Sunday, April 29, 2012

Weekly Weigh-In 4/29/12

Weigh-in: 221.8 - Down 1.6lbs - Down 112.8 overall
I tried something a little different this week. My dad was up to visit me this week and I took off from work, so I was home during the day (mostly).  I decided not to track and just intuitively eat and exercise to balance it out.  I've been tracking for well over a year now and I am pretty good at knowing when I've had a "good day" or a "bad day" when it comes to staying within my points.  I splurged a little since I was in vacation mode, but I tried to make up for it with exercise and it seems to have worked for me.  I'm still pretty attached to tracking, but I know that at some point, I'm going to have to cut the spreadsheet loose and do it on my own.  I haven't decided what I will do when I head back to work on Monday :)

High of the Week: Being off work was great.  I didn't get to relax or catch a mid-day yoga class at the gym like I had hoped, but my dad and I tackled lots of house projects that I've been putting off!  It was nice to spend time with him doing DIY things around my house and getting things in shape.

Low of the Week: I though I cured my knee problem with that little "pop" last week, but apparently that was only temporary relief.  It is still causing me problems.  My left leg is horribly inflexible right now from walking on it funny.  I barely made it through a 2 mile run.  I really don't want to give up running because I really do like running.  I skipped the 5k I hoped to do yesterday morning.  I guess I'll go back to the elliptical for a little while and I really do need to make an appointment with the Dr. to get this checked out.

Best Work-Out:  I did work out some this week, but most of my "exercise" came from doing yard work and home improvement projects.

Photo of the Week:


Inspiration:
Excuses are for people who don't want it bad enough!
From Pinterest

Sunday, April 22, 2012

Weekly Weigh-In 4/22/12

Weigh-in: 223.4 - Down 3.6lbs - Down 111.2 overall

I went back to my old plan this week.  I'm still trying incorporate more protein into my diet as I know that is one of the areas I struggle with.  I'll admit that I didn't do great with getting in more veggies this week.  I don't know if my loss means that my gain last week was water weight or whether that plan really didn't work for me.  I just know what does work and I'm going to stick with it, but there's always room to tweak my diet within my plan.  

High of the Week: My high of the week was most definitely my little shopping trip on Friday.  It's so great to be able to go into regular stores and buy regular sizes!

Low of the Week: I have not really ran since my 5k last week.  My knee has made me too nervous.  I tried to run on the treadmill at the gym on Thursday, but my gait was all off as I was trying not to put too much pressure on my knee - I didn't even make it two miles before I stopped.  I did still get in my 6 days of working out, but I miss running.  The good news is that my knee "popped" (like you crack your knuckles) last night and the pressure and bubble on the outside of my knee is gone go figure! It continues to pop every now and then, so I'm going to take it easy for now.

Best Work-Out:  Nothing stellar this week. The best calorie burn was probably mowing my yard for over an hour on Tuesday.  If you saw my yard you'd agree that it counts as a workout!

Photo of the Week: 
I was too lazy to do the full body shot before heading out yesterday, so this week, I leave you with this lame self-portrait I took yesterday while taking pictures to list my old clothes on Ebay.


Inspiration: 
I haven't been on pinterest much to pin new quotes, so I'm going to post a different kind of inspiration :)  This is my senior picture - My goal is to be in this weight range again (but hopefully a little smaller).  I was about 175/180ish. I would also love to be 16 again, but since that's out of the question, I'd just like to be as small as I was at 16!

Friday, April 20, 2012

Breaking up with the Xs

Thanks to an office move, I had today off from work!

My partner and I woke up early and brought our precious little house guest from this week back to her parents.  It's always fun having another puppy around the house :)


After that, we decided to take advantage of the day off and some good coupons and hit the Outlet Mall!

We browsed around Nike and found that nothing was really that great of a discount.  Then we headed over to my FAVORITE outlet - the Gap outlet.  I always find great deals there and I had an extra 30% off everything.

I got a super cute dress, PJ shorts, tank top, Black Jeans, Dress pants and a t-shirt - all for crazy cheap!

After that, we went over to the Old Navy Outlet - I'd never seen an Old Navy Outlet before.  I wasn't real impressed with their prices, but they did have a decent clearance section and I was able to get a hoodie and tank top, plus 30% off and a cute tote during a special promotion :)  I walked out spending under $10!
The chihuahua totally photobombed me!


Anyhow, on to the point of my post.  It's no secret that I love shopping!  I have always loved shopping.  Even when I was big, I still loved to shop - sometimes it wasn't fun when things didn't fit right or I couldn't find pants that worked for my shape, but I'm a girl who loves to shop.

I am super excited that NOTHING I bought today had an X in the size!  For the first time in my life (that I can recall), I don't have to buy clothes that are X sizes.  I have slowly worked my way from a 4X (pushing 5X) down to a L in most things and a M in some!

I have been buying Ls and Ms a little here and there, but I think this is my first shopping trip where I didn't buy a single XL or above.  There are certainly a few items that won't fit yet (I bought that hoodie in a medium to wear when fall rolls around) or that are a little snug, but will work until I lose a few more pounds.  I also know that Old Navy and Gap tend to vanity size, but I am A-OK with that for right now ;)

We did go to the American Eagle outlet also and I tried on a couple shirts in XL that were too snug (and too low cut!) for my liking, but I don't count those because I consider it Junior's sizing and I can't hold myself to those standards :p

Does anyone else stockpile clothes in sizes they don't yet fit?  Sometimes I feel a little crazy.  I have jeans all the way down to size 12 (that I bought when I was a size 20).  I don't buy too many shirts these days b/c it's hard to tell what season it will be when I hit certain sizes.

Sunday, April 15, 2012

Cupcake Run 2012

I did it!!  I finished my first 5k.  I crossed the finish line at 38:50.  I definitely made it under my goal of 40 min.  Part of me hoped for a faster time because of my awesome training run this past week, but that was on mostly flat surface. Although the course was pretty even, there were a few hills.




I'm proud of myself for only walking a VERY small section of the course.  There was a point near the end that we were running up a pretty steep hill and I realized that I was running slower than I could walk, so I walked up most of the hill and then went back to running.

It was a great experience and I'd rather have a cupcake at the finish than a medal any day!!

My knee did well during the race.  It seems to do well when I exercise and then for a brief time after that...then it swells back up.  It's bothering me now and I'm thinking I really need to make an appointment to see the doc this week.  I still haven't addressed my concerns about having asthma.

We started and finished in a park and there were these crazy little blood sucking bugs (no, not mosquitoes, I know what those are).  They bit and then I actually bled a little...now I have big nasty welts.  I guess I need to think about bug spray for future runs/ races.

After the race, my partner and I went shopping.  The town where the race was held is also the closest Lane Bryant.  I decided to return the pretty coral dress I bought after I hit the 100lb mark a while back.  I just couldn't find the right shoes for it and figured I'd only get to wear it a couple times before it was too big.  I couldn't bear the thought of paying $70 for a dress that I'll wear only a couple times, so back it went.  It was past the return window, so I got store credit and bought two pairs of capris to wear to work.  Those will get way more use.  I bought a basic black pair and this super cute PINK pair:

Both were size 14!!  That means that I have officially gone from wearing the largest size in the store to the smallest size in the store!!  This will be my last Lane Bryant purchase...hopefully EVER!


Saturday, April 14, 2012

Weekly Weigh-In 4/14/12 (Short Version)

I'm posting today since my first 5k is tomorrow!!  I'll be leaving my house around 5:30am, so I probably won't weigh-in before I leave and I definitely won't have time to post.

Weigh-in: 227.0 - Up 2lbs - Down 107.6 overall.

I continued to follow the dietician's advice to stay between 1800 and 2000 calories and focus on all the different food groups.  With the exception of Thursday when I was traveling for work and did eat out twice and wasn't able to exercise.  This is the first time I've seen a gain this big since I started this whole thing!  It could be fluid retention due to problems with my knee, but I'm pretty sure that some of it is actually a gain.  I told myself that I would give this new plan 2 weeks and I have.  It's officially not working and I'm going back to my 29 points (that the dietician thinks is too little) and eating back my exercise points.  She may have degrees, but I obviously know what works for me and what doesn't.  Hopefully I'll see the scale go back in the other direction this week!

High of the Week: Tuesday was my Week 8, Day 1 run.  It was supposed to be 28 minutes, but I wanted to see what it would feel like to do 3.1 mi to make sure I was ready for race day tomorrow.  I was able to do the 3.1 and in under 35 minutes!  I was so excited.

Low of the Week: I woke up on Thursday morning and my left knee felt slightly funny and kept bothering me more throughout the day.  I was on the road for almost 5 hours travelling for work, so I was stuck in a small space w/o room to stretch.  I had planned to run down by the river near where I was staying and was really excited to do so.  By the time I checked in to my hotel around 6pm, it was clear that running was not in the cards.  I was also afraid to do the elliptical at the hotel b/c I couldn't quite tell what was wrong or how serious it was.  There's a lot of pressure in my knee and a bump below and to the outside of my knee cap.  I decided to rest and ice it for the night.  Yesterday, I headed back home and was in the car for another 5 hours...it just seemed to get worse/more swollen.  I decided last night to just go ahead and do the elliptical since it's no impact.  That, surprisingly, made it feel better and the swelling went away for a little while.  I still have no idea what is causing it.  It is still there today, but it doesn't hurt, so I'm going to do my 5k tomorrow.  I'm sad that I probably won't finish in the time that I wanted to, but I will still finish!!

That's the short version of my weekly update.  I'll post pics and a race recap tomorrow after my 5k :)


Sunday, April 8, 2012

Weekly Weigh-In 4/8/12 Happy Easter!


Weigh-in: 225.0 - Down 0.4lbs - Down 109.6 overall.
I followed the dietician's advice and tried to eat more throughout the week.  I honestly don't know how good I was with protein - I'm not good at tracking too many things at a time.  I'm going to give it another week before I throw it out the window.  The lack of weight loss this week could just be a fluke since I had a big week last week.  We shall see!

High of the Week: I've completed week 7 of C25K!!  I ran it outside in a local (flat) park on Thursday, but yesterday I didn't feel like driving, so I set out from my neighborhood.  I know I've said before how hilly my neighborhood is...well once you hit the country road right outside of my neighborhood, it only gets worse!  I had already mapped out how far I would need to run out on the country road to get in my 3 mi (my neighborhood is only 2mi out and back).  I turned left and should have known then to just turn back - it was uphill for most of the half mile that I went in that direction (and they were not just little hills!)  Anyhow, I managed to make it out and back in 41 minutes - that's even with some walking and my warm-up/cool down.  I am so impressed that I did those hills and still made a decent time.  I know that I'll be able to finish my 5k in my goal of under 40min next weekend!

Low of the Week: I have self-diagnosed myself with exercise induced asthma.  I always cough when I'm running (inside or outside) and noticed on Thursday after I had run outside that my chest was really tight.  I have long suffered from horrendous seasonal allergies, but I have done immunotherapy and they are mostly better now.  I think between the allergens and me being new to running, I've either triggered it or it's just now becoming apparent (because I've honestly never exercised this intensely...in my entire life!)  I will be making an appointment with my Dr. to get tested and hopefully treated.  It's a bummer, but it's not going to stop me!

Best Work-Out:  Killing those hills yesterday was pretty awesome.  I didn't feel so awesome while I was doing it, but after I was done it was awesome!

Photo of the Week: 
After my C25K Week 7, Day 3 Run - hence the "glow" and beautiful hair ;) 

   



Inspiration:
Worth it
From Pinterest

Wednesday, April 4, 2012

Eat More = Lose More

As part of my insurance's weight management program that I'm now participating in, I get consultations with a registered dietitian every 3 months.  Last night was my first one and she confirmed what I've been thinking - I'm not eating enough!

Weight Watchers gives me 29 points, which is roughly 1450 calories (give or take due to the calculation of points).  Then I also earn extra points for exercise.  As I've mentioned before, I've been working on eating back at least my exercise points and maybe even a little more.

The dietitian recommends that I eat between 1800 and 2000, but definitely no less than 1800 a day.  She doesn't think I should adjust my intake based on my activity - this is just what I shoot for every day.  I know that she knows what she's talking about, but I'm still having a hard time wrapping my brain around it because I've been so successful with weight watchers as it's laid out and I can be really stubborn about change once I'm in a groove and it's working.

She also gave me goals to shoot for in each food category.  I do well in fruits and grains.  I'm okay in veggies, but could always add more.  I'm really lacking in my the meat/protein department and need to work on increasing my protein intake.  I have kind of known that, but haven't really had the push to change it.

I'm still pretty attached to my points, so I'm most likely going to continue logging things based on points.  I will try to focus on meeting my goals in each food category each day also and I'm going to add back in more points and try to keep it stable throughout the week.  To get 1800-2000 calories, I'll have to go back up to about 36-40 points/day - When I first started this whole thing, I had 40 points/day and I was over 300lbs!  I'll try it this way for a couple weeks and see how it goes, then adjust to what works best for me.

Sunday, April 1, 2012

Weekly Weigh-In 4/1/12

Weigh-in: 225.4 - Down 2.6lbs - Down 109.2 overall.
I think this week is even more evidence that I hadn't been eating enough.  I don't use WW formula for calculating points - I've always just given myself half the points of the calories I've burned (i.e. if I burn 1000cal, I give myself 10 points).  My formula is more generous than WW's activity points, but still didn't seem to be enough. This week I allowed myself to eat double the points I allowed myself and had a pretty big loss for as far into the game as I am.  I wasn't as good with eating healthy this week.  It was my partner's birthday on Wednesday and we had pizza and Ice cream cake, which I then ate leftovers for the rest of the week.  So my extra points weren't as healthy has they could have been, but I think I'm going to allow myself more points from now on.  I will try to make them healthier extra points, though!

High of the Week: I did my first two C25K runs outside this week, which is WAY harder than the treadmill.  My neighborhood is HILLY!  I went to the gym on Friday for my strength workout since I'd been slacking on that all week.  I felt good after that, so I decided to add another run to my schedule and repeated day 2 of week 6 on the treadmill.  After running it outside, it felt so easy on the treadmill!  I was able to get myself up to a speed of 6mph on the treadmill, which is awesome for me since I usually stick around 4.7mph.  I felt like a BOSS after that workout.  I did almost a full 3mi in 40min (with warm-up and cool down), so I am pretty confident that I can achieve my 5k goal of under 40 min.

Low of the Week: I decided to do my C25K run outside Tuesday and I don't know what it was, but it was an AWFUL run.  I was so glad to be done.  All of my running intervals seemed to start on the uphill and I just wanted to die.  I couldn't get into a groove, but I still got my workout in.

Best Work-Out:  Most definitely my workout Friday night.  It felt so great to run at 6mph...even if it was only for 1min at a time.  I am also excited that I can run the 5k in under 40, which is my goal.  Now I'm off to do C25K day 3 - 22 minute run and I'm not nearly as scared of this one as I was of the 20 min run last week!

Photo of the Week:
Getting ready to head out for my C25K Week 6, Day 3 run!
 




Inspiration:
Yup!
From Pinterest

This has definitely been the case for me.  I'm constantly trying new things and tweaking - just trying to find what works.  I've learned that I just can't get complacent.