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Thursday, August 1, 2013

Movin' on up

I really wish I had more hours in the day. I would love to have enough time to blog everyday along with everything else I have to do. I enjoy this a lot, but alas I will just have to do it when I can.

Today I started the second week of the Couch to 5K. This is the farthest I have made it so far, and I am very proud of myself. I was really nervous starting out today. I had to run for 90 seconds and walk 2 minutes for 6 cycles or so. I don't know why I was so nervous other than not knowing if I could do all the cycles. I am happy to say that I did!! I started walking a little early on some of them, but I am ok with that. I did around 1.5 miles in 30 minutes. I still have a ways to go, but I am getting there. I have noticed that I run slower in the evenings as opposed to first thing in the morning. Not a big surprise there though.

I also got my new running pants in the mail today too. I didn't like the shorts I had for working out. They work fine for lifting weights, but not so well for running. I got them from Kohl's and I love them. I didn't feel like they were chafing or anything. I am also pleased to have found some plus-size running capris that are also kinda cute.

I also got a t-shirt to wear while running. I will have to try and get a picture of it to show. It says "I run. I am slower than a herd of turtles stampeding through peanut butter, but I run!"

So with that, I am off to bed. It wasn't a great run, but I am happy with how it went and how I am progressing.

Wednesday, July 24, 2013

Day 2 - plugging along

Today I decided to download one of the Couch to 5K apps for my phone. I have used one of the free ones before, but I didn't quite like it. After looking around at different ones I decided to actually buy the app from Active for their C25K training. It is the first app I have bought in YEARS! I am so cheap when it comes to free that I won't download something unless it is free. Unless the ads are really bad I can deal with it. I really liked the app though. Along with an annoying female voice telling me when to run it had a GPS in it. So it ended up being a bit more accurate than using the treadmill at the gym.

Today was so nice that after work Marshall and I did today's run outside at a park not far from the house. Today went a LOT better than Monday. My legs were sore and heavy from the workout on Monday, but not bad. My knee twinged a bit at the beginning too, but it got better. Mostly my body complains at me. But today I was able to run every time I needed to even if I wasn't running much faster than I walk. I was happy with how I did though. 1.52 miles in 30 minutes. I still have several minutes to shave off my time, but it is MUCH better than I thought it would be.

I love going to the park near our house. There's a pond that people either go fishing in or rent one of those peddle boats. With the weather being nice today there was a lot of people watching opportunities. I loved that because I could focus on something other than how much my legs hurt. The funniest one was a guy sitting on a bench swing playing his guitar. As we went past he asked us if we listen to a lot of Judas Priest. I told him no and kept going. I don't listen to a lot of music like Judas Priest for a variety of reasons. Mostly it just sounds like noise to my ears and not music. Anyways, he hollered to Marshall that he looks just like the lead singer. Marshall just looked at him and said, "I do NOT look like Rob Halford!" It just made me laugh.

We came home and put together our new grill. It was a wedding gift and I love it. It is a CharBroil infrared electric grill. It is a small one that fits on our balcony perfectly. Some grilled brats and mushrooms later and we had happy bellies!

I think I am going to go read a bit before bed. I have gotten sucked into a book I bought on the clearance table at Barnes and Noble. It is a novel called Angelology. It is really quite good. Hopefully tomorrow I will have the energy to actually think of taking some pictures to share

Monday, July 22, 2013

Couch to 5K - Will Run For Chocolate!

It has been a busy year for me so far. There has been a lot going on that has kept me busy, mainly with getting married 10 days ago. :)

Now that I have a ton of free time on my hands, I have been thinking about what I want to do. A coworker/friend of mine mentioned a 5K/15K that she will be running in October. It sounded like so much fun I decided I had to try it too! The Hot Chocolate Run 5K/15K in Denver! At the finish line you get fondue instead of beer. Sounds like my kind of race!

After work today Marshall and I stopped and got some running shoes. He needed shoes, and I needed to replace mine. Sadly mine haven't been used much since the Chick-Fil-A contest ended, but they are sure worn out. We went to a running store here in town called Altitude Running. I figured it would be best to go to the pros (since the shoes cost about the same no matter where you go) and get a proper fit. I have some particular issues with my feet and needed a good fitting again. I have horribly flat feet and tend to pronate pretty badly. I figured it couldn't hurt to have Marshall properly fitted either. I have never gone to a running store before because I am always kind of intimidated. The gal was awesome though. She wanted to know what we would be using them for, if we had a training plan, and a few other questions. She put us in some neutral shoes to try and then we walked on the treadmill for a bit. She recorded how we walked and analyzed our gaits to see what we needed. It was really awesome to get to see it. I had been buying the wrong shoes for years!!! It turns out my feet don't pronate as much as I thought! The shoes I had been buying were part of the cause to my twisted ankles in high school and college!

But we both got our shoes and went to the gym tonight to start running. I got us a membership to a SnapFitness. I quit my other gym a while back. My schedule was too weird while I was on nights to ever try and make it more than once a week, and it was getting really expensive too. As much as I love a pool, the SnapFitness has the basic equipment we need right now.

The first run about killed me. It was a warm up for 5 minutes, jog 60 seconds, walk 90 seconds, repeat the walking and jogging for a total of 20 minutes, and cool down for 5 minutes. I ended up walking the last 5 minutes of the alternating sets. I had pushed myself as far as I could tonight. I knew if I went further I was either going to break down and cry or get sick. So I chose to cut back and listen to my body. Overall I feel good....wheezy as all get out, but good.

I went a mile in 25 minutes, and I have a ways to go. I need to be able to do a 15 minute mile or less for the 5k. But I can do this. :)

I think I might talk to my Dr. if I need an inhaler though. I sound awful tonight.

Sunday, April 28, 2013

So ready to call it quits tonight

Back in January I started on Ideal Protein. Both of my parents started last year (dad in September and mom in November) and had some good luck on it. One of my fiance's sisters has been on it too. So I figured what the hell, I'll give it a try. The last workout I had with Sandy I was telling her about it, and she encouraged me to look into it.

To date I have lost 30 pounds and 3 pant sizes. I'm thrilled overall.

Tonight I want to quit.

IP is a fairly restrictive diet. The only carbs I get are from the IP food packets, I eat a regular evening meal of protein and veggies, and I have to eat 4 cups of veggies a day. That's a lot of stinking veggies. But I am restricted on veggies. Some I can't have at all because of natural sugar content (squash, potatoes, etc.), and some are restricted to twice a week because of the natural sugar (sugar snap peas, eggplant, etc.).

Tonight I just want to say some nasty words and quit.

I have plateaued for about the past month...and it gets harder each week. Easier to cheat more here and there. Easier to not go for a walk. It's easier for me to give up than keep trying or try harder.

I feel better, but I don't like feeling so restricted but it is what I need to do to allow my body do what it needs to.

I'm down 3 pant sizes.

I want sweet potatoes

My face has gotten thinner to the point my glasses don't like to stay on.

I don't want to spend the money I am spending on my IP foods

My blood pressure is down.

I have every reason to keep going but tonight I just don't give a damn. Some day I will be able to eat what I want again. Yes, I still want cookies, cakes, and candies. I have a horrible sweet tooth and I am a chocoholic. But more than that I want a sandwich. I want CHEESE. I want a glass of milk. God I would kill for a glass of milk right now.

Sunday, October 14, 2012

A challenge for mom and I

So I have completely fallen off the bandwagon and gained back what little bit I had lost. Time to pick myself up and try again. Seems like that's all you can ever do in life.

I wish I had, at least to my mind, valid reasons for gaining the weight back. I don't though. I work nightshift and 4 10 hour shifts. Given how busy my job is I usually work closer to 11 hours a night and far too often (or so it feels) longer than that. Sure I work 4-10 hour shifts, but I spend one day of my weekends simply sleeping because I don't sleep well during the days. Basically I feel like I am in a perpetual state of exhaustion.

I need to do something though and I need to do it now. I don't feel good. I don't just mean how I perceive myself. Everyone has skinny and fat days, no matter what size pants they put on. I just mean physically I don't feel good. I have no energy, my back hurts, my knees hurt, and I can tell my blood pressure is high. Although the last one might be more due to my caffeine addiction than anything else. javajavajavajavajavajava

I also know my mom needs to get healthier as well.

So I issued a challenge to her and she has accepted.

Starting tomorrow, from 10/15/12-03/15/13 we are going to have a two-person challenge to see who can lose the largest percentage of body weight. What does the winner get? A new Coach purse. I am not meaning a "knock-off" from the Coach outlet store in Loveland, I am talking a brand-new latest style of your choice Coach purse. Yep. I made the stakes high.

Mom and I set a price limit of course (neither of us are insane enough to say "whichever one you want") and some other personal ground rules.

As for the losing weight part, I set no rules. I just want both of us to get healthy. As I put it to mom, it is however she wants to do it. Atkins, Ideal Protein, Weight Watchers, the cabbage diet (joking on that one!), or whatever.  We just need to do it and we both need motivation and accountability.

So how am I going to do it? Getting my sorry butt back to my gym and doing exercises I love, and counting calories. I still want to get better at running now that I know I can do it and it is something I need to prove to myself, but running still is NOT a passion of mine. I doubt it ever will be. I am still caught up in the novelty of the fact Sandy got me to run (and not completely hate it). Instead I will focus for now on the things I love to do. Yoga, swimming, and bellydance. While my gym doesn't offer bellydance classes, there are half a dozen troupes along the Front Range I can take classes with.

I realized the other day how much I miss bellydancing and the group I danced with in Casper. It is fun, a great workout, and so empowering. Yes it can be sexy...ok most of the time the dancing is sexy....but to feel and know how your body can move is an amazing thing. In fact I tried to go to a bellydance class this afternoon and it was cancelled. Oh well, off to find another!

Off to work on a calligraphy project and get it done so I can do other things in my limited free time....like dance!!

Oh, and the purse I want?

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

They say confession is good for the soul

It has been far too long since I have updated this blog. To be honest I have missed it. I have no reason for not blogging other than I have been lazy. Just pure lazy. Yes work has been busy. Yes I have been busy doing my own thing, but I am the queen of lazy. I can talk myself into curling up on the couch during the weekend and reading for hours in nothing flat. It takes me hours to talk myself into going to the gym. No matter how good I feel afterwards.

So now comes the reason for this post and my confession:

I have been slacking off on going to the gym. I have a lot of excuses for it, but that's all they are is excuses. It started just as a break after the contest. The 9 weeks of the contest were intense and draining. Especially getting up in the middle of my night to go workout. It was so nice to not HAVE to be at the gym. And it snowballed out of control like I knew it would.

So what am I going to do about this to make it right?

1) Keep on top of my blog. Blogging gives me a lot of accountability being able to post it and put it out there. Regardless of how many people read it.

2) Do weekly weigh-ins and measurements.

3) Make it a priority to get to the gym 3 times a week minimum. Post my workouts here and log them in to my trackers

4) Think positive thoughts and not talk myself out of going. No matter how tired I am when I get off work or get up in the evening.

I will also be updating the blog. I have added tabs for weigh-ins, before and after photos, and a few others. Keep an eye out for those in the upcoming days and weeks.

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I also wanted to share this from another blog I read. Katie at Runs for Cookies posted this. Under Armour is running a contest right now and you should go check it out. The UA What's Beautiful contest has a lot of great prizes, but it encourages you to set goals and achieve them. Do you want to lose the last 10 pounds (or the first 10)? Do you want to run a 5K? Do you want to start lifting weights? Whatever your goal is set it!

My goal: To run a mile without stopping to walk!

What's your goal?

Have a great night! I am off to work!


Friday, March 30, 2012

Endings and beginnings

So Wednesday night was the party at Chick-Fil-A for the Slimdown Challenge. We got the announcement of the results from our final weigh-in and the winner. I ended up in last place with 11 pounds lost overall and a total of 15 inches lost. I ended up having a bad gain (9 pounds) due to bloating and monthly timing. It would fall on that week wouldn't it??? The overall winner was Mike. He lost 52 pounds and over 30 inches! I don't remember the exact numbers, but it was hellaciously impressive.

The party was fun and I was even happier because my parents came down from Wyoming to be there for it. Dad had surgery just a month ago and has been going stir crazy. He was glad for an excuse to not only get out of the house, but out of the state! Even if it was just for a day. A friend/coworker came to the party as well as my boyfriend. There were a lot of people there. There were our guests, the families of the ladies who had put together the contest, our trainers and their spouses. It was kind of crowded in that little restaurant

As soon as I can I will post my before and after photos from the contest. I got a nice set that I can put on my mantle or something. Until I saw the pictures I didn't realize how much I had lost. I can really see it in my face, but my body looks narrower. Until I can get them up though, here are these:

The 2012 Slimdown Challenge Contests and Leaders. From Left to Right: Rob, Melanie, Theresa, Laura, Angela, Debbie, David, Me, Tyler, Megan, Mike, Bridget.

My trainer Sandy and I
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Now I am wondering what to do in some ways. All I can do is keep on keepin' on, but it helped so much to have goals and focus point the last 9 weeks. Granted my goals were still vague, but they were there. But I am off to such a good start and already feel so much better, that I can't lose the ground I have gained in this journey.

Here are the goals I have so far:
1) Make it at least 3 times a week to the gym for a minimum of 30 minutes. I have found that if I go for 30, I will usually just make it 60 because I am already there and in a groove.
2) Keep up the jogging I have started!
3) Meet with Sandy at least once a month!! Having a trainer is so worth the money. That and Sandy is just awesome! I love her.
4) Keep logging my food in my daily food journal, and exercise too

I have more that I need to work on. I am thinking of doing a list of 32 by 32. I turn 31 in June so there's no point in doing 31 by 31! I just need to figure out 32 goals!! I started a list a few nights ago, and it is hard! There are other goals besides fitness on there, but they will make up a good deal of the list I am sure.

What have I done so far to keep up the good work? I made it to the gym this morning and worked out for about 45 minutes. I have to say I am damn proud of what I accomplished too!

I walk/jogged a mile and half on the track

I jogged half of it.

I jogged 4 laps without stopping to walk.

I leg pressed 110 pounds today...up 40 pounds from when I started with Sandy. And from how it felt I will be adding more weight soon!

I am feeling good....real good....and I never thought I would say this....EVER....I am enjoying jogging right now. And for those who know me well, you know how big that statement is coming from me!

With that, I am off to bed! Have a great weekend!

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Inspirational quote: "The only thing I can change is myself, but sometimes that makes all the difference." Unknown