Checking in...

Not a whole lot to report here, just in my normal routine of working out.  I'm currently at 83 pounds lost, it has slowed way down but that's okay. People at work tell me I don't need to lose anymore, though I could be happy with maybe 10 more (although it would be nice to lose 17 more and officially be at 100 -- there's something psychologically pleasing about that).  lol 

I'm currently training for my first half-marathon -- hoping to be able to run the NYC half-marathon in March.  I'm sure I can physically be prepared, it's more a question of whether we get in or not.  Of course, being in NYC it's pretty popular and we're not guaranteed entry.  We'll enter the lottery and cross our fingers.  It would stink if one of us got in and the other didn't!  lol   If for some reason we don't get in, there's the one in Brooklyn in May we can do.  We ran 9 miles both last week & the week prior -- planning to do our long distance run this weekend, hoping to do 10.  I felt pretty good last time, worst part was having to go to the bathroom during the run -- thankfully, at one point on the trail we run behind the ambulance company Jerry works at part-time so we ducked in there to use the facilities.  lol

We went to Jerry's firehouse Christmas party/dinner this past weekend, had a GREAT time.  I laughed so much my face literally hurt from smiling/laughing so much.  Of course any night out is an excuse for a new outfit/sweater!  Haha 

This next one, Jerry made me do.  lol  He said he wants to submit it to bodybuilding.com....(I don't think so, Gerardo!)  lol  It was funny though. 

Would love to be at 85 pounds when I go home for Christmas, we shall see! 

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving with your family......Thanksgiving is just about my favorite holiday (it's a toss-up between that and Christmas). 

It's a quiet day here, I already went to the gym and ran this morning - I'm thankful for gyms that are open for a few hours on holidays! 

Jerry's at the firehouse but will be home in time for dinner tonight.  We're celebrating Thanksgiving on Saturday with Lynn (Nick & Sarah's mom) at her house.  SO excited for that!  I even bought a new sweater for the occasion - from the JUNIORS department!  Haha! 

I'm thankful for this past year especially and for all the changes made. 

Have a great day! 

The day after Christmas letdown

Okay so not much new to report here, still in my routine of working out, etc.  After my one-year-iversary though it was kind of a letdown, to be honest.  It's kinda like I said, "oh wow - guess I do have to keep on working out, stay in my routine, etc."  lol  I love it now though, am addicted to running and working out.  I never thought I'd say that!

My weight is still the same, haven't been as strict the past couple weeks but it was kind of nice to have a break.  I'm still working out, as I said, but I let myself relax a bit.  I'm ready to get back in full-force though. 

Jerry's been in Florida this week but I've done fairly well without my trainer....except for those Cape Cod chips that magically appeared in my pantry.  Heehee!  He'll be home tomorrow afternoon and then on Sunday (his birthday), we're running that 5-mile road race in Waterbury.  I'm looking forward to it!

Minor setback the past week or so, had some tightness in my hamstring....right behind the knee, it's right where the hamstring attaches I guess.  I felt it in a nagging way while Jerry and I ran 8 miles last Tuesday (the 8th) and it really bothered me after that. So much so that I was even walking with a slight limp.  We've been stretching it a lot, resting it and changing up my cardio.  I've done more on the elliptical and bike than I usually do.  That's great and all but still very frustrating for me.  I did try and run this past Sunday and ran for a bit but it was still bothering me.  I will say the past day or two it's felt better, still not 100% but much better than it was!  I'm hoping the rest I've given it will enable to me to do okay on Sunday.

That's it for now!  Will hopefully have some pics from the run on Sunday!

Happy Anniversary to Me!

So November 4, 2010 was my first official weigh-in - when my journey first officially began.  It's been a year now and I spent Friday (Nov 4, 2011) reflecting a lot on the changes that have taken place during this past year. 

The biggest change, of course, is the 81 pounds I've lost to date.  It's strange to try & wrap your head around how much weight that is....the closest I've come to understanding it fully is to pick up one of the 75-pound dumbbells at the gym (no, not a person, an actual dumbbell).  lol  That's the biggest dumbbell they have and yesterday I attempted to pick one up and barely could....Jerry said, "imagine - you used to basically carry that around your neck."  It really hits home when you feel that and imagine carrying that much more weight around.  No wonder my knees would be sore sometimes after a day of walking.

The second change is my clothes - of course I'm in smaller clothes and I have many more options with what to wear.  It's so much nicer being able to shop in basically any store I want and to be able to buy cuter stuff - because we all know that cute plus-size clothes are hard to come by.  Apparently, in case you didn't know, plus-size people like to dress like grandmas and wear polyester.  ::rolling eyes::   lol

The third change - and one of the most important - is I am in much better health.  I couldn't walk up the stairs at work last year without feeling winded.  I could only run 3 minutes on the treadmill at a time when I began this journey last year.  Now I can run 8 miles/80 minutes....and probably longer, that's just the furthest I've pushed it so far.  I'm now training for a half-marathon.  We originally planned for me to train for one in May in Brooklyn....but Jerry's thinking I may be ready by March for one in NYC.  So that is the plan....we're going to keep building on my long distance runs, slowly building up to 13 miles between now and March. 

I'm including a few before/after pics just for fun.  That part is fun for me because it's the easiest way for me to see a difference.  I'm not finished with this journey yet, of course.  I still plan to lose possibly 19 more pounds, to make an even 100 pounds lost.  That will still have me at a good, healthy weight for my height and build. 

Here's to the next year in my journey! 

Getting there!

Just a quick update.....lost 2 more pounds when I weighed in on Thursday, that makes me offiicially at 80 pounds lost!!  I'm into a new 'decade' of numbers as well so it's very exciting.  :) 

I feel like this week I've been back on track - the vacations are done, the interruptions are done and this week I've been able to hit the weights on the days I'm scheduled to without missing any and I got my runs in.  Tomorrow morning I'm planning a longer run, hopefully 65 minutes.  We're planning to run in a 5-mile race on Nov. 20th (Gerard's birthday) so I want to make sure I'm ready for that.  I'm pretty confident I am because of my long weekend runs but I normally have a bathroom break during my runs so I want to be sure I can do it.

After that I'll begin training for a half-marathon.  (YIKES!)  There is one in Brooklyn in May that Jerry thinks I can be ready for. 

We're almost to a full year since I started this journey....hard to believe November 4th, 2010 was my first weigh-in and how much things have changed in that relatively short time.  I'm excited though!

Sometimes life gets in the way....

Sorry I haven't posted much....been a little hectic around here.  So I did end up losing 3 pounds when I weighed myself on October 6th.  Do I know myself or what!?  lol  That was the day we were heading to Florida in the afternoon so I wanted a number to go off before I left....that makes 78 total.  While in Florida I did pretty well with food and maintained my weight.  We were able to run 3 out of the 4 mornings I was there, including a 5k in Tampa on Saturday morning.  Friday morning, we ran on the beach with Isaiah.  That had been a dream of mine, to run with Jerry on the beach, I'm so thankful we were able to do it.  He said that he has always hoped for things the way they are now, to be able to work out together, go on runs together, etc. 

I tried new things in Florida - I've always been kinda 'eh' about seafood but we went to a nice restaurant - The Oyster Bar - while there and I actually had tilapia for dinner!  It was parmesan-crusted so I'm sure that helped.  lol  I tried Jerry's shrimp & scallops as well and liked them!  We're planning to cook a similar meal here at home soon.

We just found out about a 5-mile race in Waterbury in November, on Gerard's birthday, actually.  I think we're going to run it!  Jerry just did his first half-marathon on Saturday and did great.  I'm going to begin training for a half-marathon, hoping to run one in Brooklyn with him in May.  I'm finding it's fun to look for races to do together.  We're also looking to take swim lessons in the winter at the YMCA.  I've never had formal lessons and Jerry wants a refresher.  We figure maybe that's a good way to get a little taste of summer during the colder months.

Hoping to lose 2 pounds by my next weigh-in this week - that will put me at 80 pounds! 

The good....the bad....*sigh* and I guess....the ugly

When I started this blog I said I would post the good, the bad, and the ugly....this last 2 weeks I suppose, was the ugly.  I didn't gain weight which is a bonus....but I didn't lose either.  I was disappointed but not shocked.  Between that time of the month, stress at work & other life stresses, I had a rough 2 weeks.  I still did great workouts and had good runs, but I could tell the difference in my food choices.  I didn't eat horribly -- then again, I never really do -- it's just I didn't make the best choices. 

Lesson # 1:  I cannot buy Kettle Cooked chips!!  They are EVIL!!  lol  I can count out my portion size and have some but then I cannot stop!  So it's better to just not have them available to me.  (By the way, this is a lesson I've learned previously as well but obviously didn't learn that well.) This time I know for CERTAIN: kettle cooked chips + me trying to lose weight does NOT = weight loss for me. lol 

Lesson # 2:  I need to find other/better ways to handle stress than through food choices.  That is something I used to do, both with stress and boredom.  I need to choose a different path, maybe take a walk, do some lunges, jumping jacks, anything!  It used to be when I was stressed, I'd play piano to take my mind off stuff...it worked beautifully.  But we don't have a piano...and believe it or not, the church I work at does not have a piano either (isn't that weird!?!)  So I need to consciously make other choices in that regard.

I'm certain this next 2 weeks will have better results.....that seems to be a pattern for me over these last 11 months (I'm almost to a year -- November 4, 2010 was my first official weigh-in!)  I have a rough 2 weeks, then my next weigh-in I'll lose 2-3 pounds.  I'm hoping that happens this time. 

We're heading to Florida next week for a quick trip...normally vacation might be a concern with falling off the wagon as far as food goes...but I have a secret weapon with me:  Jerry!  lol  He will keep me on the straight and narrow, for sure, so I'm thankful.

I'll keep you posted! 

I heart New York

Goal # 2 on my original goals -- scratched off my list!!  We headed to NYC earrrrly on Sunday morning - I'm talking we left the house around 4:45am.  It didn't feel like an insane time to Jerry & I though because we normally get up for the gym at 3:50 anyway.  lol

Here is Stephen Siller, the hero we were running in honor of and whose steps we were retracing....what a privilege.  It humbles you to think about what he did. 

The Tunnel to Towers Foundation had sent about 20,000 emails leading up to the race encouraging people to arrive early because they were expecting record crowds with it being the 10th anniversary of 9/11. So we heeded their advice and arrived around 6:30am or so....by the time we parked in the garage and got to the shuttle buses it was close to 7.  Jerry & I got on the shuttle bus which took us to Brooklyn while Sarah, Isaiah, and Sarah's friend Kate hung out close to the finish line in Manhattan.  Thankfully Sarah, Zay and I have done this a number of times while Jerry ran so they were used to it.  Kate went with us last year and loved it so it's a new tradition for her to go with us.  :)

Jerry and I hung out in Brookln; after signing in and getting our bibs, we had time to have a snack - I came prepared with PB&J sandwiches and protein bars and waters.  We just mingled with the other runners since the race didn't start until 9:30am.

Meanwhile, Sarah, Kate, & Isaiah went to Dunkin Donuts for breakfast and spent their time planking and meandering around Manhattan. 



 As far as the race itself, we did great!  That being said, we couldn't push ourselves too much because of the sheer number of people - over 30,000 people ran or walked this year!  It was insane, to say the least. We couldn't even get going running until after the start line and once you did get going, then you would have big slowdowns, particularly in the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel.  Of course there's only so much space and cramming all those people in is not easy!  Plus the walkers were not very cooperative (at least some of them) and they were spread out instead of staying to the right (hello, this is fitness etiquette, people!)  lol  It was a good thing though, because with Jerry wearing his turnout gear, he couldn't go too fast anyway and it kept me at a manageable pace.  I felt GREAT - though it was extremely humid and I was sweating buckets (okay -- who are we kidding -- I'm always sweating!), I felt awesome.  I barely felt winded even when the tunnel started the upward grade towards Manhattan.  I was SO proud of Jerry - he plugged right along, passing other younger firefighters running in their gear who had slowed down to walk - he ran the entire time.  We crossed the finish line holding hands, he was just as excited as I was for me to accomplish such a huge goal.  Surprisingly, I didn't bawl!  Though I came close to it a couple times.  lol 

After the race we fought the crowds to get our t-shirts and got some food and hung out for a while.  We had promised Isaiah we would get pizza at the same pizza place right by Ground Zero that we had gone to with Cheryl and the girls in July....so we did that!  It was yummy -- how can you go wrong with New York pizza! 

By that time, we were ready to head home....a bit more walking back to the garage and then home.  Everybody was exhausted!

Looking forward to next year's!  Isaiah said he wants to run it with us. We're also going to try to stay overnight in NYC the night before; we've always said that would be fun to do the night before the race and make it easier....I'm already planning it and wrote it in my planner at work so I don't book any parties on the night before!  (like this year -- heehee). 

So what's next?  We're heading to Florida in the next week (Jerry on Monday, Zay and I on next Thursday) so what could be better than running a 5k in Florida!?  That's what Jerry and I are planning to do Saturday morning the 8th - we found one in Tampa.  :)  I am officially a running fanatic!  Haha

Almost forgot!

I did weigh in this morning, lost 2 more pounds -- 75 total.  :) 

It's almost time!!

The Tunnel to Towers Run is coming up very quickly!!  Sunday, Sept. 25th is the day I'll run it with Jerry (who, by the way, is running with his turnout gear on).  Is he trying to make me blubber all the way to the finish line?  Not that I'm an emotional person in the first place.  (Hahahahahaha!!) 

I'm getting really excited but also nervous.  I'm nervous that I won't be able to finish - which is kinda silly in the first place because I've run 4 miles no problem, I've run 50 minutes at the gym no problem (on Sunday, actually).  I'm nervous that I'll be too emotional - this is a legitimate concern, knowing me. lol   As I said in this post, it's always very moving to be a bystander at the finish line -- watching firefighters run for their fallen brothers, watching firefighters from around the world, including Australia, England, and more, watching Wounded Warriors run, many times with prosthetic legs, all in honor of these heroes who gave the ultimate sacrifice on Sept. 11th.  During the run, the course takes you through the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel, retracing Stephen Siller's footsteps, up to where the Twin Towers stood.  In the Tunnel, people are chanting, "USA! USA!" and there are firefighters from the FDNY lining the tunnel wearing banners, 343 of them, to be exact, each one with a big picture and name of a firefighter who died that day.  After the race, there is a brief parade as well and the banners are worn through the parade route.  That is difficult enough to watch -- it gives you goosebumps.  For me even imagining seeing them line the tunnel makes me get choked up -- I'm hoping I can hold it together during the run!  My best defense may turn out to be my iPod....if I can keep music going in my ears, hopefully it will keep my brain just enough distracted so I don't have a meltdown during the run.  I'll give a full report afterward with pictures!

Hand-in-hand with me running this 5k is the fact that I will have reached 2 out of the 3 goals I laid forth in that post I linked above.  Goal # 1 was to wear 'average' size clothing....while I'm not to my goal weight yet, I am officially in 'average' clothes.  I haven't bought anything in the plus-size section in a WHILE.  In fact, I bought a new shirt at Target last weekend that was a regular Large!  (I could never even fit a XXL from the regular women's section -- only something from the Plus Size section).   Goal # 2 was to run this 5k....so I'm almost there!  Goal # 3 was to lose 80-90 pounds....I'm almost there too!  I am currently at 73 pounds lost with an updated overall goal of 100 pounds.

I can see the finish line, friends!  Or at least the ribbon across it...then I have to keep running because once I reach all my goals there's this whole business of maintaining.  lol

Confession (no, not the Priestly type) lol

So I wasn't going to weigh in today.....I've had a rough few weeks or month.  Between going to Mass for Isaiah's tournament, going home to Ohio and being 'bloated and moody', I haven't been too confident in my workouts or weigh-ins.  I was going to push my weigh-in to next week - like Jerry said, it's not like I have a deadline to weigh-in, there's no absolute rule that I have to weigh in today. 

But then I got into my new workout routine of doing weights on Mondays, Weds., and Fri., and running on Tuesdays & Thursdays (and the weekends) and I noticed this past Monday that I felt REALLY good during & after my weight workout.  I already felt stronger, I didn't have a bad attitude about doing weights instead of running, I feel like something clicked.  Like hey, maybe Jerry does actually know what he's talking about!  lol

I did well again yesterday with my legs/back workout - and that was without Jerry being there -- he had to go to the firehouse.  I pushed myself, raised some of my weights when I needed and just had a great overall workout.  On Monday, when I did my arms workout, I had enough time that I was able to throw 10 minutes in on the elliptical as well.  Since yesterday was legs I didn't do elliptical so I could rest them; plus, I knew I'd be running today.

Soooo....needless to say, I went ahead & weighed in this morning and lost 3 pounds!  73 total, only 27 to my overall goal!  And probably 2 pounds until I officially and definitely weigh less than Jerry.  :)  I will confess though....if I hadn't lost, I probably would've pushed my weigh-in to next week.  Haha!  That wouldn't really be fair....but it's how I felt!  lol

Had a great run again this morning, ran for 40 minutes on the treadmill then did 8 on the elliptical.  Over 600 calories burned supposedly. 

As for my overall goals, I think it's safe to say I've reached one of them officially - to not have to shop in the plus size section or stores anymore.  I bought jeans last week that were in a 'normal' size (3 sizes down from my old ones) and bought a skirt in Ohio that was 4 sizes smaller than I used to wear.  I'm more excited about shopping now than I've ever been....but not excited about spending too much money - I'm stingy.  lol  I am going to shop for a new dress for a baby shower I'm going to in September so I can't wait to do that!  What a difference 10 months makes.  lol 

Quick update

I'm not going to weigh in this week, didn't realize last week when I posted that it was only a week away...I want to give myself more time and I'm pretty bloated and moody right now if you know what I mean.  ;)  So I'm going to weigh in next Thursday the 1st of September.

I did start my new weight training this week....we think my new pattern starting next week will be weights on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays with running on Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday & Sunday.  (I really like being able to run on the weekends).  On my weights days I'll be doing arms one day, legs & back another day, and on the final day I'll do shoulders & chest.  Tomorrow I'll do shoulders & chest. 

I'm so thankful for Jerry, he's getting me all set up in my new routine - it's a whole new set of weight workouts, different machines, etc.  He's so helpful and he encourages me but also pushes and motivates me.  He is a HUGE asset for me to have on my side. 

Will keep you posted!

Famous last words....

"I'm confident I'll do well."   Haha!!  Okay so I didn't do horrible when I was in Ohio but I didn't do as well as I could have.  Workout-wise I did pretty great!  I ran Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, AND Thursday then I did spinning on Friday morning!  Monday & Tuesday I ran for about 40 minutes both days....Wednesday was a shorter run of 30 minutes.  Thursday I didn't time because I ran with my friend Terri at the trail behind her house...what a great asset to have literally out your backdoor!  Anyhoo, I was too busy yapping with her to pay attention to the timing.

Spinning on Friday was better than I expected....my (future) sister-in-law Leslee invited me to go with her.  The old me would've turned that down in a heartbeat but I've found with the 'new' me, I'm a little more adventurous, willing to go out on a limb to try new fitness techniques.  I've always had somewhat of a negative mindset about spinning because frankly, I don't want my butt to hurt!  I'm not a big fan of bike-riding in general because of this.  But it wasn't as bad as I thought!  There was enough sitting with standing intervals that I didn't mind it too much.  It was a good workout and I'd love to go again now that I've been through it.  The nice thing was that you control your own gear/speed with the instructor telling you to keep it within a certain range of RPM's.  I wasn't too far off of Leslee's highest gear (hers was 16, mine was 12) so I didn't feel totally inept.  Haha!  I'd feel more comfortable next time pushing it more, knowing what the greatest intensity is...I was afraid to push it too much not knowing how much harder it would get. 

So as for my famous last words....I did do well with workouts.  But my food didn't fare as well...I didn't do awful by any means, but I did eat out quite a bit more than normal....probably ate dinner out 4 times, breakfast out twice, lunch out twice, you get the picture.  I still had water or milk and made fairly good choices for my main entree - grilled chicken, etc. but there were fries involved and that's all I'll say.  LOL  Oh and Red Lobster biscuits.  Haha!

When I got back home my scale said I gained 2 pounds while I was in Ohio -- probably would've been more if I hadn't worked out as often as I did.  My brother-in-law Tom made me feel better, he said when he went home to Missouri he gained 5-6 pounds.  lol  I know I was out of my routine but I was hoping I'd do a little better.  Lesson learned I suppose.   This morning I weighed in out of curiosity and it said I was back down those 2 pounds. (and 70 down overall).   I did have a great workout at the gym yesterday and was back in my routine, piece of cake.  So we'll just move on and keep heading in the right direction! 

My next weigh-in will be next Thursday, August 25th.  One thing that may be changing soon is my workout routine at the gym....my trainer -- he's kinda cute ;) -- said he thinks we need to revamp my weight training workout, especially now that I'm getting down to the nitty gritty.  I've only got about 30 pounds left until my final goal and he wants me to really focus on toning.  As you know, for a while I've done 2 days of cardio, 1 day of weights; 2 days of cardio, 1 day of weights.  Jerry wants me to start doinw 1 day of cardio, 1 day of weights, 1 day cardio, and so on.  While I'm not thrilled about this, I'll give it a chance.  I just like cardio so much better.  lol 

Until the next time! 

Can you keep a secret??

So I'm heading home to Ohio this Sunday with Isaiah -- I cannot WAIT!!!  Haven't been home since Christmas so we're looking forward to it.  I figure I better post now because I probably won't during our visit there.  Lest any of you have any plans to break into our house, please know that my husband, stepdaughter, and our pitbull will be home.  ;)   Haha!

So what's the secret?  Weigh-in technically is next week on August 10th but I will be out of town, of course, and don't want to bring my scale with me from home.  You never know how other people's scales will compare to your own so I don't even want to try that.  Haha!  I went ahead & weighed in yesterday morning (one week early) and lost 2 more since last week! That makes my grand total unofficially 70 pounds!!  Finally!!  Woo-hoooo!!!  I'm not going to record it in my planner yet as I don't count it 'official' but I'm recording it here to have some accountability for when I'm in Ohio.  My goal during my visit is to maintain good eating habits and go for a run most days I'm there -- either outside or at my sister's house.  :)  (if she'll let me - last time I ran on her treadmill I knocked picture frames off desks, etc.)  Haha! 

Wish me luck!  I'm confident that I'm set enough in my routine that I'll do well but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't at all nervous.  At least there won't be any peanut butter fudge this time.  lol

"Well, you're not pregnant."

Hahaha!  More about that in a minute....

Had weigh-in, lost 3 more!  68 total so far and 2 away from 70!!  I'm also only about 6 pounds away from weighing less than Jerry.  Heehee!  Not that I'll rub it in his face or anything.  :)

So let me tell you about my morning!  I headed to the gym at my normal time this morning, got there just before 4:30.  Today was weights day so I did squats like normal, then onto bench press.  After my 3rd set of doing bench press, I went to sit up (pretty quickly?) and got REALLY dizzy.  I mean, the room was spinning, I started sweating buckets, turned white as a ghost dizzy.  I steadied myself on the weight machine and sat down for a minute, drank some water, hoping I'd feel better in a minute.  I didn't.  The room slowed down spinning but I still felt gross.  I started to get up to go to the bathroom but felt like I couldn't make it without stumbling so I sat back down and called Jerry (he was home getting ready for work).  He told me to drink some water and if I felt up to it, come on home so I did.  I was able to drive home just fine, though still feeling lousy and now nauseous, still sweating.

I got home and threw up in the driveway, went inside and laid down.  Jerry took my blood pressure right away (one of the bonuses of having a paramedic for a husband!)  and it was low...I mean like 104 over something.  (obviously I'm not a medical person).  lol  He was a bit concerned but had me lay down and drink some more water.   I threw up again (hope I'm not grossing you out too much!).  After a bit he checked my blood pressure again and it was still the same, I was still pale and throwing up.  I knew when he kept coming in to check on me he was concerned so he said we should go to the hospital.  So off we went.....again, a bonus of having a paramedic who everyone knows as a husband....we got right in.  Although I will say, there was noone in the waiting room either.  Haha! 

To make a long story short (too late!), they ran tests, including a pregnancy, which is standard, of course.  It was funny when the doc came in and said, "Well, you're not pregnant."  Jerry & I chuckled, thinking to ourselves, DUH!!  lol   They did an EKG, a CAT SCAN (is that how you spell it?)  lol and blood work.  They think it was a combination of things.....I had a UTI (without symptoms!), was dehydrated, possibly from the UTI, and that caused my blood pressure to drop, which made me dizzy, sweaty, almost pass out, etc.  They also brought up the possibility of it being vertigo. They gave me 2 units of fluids through an IV and an antibiotic and sent me on my merry way.  While there my blood pressure did come back to normal levels.  When they did the EKG, they said it looked great.  Jerry said my heartrate was really good, it was like that of an athlete -- I think I beamed.  lol  Made me feel like my hard work is paying off!

Talk about a scary morning!  I have to say I was so proud of Jerry, now I see why people always tell me what a good medic he is.  I trust him with my life.  <3 I'm taking tomorrow off from the gym because Isaiah has a game in the morning and I could use the rest.  I'm hoping my next trip to the gym won't be as adventurous!

Weekend getaways and can I just say?!?

Isaiah had his North Atlantic Regional Tournament (for baseball) this past weekend. Naturally, any interruption to your regular routine is tough but I managed pretty well!  I left after work on Thursday for Springfield, MA ....I had already gone to the gym that morning.   We stayed in Springfield until Sunday morning.  I did run in the hotel fitness center on both Friday & Saturday mornings!  I used Sunday as a day off since we were leaving that morning anyway.  I was proud of myself for sticking to my workout routine...I certainly didn't run as long as I usually do (I usually do about 35 minutes on the treadmill and 10 on the elliptical).  I ran for 20-25 minutes both days but I was happy with that.  Can I just say....do they purposely put the loudest treadmills in hotel fitness centers?  Talk about making you self-conscious!  The treadmill I use at our gym is a normal-sounding treadmill...but both the ones I've used at hotels sounds like you must weigh 300 pounds and have the heaviest footsteps!  Thank goodness I was by myself for most of the time.

Of course, food is always tougher on the road as well but we did bring our normal breakfast stuff - hot cereal, protein shakes, etc. Dinner I was a little more lenient but nothing crazy. On Friday Isaiah and I met my friend Nikki at Red Robin and I had a grilled chicken sandwich with some fries.  Not the whole serving though!  The night before we had gone to Longhorn Steakhouse with a lot of our 'baseball parent' friends.  We had a great time!  I had parmesan-crusted chicken -- probably not the best possible choice because of the parmesan & cheese but again, I only ate about 1/2 of the serving so I told myself that was okay (it is okay, right?)  Haha!  On a sidenote, can I just say I didn't know Longhorn was that expensive?!?  (to my stingy self anyway I thought it was). 

Today was back to the grind, Jerry & I headed to the gym this morning and I had a good weight workout.  Some days I just don't feel like doing weights and last week I was pretty grumpy when doing them....today I felt much better and did well. 

Weigh-in is this Thursday the 28th.....hoping for at least 3 pounds.  (I'd be fine with 2 as well, just really 'yearning' to get to 70 lbs lost!)  I'm at 65 right now.  :)  Will keep you posted!! 

P.S.  Forgot to mention Isaiah's team did well, they won their first 2 games, then lost their next 2.  All in all, they finished 3rd out of 10 teams, I believe.  Not too shabby! 

Overconfidence & weigh-in

Weigh-in was yesterday and I lost 2 more -- 65 total so far!
While that is good and I'm glad I lost, I was hoping for 3 or 4 pounds.  The main reason being I had cheated and weighed myself early and had already lost 2 pounds in the week after my previous weigh-in on June 30th.  Ha!  I think doing that was a mistake as it made me overconfident and I probably relaxed a little with my food choices.  Nothing too bad but I was less strict in the week following and that's why I didn't lose any more.  Oh well - lesson learned!  I need to have Jerry hide the scale from me in-between weigh-ins.  The trouble with that is that he'll forget where he put it and then I won't have a weigh-in.  lol

I took the day off today from the gym, my shin was bothering me yesterday and I think the rest will do me good.  Back to the grind tomorrow.  :)

Quick check-in and why Pool Water Pat made me cry

Just a quick check-in to update you on weigh-in....I lost 2 more!  63 total  :)

Went to the gym this morning and had a good weight workout and then threw in 8 minutes on the elliptical just for fun. (who would've ever expected me to say that!?!)  Haha  I typically don't do any cardio on the days I do weights but I had a few extra minutes and figured any extra cardio could always help.

I didn't go to zumba last night, it was a rough day around here.  Nothing to do with workouts or food.   Jerry & I recently bought one of those blow-up ring pools for our backyard, a pretty good size one...yesterday he had water delivered from 'Pool Water Pat.'  He's a local guy who basically delivers truckloads of water to pools around here.  Sooooo we paid $200 to fill the pool and not even 30 minutes later, most of it had collapsed because it was either a) too full or b) not quite flat enough, there's just a slight slope.  It's not Pool Water Pat's fault as you the customer tell them when to stop filling and I'm sure he doesn't really care what happens after as long as he makes his delivery.  lol  Soooo both of us felt like crying because our $200 went down the yard and into the parking lot of the condos behind us with the water.  lol  We're at a crossroads now, not sure whether to get a 1/2 load delivered and hope that it will stay put or give up, having lost both the money for the water and the pool itself.  Needless to say, I didn't feel like going to zumba last night! 

One milestone that's close....I'm 14 pounds away from weighing less than Jerry for the first time EVER in our married life!  I can't wait to be able to say that (finally) I weigh less than my husband. lol 

Zoo-eee Mama!

(Hopefully you've seen Diary of a Wimpy Kid).  lol

So I went to zumba tonight and had a great time!  It was a new class at a sports-type place here in town, sometimes during the winter Isaiah's baseball team would practice indoors there.  Of course, during the summer business is slower so they've begun adding zumba classes on Friday nights.  Fridays have been no good for me as Isaiah has had baseball games most Friday nights the past few months.

Tonight was their first Tuesday class....I went with my friend Lisa from baseball and Isaiah's 6th grade homeroom teacher (also a baseball mom on a younger team in town), was there too!  Our instructor was a newbie as well.  There were about 10 of us in the class so not many opportunities to hide (ha!).  I definitely got a good workout and sweated buckets, as per usual for me.  One positive thing, I got a good workout but I can tell such a difference in my cardio fitness from the last time I did zumba...I was sweating and getting my heart rate up but I was not winded.  I enjoyed it and am planning to go back Thursday for another class. 

I did weights this morning at the gym, then zumba, of course, tonight. Tomorrow is a regular run day for me...I guess we'll see tomorrow if I have any effects from doing zumba the night before a run. 

Totally off-topic but one thing that is encouraging me.....when I started this journey, I stated some goals I had....to be an 'average' size, to run a 5k, to lose 80-90 pounds.  As I look back on that post, I realize how close I am to reaching those goals!  I've lost 61 pounds to date, I've run one 5k  and would like to do more (still have the big one to go in September!), and am moving down in my clothing sizes.  More importantly, I am in much better health than I was 8 months ago....and that is what I have told Jerry all along....I didn't want to just lose the weight, I wanted to become more healthy.  I'm excited to see that happening! 

Zumba - part deux

So wish me luck -- I'm planning on heading to zumba class tomorrow night!  We'll try this again.  It's at a different place here in town and they've just begun zumba recently.  A friend of mine from baseball and I are going so that will make me feel more comfortable (I hope!)  Will keep you posted how it goes.  I figure it'll be a great way to add in some extra cardio.  Weigh-in is Thursday, I'm hoping for a 2-lb loss, we'll see though.  I've had a lot of interruptions this time with my workouts....I've been a little sick (summer cold - blech), early baseball games, and being at work until 1:30am for a party.  :(  So we shall see!  I'm still going regularly, just have had a few missed days here and there, which is unusual for me. 

Wish me luck at zumba!  Hope I remember my shoes this time.  Haha!

Weigh-In, Wear & Tear

So I won't keep you "weight"ing (haha -- really bad joke)...... I did have weigh-in this morning and (drumroll..........)  I lost 3 more pounds!  61 altogether and I'm into a new 'decade' of numbers.  lol Woo-hoo!!! 

Workouts have been pretty consistent, I'm still doing cardio 2 days, weights 1 day, cardio 2 days, and so on.  It's working well.  Weights were not my favorite thing in the beginning, mostly because I felt like I should be doing cardio every chance I got, to keep losing weight.  I know logically in my head that weight training also burns calories and helps tone, but it's that psychological feeling of having lots of sweat from a good run and feeling like you've accomplished something.  I'm feeling better though now after doing weights, knowing I'm toning and seeing results.  Usually every week I'm moving up a bit in weights and I am seeing the results so that's a good thing!

After working out consistently for a long time (well 7 months straight), it has taken a toll on my body.  Not in a bad way but I do have little bumps & bruises and issues.  Haha!  Right now I have a black & blue toenail, a couple bruises on my legs and the best one -- a little rash on the inside crease of my elbows!  Yuck!  lol  I think it's from the sweat that builds up there while I run (I told you I'm a sweating fool!)  Of course I shower after my runs but it is a small rash.  I put athlete's foot cream on it last night (Jerry's recommendation) and it seemed to help already.  My feet are a hot mess.....I desperately need a pedicure but I'm almost embarrassed to go get it, I almost feel like I need a pedicure before my pedicure!  Haha!  Like I said, I have a black & blue tonail and it's sore so I'd rather wait until that is resolved before going for my pedicure.  All that being said, these are 'bumps and bruises' that I don't mind...they're almost like battle scars, I'm proud of them because they are a result of my hard work! 

Food-wise I'm doing well, except I decided that I can't buy the chocolate covered pomegranates for a while.  Haha  I did well with portioning them out in a little snack bag to take to work....only problem was, when I got home I'd also have a handful here, a handful there, which is no good.  So for me, it's easier to just not have them here for a while!   Other than that I'm doing well, taking good snacks to work, watching my portions and making good choices. 

Next weigh-in is June 30th! 

Stay tuned...

I'm still here!  (Hi, Mom!)  :)   Just haven't had a whole lot to say and wanted to wait until my weigh-in tomorrow (June 16th) to post more in-depth. I did weigh in on June 2nd and lost 2 more, up to 58 total officially.  Hoping for good results tomorrow.  To be continued......   :)

Reality check

So today was weigh-in day....and for the first time in a long time, I didn't lose anything! I stayed the same weight. I guess it was like a reality check, a slap in the face, if you will.  Hmmm....I guess I can't snack however I want after all!  Haha  I've been working out the past couple weeks on a regular basis but I think if I'm being honest, I've slacked a little.  I've still gone to the gym but it's easy to tell myself, "you've run good for 30 minutes, no need to push yourself."  Or "hmmm I have time to do another 10 minutes of my workout but I'd rather get home and get my shower done, etc."  

I've become complacent and today's weigh-in showed me that. I know it's better than gaining weight but I'm not used to seeing no loss. I've been spoiled.  I need to get back on track and be more strict again.  That's not to say I'll starve myself but I know I need to watch more carefully what I'm snacking on, how often, how much, etc.  And Jerry really wants me to push more protein. 

Who knows....maybe I gained muscle, we added my strength training back in on Tuesday and I still feel the effects today...I'm still sore!  I'll hit the weights again tomorrow...I told Jerry I'd like to still have more of an emphasis on cardio, if for nothing else than it makes me feel better.  I'm planning to do 2 days of cardio, 1 day of weights, 2 days of cardio, etc.  Hopefully it will pay off for my next weigh-in on June 2nd!  I'm anxious to hit that 60-pound mark (4 pounds away) so we'll see how it goes!

Of baklava & birthdays.....

Yesterday was probably all of the best days rolled into one.....it was the last day of the Greek Festival at my job, it was Mother's Day, AND it was Isaiah's 13th birthday!  How much more can you pack into one day?!?

This time of year at work, as I've said, is the most stressful for me but it's also the most fun time of year.  It's truly a 'festive' time!  That was corny but it's true.  Ha!  Needless to say, I'm relieved it's over, though the day after the Festival ends is usually one of my least favorite days.  There's so many loose ends to tie up, 'thank you' letters to write, items to put back in their hiding places/cupboards/storage areas until next year.  It's like the big letdown, the day after Christmas. 

I did take 3 days off from the gym because of my long hours at the festival -- between Friday, Saturday, & Sunday, I was at work for 36 hours.  We figured my body could use the rest anyway.  I did weigh in on Thursday the 5th and lost 3 more pounds for a total of 56 thus far! 

A concern going into the Festival for me was to make sure I didn't lose focus and eat badly during those 4 days.  I did well!  I packed my food for the entire day pretty much and didn't have one gyro, one baklava, nothing!  I know that doesn't help the Church (haha) but it helped my fitness plan!  I did have some orzo with my lunch but that was it.  I packed lots of yogurts, protein bars, peanuts, pb&j sandwiches, etc. so I did really well.

I was able to get back to the gym today -- sure didn't feel like getting up but we went and I had a good run.   35 minutes of running, plus 3 minutes to warm up and a couple minutes after to cool down, 400+ calories burned!  Not too shabby.

I'm glad to get back into a routine and hope to have another good weigh-in on the 19th! 

Struggles & Small Victories

My last weigh-in was April 7th, as I said in the last post.  During the next week period I had probably the roughest week I've had since I began this journey!  This time of year is the absolute craziest at work -- Easter and our Greek Festival is coming up!  It's always Mother's Day weekend -- it's one of my most favorite times but it's also the most stressful.  So much of the planning falls onto my shoulders, even if they at the church don't put the load there, I feel it by putting it there myself.  I want everything to go smoothly and it to be a success so badly.  It's also been a little stressful at home with Isaiah  playing on the middle school baseball team and his regular town team -- plus his regular town team is playing in 2 leagues this year!  Gah!  lol  I love every minute of it but it does take a toll after a while.

So needless to say, that week was a struggle.  I had more cravings than I've had in a lonnnnng time and my workouts seemed to be a struggle to even complete.  I missed days at the gym because of our weekend away, overslept one day, etc.  All in all it was just a tough time.  Because we're getting close to the Greek Festival, the older women at church are baking quite a bit and they are always giving me samples of the cookies/pastries.  That's dangerous!  I'm usually pretty good about turning them down, but one lady brought me a whole package of koulourakia (my favorite Greek cookie).   I think I had eaten 10 by the time I got home that day.  lol  Yikes!  But I did share them with Jerry & Isaiah and my friends at baseball so at least I didn't eat the whole package.

By the time my weigh-in day arrived (April 21st), I was bracing myself for the worst.  At that point I was hoping I just maintained, that I hadn't gained weight.  Surprisingly, I actually lost 2 more pounds! (53 total).  Who knew!  Haha.  So while it wasn't a higher amount lost, I was excited to have lost 2 pounds after the 2 weeks I had.  That was a victory. And that small victory gave me the push and motivation to keep it up and to have an even better workout that morning.  I feel a renewed energy and motivation now. I took yesterday (Friday) off because I know for the next 2 weeks I'll be able to hit the gym almost every day.   I went this morning and had a great workout -- did some interval training on the treadmill then hit the elliptical for 10 minutes.  480 calories in 42 minutes....not too shabby!

26 pounds to my next goal!

Humming Along...

Not a whole lot new to report here!  Just plugging away, hitting the gym most mornings and being pretty consistent with good food choices and a treat now and then.

I weighed in last Thursday, April 7th and had lost 3 more pounds for a total of 51 so far!!  The weight I am now is one I have not been at in MANY years.....at least before Isaiah was born (almost 13 years ago) and probably even longer.  I can't even remember. My first goal with this journey was to reach 50 pounds so I have now reached that.  The next goal is 79 pounds...mainly because that will put me at an even number (my weight) and I have OCD.  Haha!!

Had a small victory this past weekend.....we went away to Newburgh, NY for Isaiah's baseball tournament.  He really didn't need to be there until Saturday afternoon but a few friends were heading there on Friday evening just for fun, to let the boys swim, go out to dinner, etc.  so we decided to as well.  The hotel was a bit pricier than we usually spend but since we're not going anywhere during Spring Break, we decided to bite the bullet and go.  We had a GREAT time!  Went out to dinner Friday evening with friends and then back to the hotel to relax and hang out by the pool (for many baseball friends that also means drink LOTS of beer, SO not something I'm into...I'm such a bad Irish girl).  lol    Anyway....we were up a bit later than usual on Friday night (anything past 9pm is late for us these days) but we got up on Saturday morning and hit the treadmill at the hotel!  That's the first time I've EVER done that.  I loved it!  Felt so proud of myself for continuing my new lifestyle & healthy choices, even while on a 'mini-vacation.'  I made good food choices while there as well and found a new treat!  My friend Anita recently had some dark chocolate-covered pomegranates at baseball practice and they are SO good!!  It's perfect for a sweet treat without too many calories.  A serving size is 180 calories but a serving size is 20 pieces!  There's no way I'm eating 20 of them.  lol  I usually will have 5 or 6 just to get that sweet craving satisfied.  We got them from BJ's (like a Sam's club or Costco).

We may possibly do another 5k this Saturday, we didn't register yet because we had to wait and see what time Isaiah's baseball games are this weekend but we found out now he may not play until Saturday evening. SO we may be able to run it after all!  It's very close by so no worries about that. 

Next weigh-in is April 21st, hoping to continue seeing results!  

The Things People Say....

People are funny!  Part of why I love my job is I get to interact with lots of people.....both Greek people and non-Greeks, older people & younger.  People fascinate me -- their personalities, quirks, backgrounds, everything!  I especially love hearing stories from the older Greek people at the Church I work about their youth, when they came over from Greece, etc.  They have some GREAT stories. 

I also love the kids at the Church, they're so welcoming and friendly, always saying, "Hi Carrie!" or "Hi Miss Carrie!"   One of my favorite kiddos is a little girl, Barbara....she is one of THE cutest kids I've ever seen, a little bit pudgy, dimples, she's adorable!!  A couple years ago she was in my office with her mom and she was looking at my pictures in my office.  I have an assortment of pics of my nieces & nephews, my husband, Isaiah, stepkids, etc.   So Barbara was asking me if I was married, if I had any kids, etc.  So I told her I had a little boy, but he wasn't so little anymore.  I showed her Isaiah's picture, and told her, "See?  That's MY baby!  That's Isaiah."   She looked at me quizzically and asked, "Why is he brown?"   Hahahahaha!!!  I busted out laughing while her mom wanted to crawl under the desk and hide.  I thought it was hilarious -- the innocence of a child!  And that's why I love kids.  lol

So where am I going with this?  Hold your horses!  Haha!  When you lose a significant amount of weight, people's reactions are funny.  Some people are just outright complimentary, saying, "You look great!"  Other people seem to not have noticed at all and others say, "Have you lost weight? You look different."  I had someone ask me that and I gladly told them yes!  She said she was almost afraid to ask, not wanting to hurt any feelings -- she worried that by asking, she was implying that I had weight to lose in the first place.  I think growing up with 2 brothers and working in the job I do, I've learned to not be offended so easily.  After all, I've been told I look like a 'sloppy Irish', I look 'like a crazy lady,' etc. at work (again, gotta love older people!)  Ha!  So anyway, I would never be offended by that because obviously, I did have weight to lose!  I didn't realize how much this was obvious until I looked at a picture of myself from 6 months ago.  Just a short time ago!  It's a picture of Jerry & me on my birthday, we were going out for dinner and took a picture.  I look so puffy!  lol  Comparing that to the pic of me from my first 5k, you can tell a huge difference already! 

The other night I was at work for an event and saw quite a few people I hadn't seen in a while. One of the women who has seen me periodially over the last few months knows I've been working at losing weight.  She's noticed the changes, etc.  So she asks me Thursday night, "Carrie....are you sure you didn't have lap band surgery?"   LOL!!  Laughing, I said, "Ummm yes I'm sure, if I did have it I would've told you, silly!"  People are so funny! Not that I never considered Lap Band, Jerry & I actually talked about it last year. I told him I didn't want to do it yet, I knew in my head and heart that if I put my mind to it and worked hard enough, I could do it on my own. She said it just all seemed so drastic, (the weight loss), in a short time I guess, in her thinking.  But truly, I've averaged 10 pounds a month which I don't think is too drastic, each weigh-in (just about every 2 weeks), has been 2-3 or 4 pounds.  So I think it's been a nice & steady weight loss, one that will help me sustain it once I've reached my goal weight.  

So yes, people are funny.  That's why I love working the job I do!  Now to figure out how to respond when this one older gentleman says, "you look like sexy lady."  Hahaha!

Dunh...dunh....dunhhhhh......(scary music)

Drumroll.......................So today was 'official' weigh-in day.  I was apprehensive going into it, had felt kind of bloated the past couple days and (not to give you TMI) but feeling PMS-y and just a little nervous overall.  After weigh-in this morning, I'm wondering why!  I lost 5 more pounds!!!  My total is now 48 pounds.....2 pounds away from my first goal and 2 pounds away from being a weight that I haven't been in at least 14 years!!  Woo-hooooooooooo!   I was so excited, I started laughing, then weighed myself again to be sure it wasn't a fluke.  Haha!

Talk about a great way to start the day....that's enough to give you motivation at the gym!  I headed off after that, walking into the gym on Cloud 9.  I wondered if my fellow gym-goers could tell I looked 5 pounds lighter....I checked out myself in window as I went past.   Heehee (just kidding!)  It does really give you a boost though, knowing you're heading in the right direction, you're doing something right! 

My weigh-in also gave me the confidence to try on a pair of pants I haven't worn in YEARS....they're my black cords from WalMart (ha!) that I had gotten years ago and haven't fit in them in quite a while.  I figured -- hey -- I'm 5 pounds lighter -- I can do anything!  I'm Super Woman!!  Haha!  So needless to say, today I sported some mighty fine black cords at work!  ::high five::

Okay now that I'm done celebrating.....we think we found our next 5k....there's one in Waterbury (city right next to our town) in April, I think on the 16th or so?  Anyway....it's only the 2nd one they've done so the cost is still minimal compared to a lot  of 5ks and it shouldn't be too crazy/crowded.  I think we'll do it!  I like the idea of signing up for and doing 5ks because it gives me the extra push besides just wanting/needing to lose weight; it gives me a concrete goal with a concrete date in mind.  The first 5k I ran, my goal was to run/jog the entire time and I did that....this time my goal will (obviously) be to run/jog the whole time again, but to improve my time.  I've got just under a month to continue training for this one.   We've added more interval training on the treadmill to my workouts and we think that was one of the keys to me losing 5 pounds this weigh-in.  We'll continue that along with a new weight workout that Jerry put together for me. 

Hopefully the New England weather will cooperate and we can get outside more often to run....we had snow yesterday.  :-/    BUT at least I know better weather IS coming, it might just take a little patience.  :)

Kiss me, I'm Irish!

So the race went well!  A little slowly....but well!  We got there early and checked in, then I went and stood in line for the bathroom for about 20 minutes.  Seriously.  There were porta-potties outside but I figured I'd take advantage of the real bathrooms while I could.  Sooo.....after we got our t-shirts (really cute, by the way...they're green with a shamrock & the name of the run -- Max's O'Hartford 5k) we went outside to bask in the sunlight.  It was a little cool (around 45?) but the sun was bright and felt so good.  We mingled outside with lots of other people and checked out everybody else's costumes/gear.  Some were very creative, some were downright scary!  Me, I just had my Irish firefighter wife t-shirt on and some St. Patrick's Day socks. 

Once we were outside I was a texting fool with my friend Nikki, who was meeting us there along with her sister. (We were texting to find out where each other was..."I'm in line for the bathroom"...."We're in the lobby"...."We're by the orange blow-up thingy.")  lol  We hung out for a bit, talking, & laughing until race time. 

The race itself went fine, I was slower than I had hoped (38.5 mins overall) but I did run/jog the entire time.  And that was my goal.  I knew I could run that distance for sure (I've run further on the treadmill) and just wanted to prove it to myself.  The funniest part was as we're running, they have staff along the sides to let you know how far you've come.  So we've been running for what felt like FOREVER (seriously....forever) and this guy, a staffer, hollers "1 mile!! Great job!! 1 mile!"   I wanted to punch him in the larynx.  Jerry turned to me and said, "Okay...one mile....we're running about a 14-minute mile."  I was like WHAT?!  That irritated me...not Jerry himself, just the fact that I was running so much slower...just last weekend we had run 3 miles on the trail and had done a 12-minute mile.  Still not fast but faster than 14 mins!  lol  So after that I wanted to pick up the pace a little bit but not go crazy, because I knew I had to still run 2 miles. Jerry was great and ran with me the entire time....he's done a LOT of 5ks and can run 3.1 miles in no time but he stayed right with me, which I appreciated.  

The race, being in downtown Hartford, was fairly flat....there were a few slight hills, enough to make you notice the incline both in your calves and your breathing....but nothing too bad. The coolest part was as we were nearing the end, you run by the state Capitol, right in front of it so that was pretty neat.  Towards the end there were also people cheering for you, saying, "you're doing a great job! You're almost there!"  I thought that was funny & moving both at the same time.  As we rounded the corner we could see the finish line so we started picking up the pace to finish strong.  It felt great to actually finish! I wanted to cheer and cry at the same time.  It was moving in a way because I couldn't believe I had actually just ran a 5k...just 4 months after I started this journey.

So what now?  It's almost a letdown the day after....but it was back to the grind today.  Jerry & I went to our regular gym -- the owner gave him a key!  How cool is that!? So we got there at 4:30am and I did some interval training on the treadmill for a half-hour then a quick weight set.  I really didn't feel like getting up today but I knew I'd be disappointed if I didn't go so I'm glad I did.  I did feel better after going. 

We're looking for our next 5k, there's a ton of them in CT so we shouldn't have trouble finding another one.  I'd like to do at least a couple more before the big one in September (the NYC one) and really concentrate on building my speed before then.

Born to Run.. (hubby would be so proud of the Springsteen reference) Ha!

So weigh-in went well on the 10th!  Actually, it was the 9th..I was too impatient to wait until Thursday.  4 more pounds down, 43 altogether! 

Workouts have been going well, consistently....I need to start doing weights again more. I've concentrated so long on cardio and need to add back in regular weights.  I'll probably start doing that next week.  I still want to concentrate on cardio this week because.....

I'm running in my first 5k on Sunday the 20th!!  I'm SUPER nervous but excited.  I've run quite a bit on the treadmill over the winter and have gotten used to that.  I can kick butt on the treadmill!  But as I've said before, I know running on the road is different and it's tougher....because of course you're propelling yourself instead of the belt on the treadmill helping you.  So Jerry & I hit the road (literally) yesterday morning....it was a nice morning, not too chilly, so we took advantage of a chance to get outside.  We went to a trail in Southington (one of the towns next to ours), and did a 3-mile run.  Thankfully the trail is flat so that didn't add any extra huffing & puffing.  I felt encouraged just knowing we ran for 3 miles.....not on a treadmill.  So it wasn't a fluke that I could run that far!  Haha! 

The 5k I'm doing on Sunday is the O'Hartford 5k .  It's an Irish/St. Patty's Day-themed 5k so it was only natural for me to want to do it! I already have a green t-shirt to wear, it's my 'Irish Firefighter Wife' t-shirt. The run is in downtown Hartford so most of it should be flat as well.  My goal for this race is to run the whole course.  I know I won't be the fastest (we were running at a 12-minute mile pace yesterday, I know it's sllooowww).....but if I can finish it after running the entire thing, that would be AWESOME!!

I'll keep you posted and hopefully have a pic!  My friend Nikki is meeting up with us that day too, should be a fun day! The weather so far looks great, 50 and sunny.  Here goes nothing!

Slow & steady wins the race....

Not much new to report here, I've been in a good routine of working out and eating well.  I haven't weighed in again since the last time, I'm waiting until this Thursday (March 10th).  That will be 2 weeks.  I try not to weigh myself too often.

I've gone to Planet Fitness quite a bit during the week because of them being open 24-hours Monday through Friday.  It's nice because I can get there by 4:30 or 4:40am and be done by 5:30 at the latest.  That gives me the extra time to get ready for work & have Isaiah up.  Most Saturdays lately I haven't been able to go to the gym because of Isaiah's early morning basketball games.  I don't mind because I know my body needs a day or two to rest once in a while.  I'll be able to go early tomorrow morning though.  Once basketball ends I can probably start back on Saturdays.  I love going on the weekends because I'm not as rushed, can have a long run and I usually throw some weights in there as well.  I usually do pull-ups, dips, & abs after my runs. Last Sunday morning I ran for 60 minutes! 

Food-wise I'm doing well, still no soda and I've been pretty consistent with my foods. It's funny, our cleaning guy at work (who used to be a real fitness buff back in the day, I'm talking bodybuilding competitions, etc.), asked me if I ever have cheat days.  I told him not really too much, I usually just have a little treat like Pretzel M&M's (thanks Cheryl!) :)  They're just enough of a chocolate fix and the fat-to-calorie ratio is not bad! I usually split a package with Isaiah so it doesn't add up to be too bad, plus I only have them maybe once every couple weeks or so?   I consider that like a treat or a bit of a cheat.....also, we went to Sliders last weekend, it's a restaurant around here that's famous for their wings.  I had wings and a salad.  I know the wings weren't the greatest but that wasn't something we do too often. 

The cleaning guy chuckled & said he didn't really consider those 'cheating', I guess he used to go to McDonald's one day a week and just pig out, eat whatever he wanted, and just fill up.  I don't think I could do that, I'd be so paranoid about gaining weight back.  I feel great right now and don't want to lose my momentum. 

I've gotten SO much positive feedback from friends and family, it really encourages me.  Here's hoping the weight keeps coming off at a steady pace!

Success!! ::doing the cabbage patch::

Okay so the 'switching it up' seemed to work!  I weighed in this morning, lost 4 more pounds.  That brings my total to 39 so far....only 11 away from my first goal and I'm thisclose to being halfway to my overall goal!  Woo-hooooooooooooo!!!

It was so funny..I weigh in as soon as I wake up.  Jerry was still in bed but knew this was weigh-in day....I think we were both nervous after last week's weigh-in where I didn't lose any weight.  I was nervous because I really wanted to see tangible results of my hard work, Jerry was nervous because he didn't want to listen to me whine again.  :)

So needless to say, we were both very excited (for different reasons!)  I guess the longer runs did pay off....I ended up doing 3 days in a row of long runs -- 41 minutes, 50 minutes, and 45 minutes!  Today I did go back to doing a 30-minute run but with the incline so I'm hoping to basically keep my body guessing.  I'll probably do the same tomorrow, then on early Sunday morning do a long run again.  (Saturday Isaiah has an early basketball game so no gym time then).

As I've said in other posts, Jerry is a great motivator and encourager to me.  This past week when I did those long runs, he told me, "See....you can basically do anything you want to.  There's no stopping you, you can run as long as you want.  Don't put limits on yourself, just keep up the good work."  I love him.  :) 

Gut check time

So I weighed myself on Feb 17th after having weighed myself on Feb 6th....and for the first time since November, I didn't lose any weight.  Boo.  I know I've been fortunate to have had weight loss every single weigh-in but I can't deny that I was pretty bummed.  I know, I know, at least I didn't gain any weight, blah blah blah.  lol  You get spoiled though with losing 2-3 pounds every time you weigh in and like I said, I was disappointed. So I went and had a chocolate cake................

Haha!  Just kidding.  I did call Jerry to vent/whine (he'll say it was more whining, I'll say it was venting).  :)  He, like always, was encouraging and told me it was no big deal, that that will happen.  I've been doing strictly cardio for almost a month now and he assumed my body has just gotten used to the routine so it's time to switch it up. 

It's funny that the old patterns are definitely still there, below the surface and threatening to bubble up at any time.  When I weighed in my first thought was 'should I just give up and be happy with where I am now? I'm probably not going to lose any more weight, 35 pounds lost isn't so bad.'   Wow....what a wimp I am!?!  After a nice scolding from my hubby for even mentioning or thinking that, we decided to do just what he said and change it up a bit, both with my workouts & increasing my protein intake.

We had a period of warm weather for a few days and were able to get out and take a walk in the neighborhood in the afternoon.  That alone was nice for a change of pace.  The next day (Friday) after my annoying weigh-in, I went to the gym but did weights and then the elliptical.  Like I said, I hadn't done weights in a while but was glad to at least still be able to do the same amount as the last time I had done them.  I also did a short time on the elliptical, hoping that hitting my muscles in different ways than on the treadmill will give me the change I need to keep losing.  He also told me that just means I'll have to increase my time on the treadmill as well as the resistance/incline. 

As I've said before, the gym we go to is not a high-class gym, it's not crowded, it's not the place to be.  Sometimes the heat doesn't work, sometimes they're late, etc.  Well yesterday we went together to the gym and the heat wasn't working....I didn't mind that though because I get so hot anyway. AND the incline on my normal treadmill wasn't working correctly.  I was worried about not getting as good of a workout but decided to just increase my time and speed to try and make up for not having the incline. (Yes I could've run on a different treadmill but Jerry's theory was maybe it will be good for me to do a 'flat' run for a couple days, then go back to doing one with an incline, for a little change).  The longest I've run before was 33.5 minutes I believe.....yesterday I ran for 41 minutes!  AND my speed was WAY up.   I felt great, it was one of those days where you feel like you could run forever. Today I ran for 50 MINUTES!  I ran for over 4.5 miles and burned (supposedly) 635 calories (I know sometimes treadmills might not be the most accurate but even if it's close -- WOW). Woo-hoo!!  

I'm taking the day off work tomorrow.....I've got a couple events at work this weekend and haven't had much time off, plus Isaiah's off school tomorrow so it'll be a great day to take off.  I'll probably hit the weights and do some type of cardio, possibly a different treadmill so I can get the benefit of the incline again until they fix 'my' treadmill. 

Here's hoping my results on Thursday (Feb 24th) are better! I guess at that point we'll know if I switched it up enough. 

A change is gonna come.....

It's been said that in order to lose a lot of weight, you have to make a "lifestyle change."  I've always heard that and was kinda like, 'Yeah, okay, sure, whatever works.'  Not that I didn't believe it, I just didn't actually put those words into actions for myself.

Now I think I finally have.  After going at this for almost 3.5 months, I think it's finally starting to click. And that change is something that's still evolving, I believe. 

What do I mean?  Back in the beginning of November, when I told Jerry I wanted to really start trying to lose weight, work out, eat better, etc. I did truly mean it.  But it didn't take much to get me sidetracked.  Wake up on a cold morning to go to the gym?  Ehh.....our flannel sheets feel so much nicer!  I think I'll just stay home.  Do you want fries with that?  Hmmm....I shouldn't....but fries sound really good!  I'll just have a few...or five or ten.

As recently as November I felt like I was always teetering on the brink of going back to my usual routine of not working out, feeling lousy, eating whatever I wanted, etc.  It was almost like I didn't trust that I would or could stick to a routine...or a new lifestyle.

Now, here I am 3.5 months later.....not too far off being halfway to my goal......and I finally feel like I am hitting my stride...like I am finally getting those permanent changes.  The alarm goes off now and, barring a migraine like last Friday, *CHANGE* I will get up and go to the gym.  Even on a collllld morning like today.  I may have a fry....*CHANGE* but this time it literally is just two or three. 

This past weekend Isaiah and I met up with an online friend of mine for the first time...I've known her through a 'Moms of biracial children'-type website for years...I mean like maybe 6 years I've known her?  Anyway.....we only live an hour apart and we just met up on Saturday.  We had a great time and I really enjoyed spending the afternoon with her & her daughter.  We ate at Red Robin....I had never been there before (neither had Isaiah)....it's a gourmet burger place and it was really good!  Aside from the grandfather at the next table giving sips of his beer to his grandson (!?!), it was a nice restaurant.  I had a grilled chicken sandwich and 3 of Isaiah's fries..literally....I counted.  lol   At one point Isaiah had asked our waitress for a refill of his Dr. Pepper and she brought it....when he tasted it, something just wasn't right.  He told me to take a sip and *CHANGE* I just couldn't bring myself to do it.  I haven't had a soda since the beginning of November aside from a Coke Zero I had at the movies in Ohio over Christmas.  That's HUGE for me.  I was drinking probably at least 20 ounces a day of soda....and not even diet, just regular because I hate the taste of diet.  Anyhoo.....I didn't want to break my streak of no soda so I couldn't even take one sip of Isaiah's not-so-yummy Dr. Pepper to see what was wrong.  So my friend Nikki & her daughter Brianna were kind enough to do it and agreed something was off.  Something as small as me not wanting to take a sip may seem trivial to normal people....but I'm not normal....just ask my family! Ha!  For me that was HUGE and signified a CHANGE.

One of the big reasons I feel this time is different for me.....I keep reminding myself of how I felt during those Breaking Points .....I felt lousy, unmotivated, no energy, etc.  So when the alarm goes off at 4:15am and the flannel sheets feel so comfy & cozy...or when the soda is passed to me.....or the fries smell SO good.... I ask myself...."Self, (haha!) do you really want to spend another summer feeling crappy?  Do you really want to feel out of breath after going up one flight of stairs?"  And now, far more often than ever before, I find the answer to be NO! and I peel myself out of bed.....or turn down that sip of soda......or have only two or three fries and then actually stop eating them. 

I'm thinking this time really is different....a change has come..

There were treadmills as far as the eye could see......

So I went to Planet Fitness the other day and I survived.  Eh.  lol  Not surprisingly, I did see 3 people there that I knew.  Now, at 5 in the morning you don't look exactly bright-eyed and bushy-tailed and of course, that was when they decided they needed to take my picture for their I.D. system.  I imagine all the Planet Fitness employees sitting around in the evenings looking through their computer, guffawing at the pictures of people at 5 in the morning.

There were quite a few people there for being 5 in the morning...you have to remember I'm used to being one of maybe 3 people in my gym at a time.  There were probably 30 people in this gym.  I will say, however, it didn't feel overly crowded because everybody was spread out and there was a ton of treadmills, ellipticals, etc.  In my opinion, the weight section did not compare to my regular gym....while it had a sizable weight section, our gym has more free weights, machines, anything you can think of.  I guess it's known as more of an iron gym and now I understand why.  The emphasis here was definitely cardio. 

I was able to go in a corner by myself and get on the treadmill without feeling like too much of an outsider.  All in all it wasn't bad, my only complaint is the treadmills were too close together.  It was fine with me because nobody was on either side of me but during the peak times, I think my sweat would fall on the person next to me!  Then again I'm never there at peak times so hopefully there's never a huge rush of people wanting treadmills at 5 in the morning.

Each treadmill has a pad attached to the handle of it (picture it on the railing next to you) that allows you to change the channel on the TV, turn up the volume, etc. but as I was walking/running, my arm kept hitting it!  THAT was annoying.  lol

I had a mini panic attack while I was on the treadmill.....fairly often I end up having to go to the bathroom when I'm at the gym.  So I'm on the treadmill and thinking....man I need to go....oh no!  Where is the bathroom?  I don't want to get off the treadmill and go wandering around looking for the bathroom!  Fortunately I was able to finish my time and on my way out I spotted the bathrooms so I'm prepared for next time!

I was proud of myself for venturing out into a new gym....and without Jerry!  I was happy to go to my regular gym the next two days (the owner was on time today!) but am planning to make myself to go the new gym tomorrow morning so I can start to feel more comfortable.  At least I know for sure they'll be open.  I'm hoping to go at about 4:45 instead of 5....just 15 minutes may give me just the extra time I need in the morning.

Hiccups

Hiccups are annoying.  I had a few hiccups over the last couple weeks or so.  To start, this winter, especially January, has been TOUGH here in CT.  The Hartford area got 60+" of snow in January alone.  So needless to say......I'm ready for spring.

One of the things I love about our gym is there's not very many people there in the morning. It's usually just me and the 'I hold onto the equipment with paper towels' guy.  I like that.....I like a little solitude, plus I don't like to feel crowded.....I want to feel at-ease while I sweat!

I go to the gym at 5am every day for the most part.  Well, I get up at 4:30, hoping to be there by 5 every morning.  Problem is, (hiccup # 1) maybe 50% of the time, our gym isn't open on time.  It's supposed to be open at 5, but a lot of times it's not.  That's a big problem for me as my time is very limited.  I usually don't have time to work out in the afternoon or evening because of Isaiah's sports, homework, etc.  so I go in the morning before work.  If you know me at all, you know that I am NOT a morning person but it works out better for me to get it done first thing.  Plus my energy level is pretty low by the evening.

So back to the gym.....there is a relatively new owner at our gym, she bought it within the last 12 months or so I'd say.  She's a young(er) female and I love that she's a business owner, I almost feel proud that she was able to do this, to buy a gym!  But the problem is....she's rarely on time to open!  There is a young guy who works there as well, he is SUPER reliable and is NEVER late.  The owner, however, is almost always 5, 10, or 15 mins late.  That's a problem for me because as I said, my time is super limited.  I need to be in & out of the gym by 5:45 to get home, shower, & wake up Isaiah for school.  So every time she's late, I have to lessen my time on the treadmill by that much. That's frustrating.  Part of what is helping me to be successful with weight loss so far (35 pounds as of 2/6!) is having fairly consistent workouts.

As I said in the beginning, the snow has been insane here this winter.  That leads to hiccup # 2......if there's snow or school delays, for the most part, our gym will open late as well, or perhaps even close.  That's not a problem if I don't go to work...but it's a problem when they have a delay the day or two after a storm....I think at that point it's just someone not wanting to get out of their cozy bed to open the gym. 

So what to do with this situation?  We've (nicely) complained to the owner, she offered and gave me her cell phone number to call her if nobody was there by 5:05am.  While it was a nice gesture, it doesn't help me much because even if I call her to tell her nobody's there, it's going to take her 15 mins to get there.  By that time it's too late for me.

Our next solution.....there's a Planet Fitness across the street.  Yay.  (Yes I said that sarcastically).  Not sure if they have Planet Fitness in OH or not, but it's basically a big chain gym,  and it's THE gym to work out at around here.  Everybody we know has a membership there and I've fought & fought to not join that gym.  I like our fairly-empty-at-5am-if-they're-open-on-time-gym.  I didn't want to go to the gym where everybody else goes...I didn't want to be crowded....I didn't want to run into people I know who haven't seen just how much I am capable of sweating (a LOT).  But what's a girl to do?  To make a long story short (too late! Ha!), Jerry went and signed me up for a membership last week.  Planet Fitness is ALWAYS open on time, they NEVER close, during the week they are open 24-hours a day. The membership is minimal ($10 a month) and it probably seems crazy but I do want to keep my regular gym membership (also $10 a month) because I am so much more comfortable there and would prefer to go there if I can.

Tomorrow.....I'll tell you about my first trip to Planet Fitness! *hiccup*

Training (cue "Rocky" theme music)

So as I said the other day, one of my goals is to run a 5k in September.  I am planning to run one or two before then....you don't want a 5k in NYC to be your first!  Talk about pressure! I have to make sure I can do it well and not embarrass the family name.  Haha!

Where do you even begin training for a 5k?  For myself, what has worked:  I started off on the treadmill at the gym.  I always walk for approx 4 minutes to warm up....the first time I was on the treadmill in November, I decided to see how long I could run.  I ran for 3.5 minutes.  Yep. 3.5 minutes.  I thought I was going to pass out....that's how out of shape I was.  I walked more, then ran I think maybe 2 minutes more?  Even though I knew in my head it wasn't much, I was proud for even doing it.

Gradually and with every week or even every time I was on the treadmill I'd try to increase my running time, even by just 15-30 seconds.  I am now at the point where I can run for 30-31 minutes straight.  The pace I run at (5.4 or 5.5 mph), has me running a mile in 11:06.  So I'm almost up to running 3 miles already!  In just under 3 months of training.....not too shabby.

In November when the weather was still tolerable outside, I would take walks in the afternoon in our neighborhood.  Our neighborhood is great -- it's dog-friendly, there's lots of small hills, great to train in.  I would take Tyson, our pitbull, on a walk for about 20 mins and it was great for that added cardio.

In the late winter/spring I'm going to start doing the same again, but hopefully with some running in the neighborhood.  I really do like going on the treadmill, I have all the numbers in front of me...speed, incline, minutes, calories burned, etc.  but running on the treadmill is just not the same as running on the street.  I learned that lesson....during a nice warm day in late November or early December I decided to go run at the track at the high school instead of going on the treadmill.  Wow - what a difference.  My legs felt like jelly before I finished even a lap (1/4 mile).  I think it's because you don't have that momentum that the moving belt on the treadmill gives you....it's almost like a boost.  And of course, when I run a 5k, it's not going to be on a treadmill, it'll be on non-moving ground (non-moving aside from me moving my legs on it!)  I want to be prepared.  I want to go into the 5k confident that I can finish with no problem.

Here's the current walk/run I'm doing at the treadmill this week....I'll probably try to increase it within the next week (if it ever stops snowing!)

4 minutes walking at 2.0 incline, 4.0 speed
16 minutes running at 2.0 incline, 5.4 speed
4 minutes running at 3.0 incline, 5.4 speed
4 minutes runnning at 4.0 incline, 5.4 speed
6 minutes running at 5.0 incline, 5.4 speed
2-3 minutes cooldown period

My husband, Jerry, is THE best motivator/trainer!  He is pushing me constantly, always encouraging, always telling me to do more and push myself.  That makes SUCH a difference.  I can get stuck in a rut, especially on the treadmill; he's always telling me to increase my incline or time, even by 15 seconds.  I'm so thankful to have him in my corner.