necessary. 
• Continue to keep carb intake below 70. Lower it to 50ish if needed. 
• Continue to avoid wheat. I may start adding some wheat free things if I can do so and stay under my carb allowance. 
• Add some exercise (I've really not been doing any exercise at all) and not get stuck in a workout routine. 

Previous races

Today I came across the info from the 5K races I ran in 2010.

July 17
Time 46:30 (14.9 min mile)
Weight 224

August 21
Time 43:36 (13.9 min mile)
Weight 224

October 24
Time 42:12 (13.5 min mile)
Weight 210

When I do the Color Run in June, I'm hoping to weigh in the high 180s, which means I will be about 20 pounds lighter than I was in my final 2010 race. With only a 14 pound weight loss over the time span of those three races, I increased my minute time by 1.4 so I'm thinking that 20 pounds is going to make the Color Run an entirely different experience. Also, that July race is right here in my hometown so I think I'm going to enter that as well. I'm even debating about doing the 10K! *eek*

Of course, how much training I'm able to do is going to factor into this as well. Right now Mother Nature is being a beeyatch; I  don't think it's ever going to warm up here in Ohio!

Fear of Onederland

No...not Wonderland (although the Red Queen does freak me out). ONEderland. That magical place in weight loss where the scale finally reads 199.

When I lost weight in 2006, I got to somewhere in the 190s. I don't remember an exact number because I wasn't weighing regularly, but I do remember a day when I stepped on the scale and it said 19(something) and I thought, "Holy crap, where'd the 2 go?"

And then I hit a wall.

I'd been buying clothes every few weeks because I was changing sizes so quickly, but all of a sudden that stopped. I wore the same clothes for months. I dropped calories. I increased exercise. Nothing happened. Frustration abounded.

Then some crazy life changes happened that would have required me to make some major adjustments in order to stick with the diet/exercise routine I'd been following. And it just was not worth it. So I gave up. And I over the next four years, I gained 42 pounds.

Onederland is looming on the horizon. I'm about six pounds away. I'll be there in just a few weeks. And I'm terrified that wall is there, lurking, waiting for me.

My strategy is to try to slip right by the wall. Maybe it won't notice me if I can just tiptoe on over to 189.

As soon as I hit 199, I'm putting away the scale and running away for a month-long romance with Jillian.

If anybody can help me demolish that wall, it's Jillian. She's fierceness. Maybe I won't magically skip right through the 190s in 30 days. But at least it will be a month of not living in a constant state of Onderland anxiety and wigging out every single morning when I step on the scale.

BANISH FEAR. 

Color Run 5K

I'm signed up for the Color Run 5K on June 8! I'm so excited!

Dusting off the sneakers

In 2010 I did Couch to 5K and then ran three 5K races. I quit running after that for a multitude of (lame) reasons but I always promised myself I'd get back to it because I enjoyed it so much. Today I went for a run with my sister-in-law and my best friend.

I was only able to run a quarter mile stretch before I had to stop and walk. We did 2 miles, and I think I ran half of it, with walk breaks between each quarter mile. My first day running Couch to 5K back in 2010, I wasn't even able to run for 60 seconds! I'm excited to see how quickly I can get back up to being able to run a full 3 miles. (Hey, I might even be able to do a 10K by autumn! Woa.)

My friend struggled a lot, but she's determined to do a 5K this year so I'm pretty sure she's gonna stick with it. (In fact, she wants to go out again tomorrow. I told her to call me in the morning when she realizes she can't move...haha.) My SIL, though, was once a skinny girl who ran 6 miles a day in college, so I think she was frustrated and disappointed today. I don't know if she's gonna stick with it.

*I also learned a very unfortunate lesson. Do not drink about 10 bottles of water before heading out in the afternoon for a run. Before, I was always a morning runner so I never had to deal with the consequences of being overhydrated. I either had to wet myself or pee in the bushes. I'm not gonna tell which one I chose.

That fat we don't want to talk about

The fat we don't want to talk about. You know, down there. No, not the tummy just below the belly button. Lower than that. Yeah....there. The V-area and the dreaded FUPA.

I've noticed that on weight loss forums, almost all women have it, hate it...and think they're the only one. On the contrary, it seems it's rather common. It's so not rare, in fact, that I actually found something about it in Cosmo! The slideshow gives some great advice about how to deal with the FUPA with diet and exercise. Here's the tips included in the article:

1. Destress by doing yoga or meditating or anything else that helps you relax.
2. Eat Omega-3 fatty acids.
3. Increase your intake of Vitamin C.
4. Eat Greek yogurt.
5. Eat some fiery capsaicin (spicy foods).
6. Consume some cinnamon.
7. Enjoy some blueberries.
8. Eliminate all refined carbs.
9. Have a glass of wine.
10. Do high-interval training.
11. Do legs lifts instead of ab crunches.
12. Improve your breathing and posture.

Click over to the slideshow to read all the "whys" behind these suggestions. Banish the FUPA! Huzzah.