7 Days of Running

I am hopping back on the train. The workout train.

In order to do so, I set myself a mini challenge for the week. I am running EVERY day this week. Starting with 2 miles a day (with 2 exceptions- one my Garmin crapped out and I was running at lunch so I just called it a run at 1.8 miles or something. The other was yesterday, I ran a mile and the calves got pissed so I walked the last mile home). So far, 5 days and 5 runs. Boom.

Next week, I am thinking of adding a 3 mile run on Saturday and keeping 2 mile runs during the week.

I need a food goal for next week though. I am a terrible eater. Running was to be conquered this week so I think each week I will add something either food related or workout related until I am a completed ATHLETE if you will.

I know it might be better if I had a long term plan in place but I find that to be daunting. Then I crap out on it one day, get discouraged and gain 15 lbs. Its a terrible cycle and if I could afford a therapist to work that shit out I would be on it. But I can't. So it is up to me to change it.

In honor of my week of running, and my subsequent aches and pains, I am giving away KT Tape to one lucky follower. I've never done an official review of it but I will this weekend and I'll throw it up for you. Anyway, comments section- Boom, same as always. I'll make it easy this time:
1. Leave me a motivating quote in the comments section and you will be entered into the contest.
2. Leave me a food goal for the week and you will be entered into the contest.
2 ways to be a winner people. Do it.

Contest ends....February 27th at midnight and winners announced February 28th on this here blog.

Monday...day of Procrastination

I went to bed early last night in hopes of getting a solid 8 hours of sleep (I did). But when the alarm clock went off, I checked the weather and saw 27 degrees. YIKES. No way I was getting out of my comfy bed and going for a run. First mistake right there. Yes, I need to know the temperature to prepare for my run, but I need to get up and move before I ever check. This way, I am already up and might as well get going. So, then I told myself, I would work out at lunch. Yeah, then my boss and her kids showed up and needed some stuff done so that went out the door. Then I thought to myself, I will work out after work. Nope, my vendor called to chat and I had a story that I was late turning in so I worked on that. By the time that was done, I was starving and in no way focused on a work out. So I came home and made dinner. Popped a dvd in and decided today would be one of my days for wight lifting.

Tomorrow, I have to get up a RUN. Sheesh.

In other news, I'm just broke enough that losing weight might not be that difficult as I won't be able to afford food for the month. Today I had a bowl of oatmeal, a PB& J sandwich, the last of some crackers and some pasta. Oh and an apple. No veggies. Maybe tomorrow.

How are your resolutions going so far? Any tips for getting my ass out of bed and into gear in the am?

Special K Challenge Day 1 Recap

Breakfast: Special K with skim milk and a banana

Lunch: Special K with skim milk and a banana

(side note, weird right?)

Dinner: Crackers with hummus and skim milk

Snacks: 3 pieces of crystal light candy and a bottle of water

Gym Time: Weights, lunges, squats and crunches

So I was INTENDING for dinner with be chicken breast with salad but I stopped at the store at 5 pm STARVING and considered another night of sushi (Monday night's pre special K challenge dinner) and then I saw the hummus. And it called out to me. Shopping while fucking STARVING from only eating two bowls of cereal is detrimental to your wallet. TRUST ME.

I went searching for more Special K hotties but despite a dozen plus women being on the back of the boxes, there aren't too many on the interwebs. FAIL.

The Special K Challenge

Has anyone else ever noticed how happy the bitches on the back of Special K boxes are? Probably because they just lost a whole jeans size in two weeks. I don't know if I believe it but I'm pretty broke and a giant box of cereal and a gallon of milk is infinitely cheaper than all that other shit I typically put in my cart. So here goes nothing.

The premise for those of you who mute your tv during the annoyingly red commercials:

Meal 1: Special K with fruit and 2/3 cup of skim milk

Meal 2: Special K with fruit and 2/3 cup of skim milk OR Special K protein bar or shake

Meal 3: Whatever you would normally eat (and I fail at this portion!)

Snacks: 2 a day- fruit, veggies or Special K treats (snack bars, protein water, cereal bars, crackers or fruit chips)

Bam. Seems easy enough right? If I seem extra bitchy during this ordeal just remember how damn happy I'll be at the end- just like the girl on the Special K box right?

Starting Weight: 164

Starting Jeans Size: 10

Saturday Scramble

And not just because I'm having scrambled egg whites for breakfast!

• Today my very best friend in the whole world is getting married. She and her Marine fiancee have been together for almost 7 years now. She is sweet as can be and he is kind of a sarcastic ass so they balance each other really well. Of course, I'm the Maid of Honor. Have I done anything toward my speech. Nope. I asked the best man if he had written his and he told me he was just winging it. The bride is VERY nervous about what the two of us will say....and with good reason. According to her, we are basically the same wild, crazy, drunken person. It definitely does not bode well that I arrived late to the rehearsal (I've been in 9 weddings. I think I can handle it) and he told me he was counting on me to keep him in line during the wedding. To which I responded, "That's what your wife is for buddy." Also bothersome to the bride and groom was the groomsman and brother of the bride asking me to come out with them last night for the bachelor party. So I stayed in. Sigh.
• Got up this morning and went on an awesome 3.5 mile run. It was probably pretty slow since it involved some hills but it was a chilly 37 degrees with the sun out and the roads were quiet. Decked out in my Nike gear (sidenote, theyought to sponsor me. Not just hardcore athletes wear their shit you know. They need an everyperson. I am that person), I felt perfect. That Nike jacket I obsessed over last year is definitely the best investment I've ever made. In fact, I saw new colors and I want them now as well.
  

• Me in my Nike Gloves and Jacket before my run!
• Tomorrow is Barbie's engagement party. An monogram party. What the fuck is with Southern people and themed wedding gigs? Why do you need 8 million showers and opportunities for gifts? In her defense, Barbie isn't that kind of bride (she actually kind of doesn't even want this party!). But if you're going to throw a monogram party, give your guests more than 2 weeks to scramble to find gifts. I have this thing called a life and I can't just go find monogrammed shit. You have to get it made. Thanks to Swoozie's for putting a rush on her gift for me! Whew.
• This week has truly been a good week. I'm feeling very adult and in control of myself. Aside from the apartment being a wreck, I feel like I've got a handle on life. As in I'm treading water now instead of drowning.
• Wish me luck- weekends are typically when I fall off the healthy living train and have to wait for the next train to come around! I've lost about 5 lbs this week just from adjusting my eating (actually eating MORE but healthier foods) and squeezing in a quick 2 mile run each day.

159.6

Back under 160?!?!?! In a week! Shows what a 2 mile run a day and six small meals of good food will do for you!

Influence of the Blog World

My darling friend and former editor, Ellen of Fired N Fabulous, is a faithful reader of a healthy living blog. That blog was featured in Marie Claire along with five others collectively known as the "Big 6" of healthy living blogs. They hosted a Healthy Living Summit and out of it came an article focusing on the negative aspects of these blogs.

In it, the writer claimed the blogs were full of pictures of emaciated women who ran miles upon miles to end their days claiming to be "so hungry".

As you can imagine there was quite an uproar when their loyal followers heard about this (because they featured the article on their blogs with rebuttals).

I bring this up because the article implies (sometimes flat out states) that because these women detail their workouts, food intake and other "healthy" aspects of their lives on a public forum like a blog that they have eating disorders. That food sabotaging is a problem (hell, I should do it more often in my humble opinion) and these sites are breeding grounds for eating disorders.

I don't personally read the sites though I have added them to my google reader so I can check them out but it got me to thinking about my own blog. Am I both narcissistic and suffering from a low self-esteem because I let you in on my own trials and tribulations while on my weight loss quest? Do I promote unhealthy habits? Am I creating little women with eating disorders because after indulging I think to myself, I'm going to regret that when I get on the scale tomorrow?

My personal opinion is no. I struggle daily with my weight. But I want to get healthy for the right reasons- 1. I want to be healthy for a long time 2. I want to feel great about myself. Do I think I will have a better life if I am skinnier? No. I believe that by getting healthy I will be more focused, have a more positive outlook, be able to do more things and generally just enjoy life more. 3. Yes, I want to feel good about myself. Yes, I think if I lost some weight I would enjoy wearing my clothing (or not) a little more. No, I don't think this is bad.I think overall my goals combine into just being a better version of myself.

And, if when you read my blog you take the wrong thing from it...well, I think that's on you. If something I say triggers a negative reaction in you than it is up to you to remove the temptation (well, I'll miss you as a reader if the case is that you can't read this anymore) and cope with it in a healthy way. Your actions after you read my blog are not my (or any other bloggers) responsibility. However, this article really got my thinking so I want to clear a few things up:

1. My BMI is overweight. My weight is "above average" (not in a good way).You might not think it is fat, but my doctor and I agree it is. Deal with it.
2. I'm not a doctor. A trainer. A dietician. A nutritionist. I can only share with you what is working or not working for me. I can only share with you things I read that spoke to me (or didn't). It's up to you what you make of it.
3. I condone loving yourself and being the best YOU. I hope that I help you in some way.I do not condone eating disorders. I do not condone over exercising. I do not condone feeling badly about yourself because you are too fat, too thin, too whatever for the rest of the world. If I don't then I hope you have a good laugh at me (with me since I'm laughing at myself 90% of the time).

What is your opinion of blogs out there? Have you ever read someone's blog and thought they've gone overboard? How have you reacted to that? Do you ever read something that you wrote and think, gosh I sound like I have a problem (my daily weigh-in to some people leads them to think I am obsessed with my weight more so than is healthy). This article and rebuttal really got me thinking and I would love to know all your thoughts. I think its an important conversation to have!

*The blog in question is Healthy Tipping Point. The rebuttal in question can be found here along with the article it responds to. Check them out and let me know what you think!

It's a New Week...damnit.

Inside some of us is a thin person struggling to get out, but they can usually be sedated with a few pieces of chocolate cake. ~Author Unknown

Or chinese, Natty light, burgers, chips and salsa, turkey sandwiches, jack and diet.... Football Weekends (starting Thursday) SLAY ME. But it's a new week...DAMNIT. So here goes. I'm putting it out there in hopes that the plan will be what gets me going in the right direction (nothing else has worked yet- clearly I need gym crush in my life).

Monday: Well, I planned to get up and run today but it's raining. If it is raining tonight, that's cool- I just don't want to be running at 5 am in the rain. One or the other my friends. The plan is 4 miles.

Tuesday: 2 miles, weights

Wednesday: 4 miles

Thursday: 2 miles, weights

Friday: 4 miles

Saturday: Walk (cause I'll be hung over I'm sure), exercise video of some sort

Sunday: Bike Ride, Pilates

So there it is... Foodwise, well...one step at a time my friends. What are your goals for this week?

Daily Weighins?

If only the scale told me what to eat.

How often do you weigh yourself?

I ask this because I weigh myself on a daily basis and people are always appalled by this. Reactions vary from “Wow, you’re anal” to ohmygodshehasaneatingdisorderwhoamigoingtotell?

Here’s why I do it I used to weigh 175 lbs at my heaviest. To get there I wasn’t weighing myself at all (clearly) nor was I using my clothing as an indicator of my weight gain. In fact, I just bought new clothes anytime an event came up so I didn’t have to worry about mine no longer fitting. Why wasn’t the size I was buying an indicator? Because like He’s Just Not That Into You I made excuses for my clothes.

Oh the sizes here run small.

Oh it’s the cut of this design.

Oh it’s just because this fabric is so revealing I have to go up a size.

I would go through health kicks that generally lasted a month or two during which I would weigh in once a week and write the weight down.

Then I would bounce right back to 175.

Weighing myself daily holds ME accountable for MY actions. Like keeping a training log, keeping track of my weight allows me to see what works and what doesn’t. It’s a good measure of my life. Weight goes hand in hand not only with what you’re eating but also with how much sleep you’re getting, if you’re exercising and whether you are stressed or not. So, to me, when I get up in the morning and weigh myself I am seeing a true indication of where I am at currently. Before the day has begun and I’ve eaten or worked out or even had time to stress about something, I can see how I’m feeling.

The past two weeks have been stressful and I’ve abandoned my weigh ins. I’m back up to 157 because of it (and the eating and exercise, too). This morning I woke up weighed myself, went on a run, came home and showered and turned on the TV. Dr. Oz was on and he gave 4 tips for easing off 10 lbs. One of which was to weigh in daily! He said you needed to do this so you can pat yourself on the back when you’re doing well and see when you are doing wrong and make the change.

Tell me, what are your thoughts? I know this isn’t for everyone but I’ve found it works for me personally along with how far or how fast I’m running and a number of other metrics. It’s one of the tools I utilize to keep myself on track. Do you weigh yourself at all or use another method to gauge where you are at?

Things I Dislike About Losing Weight

I never thought I would write that but the fact is, there are some downsides to losing weight. So, here they are in case you were considering tightening up.

1. WHERE THE HELL ARE MY BREASTS? No, seriously, the only socially "acceptable" place to have fat is the very first place you will lose it. Now, I think boobs are rather annoying and they get in the way of a lot of shit I try to do BUT when it's time to go out (or stay in wink wink) I rather enjoy having breasts. So if someone could talk to the big guy upstairs about saving the ol tatas from breast cancer and weight loss that would be stellar. Clearly, he should work on the first one first but if he has some time...
2. Also weird, MY SHOE SIZE WENT DOWN. Why didn't someone warn me of this? Because when I was 25 lbs heavier and in a funk I didn't rush out to buy clothes. I rushed out to buy fucking shoes because I figured no matter my size, they'd fit. It's so busch league that I can't wear my favorite fuck me pumps anymore.
3. NOT ALL ATTENTION IS GOOD ATTENTION. Trust me on this one. Because I get some weird shit at the gym from some weird shits.
4. YOUR CLOTHES DON'T FIT. Okay, this is a great thing for the most part. Except when you make $13.50 at a job you hate and can't get an interview for a new job despite your effort. Plus, even if you got an interview, your fucking suit doesn't fit anymore. I get so tired of having coworkers come up to me and tell me I need new pants. Especially if it's the ol boss and owner. Ummm hello? If you paid me more, I would buy some pants.

It's a Saturday Post...

BECAUSE....

I

JUST

WEIGHED

IN

AT

150 LBS!!!!!

I've lost 25 lbs since January!

How Much Weight is Too Much Weight?

So, I had an awkward encounter at the gym the other morning. It was creepy but it got me thinking so I'm going to share it and then start thinking aloud...or through the pen...or keyboard. Whatever, you get my point.

So, I have a routine where M-F I hit the gym at 5 am and do an hour to an hour and a half of cardio. I'm training for a 1/2 marathon so the cardio cross training is pretty important. On Tuesday, I ran for 20 minutes on the treadmill, biked for another 20 and moved over to the elliptical for the last 20. While I was trucking along, this guy came over and started chatting with me. I absolutely hate when people try to converse while I'm working out. This is my me time. Basically, I'm already annoyed. I don't even take my head phones out while he is talking to me. The only part I really zoned in on was when he said the following:

"Don't lose too much more weight."

Which would have been fine had it not been coupled with a leer at my legs and a licking of his huge lips. WTF is that?!?! Does that line actually work on other girls? Who goes to the gym to get picked up? Jesus. There are no words to describe how wigged out I was.

But, on the flip side, it got me thinking. How much weight is too much weight to hold on my body? Or to lose? So I started googling healthy weights...

According to this site, I should weigh between 120- 159 since I am 5'6". It breaks down into small, medium and large frame with no explanation of what that means. I looked further and the explanation didn't make much sense so I am going to assume I am a medium frame so I should weigh 130-144. Currently, I sit at 158.0 (down 9 lbs from 167.0). I would like to go down to 135 but I am not gunning for that weight. I'm just gunning for getting healthy.

Some people go by BMI so click here to find out if yours is in a healthy range. At 5'6" and 158 lbs, I clock in at 25.5 on the BMI scale. This means I fall in the bottom part of the overweight section. The very bottom, meaning soon I should be at a normal weight!

The important thing to remember is these are all numbers. It really is more about how you feel. Right now, I feel better than I have since I was in high school running on the track team. I try to remember that when I mess up and the numbers on the scale start creeping up. I spotted some muscles peaking from below the fat and got so excited I said "Well, hello, bicep" in the shower. The woman in the stall next to me said hello as well. It is crazy watching the changes that are taking place but also feeling way more confident in how I look and feel. Health is my number on priority but I also know that feeling good about how I look is going to go a long way toward my mental health as well.

How do you determine your healthy weight? Is it on the scale? By your clothing size or fit? Or do you have something else that helps you know when you are tipping to the unhealthy side?

Working out v. NOT working out

My friend Ellen (and former boss!) just posted a great blog on working out- click here to read it. She, like me, is insanely busy and has noticed her workouts tapering off when she is working. But she also feels as though she has lost weight.

I on the otherhand, feel fatter. And to her proposition that because she is not working out she feels like she has lost weight, I propose this: SHE HAS. But not for a good reason, her muscle mass is decreasing because she has not been putting in her workouts which is why her body is craving the workout.

Now, if I could just use that as motivation, I would be good to go!