Inspiraton=Responsibility

I've reached the point in my journey where people have started viewing me as "successful".  Its not uncommon now for me to be told by someone that I inspire them.  That they stayed on the treadmill when they wanted to quit, that they're beginning to make changes in their diet.  It always excites me, and I'm so thrilled for them.  Let me be perfectly transparent, though.  I don't feel like a success.  I'm still fighting to drop another 30 pounds.  There are so many days when I don't want to get off my couch and exercise.  Days when my runs feel like epic failures.  I guess in my view, a person who is inspiring hits their goal without setbacks, wants to go run instead of doing it even though they don't, never falls off the wagon. That's probably not the case at all.  It just looks that way from the outside.  In essence, being told I've inspired someone inspires me.  It makes me want to do better and to do more.  As much as I don't want to fail myself, I want even less to fail someone one else.  So it turns out being someone's inspiration is a big responsibility.  Thanks for making me want to keep going.  I'm not quitting on me, and I'm sure not quitting on the people looking at my story with hope for their own.  Just keep  moving forward!

Weekly Wrap Up

Since, I never seem to get this done on Sunday, it is now the Weekly Wrap up which will be posted either Sunday or Monday :)

Monday - Ran/Walked 3.1 miles.  Should have been 4, but the humidity was terrible, and I was feeling Sunday's 10 miles.

Tuesday - Ran/Walked 4 miles

Wednesday - Hot Yoga

Thursday - Ran/Walked 6 miles
Friday - Ran/Walked 5 miles
Saturday - Hot Yoga. I also did the grocery shopping.
Sunday - Ran/Walked 8 miles

I weighed in down 1.8 pounds on Wednesday.  That still leaves me up 2.8 from where I was before Spring Break, but at least I went in the right direction this week.

Sunday Wrap Up!

Sorry for posting late again.  I got busy with Mother's Day yesterday and forgot to post :)  Hope all of you mom's had an awesome day.

Monday-Rest Day
Tuesday-Ran/Walked 5.42 miles (Should have been 6, but I literally ran out of daylight)
Wednesday- Hot Yoga
Thursday-Ran/Walked 5 miles
Friday- Ran/Walked 3.25 miles (Should have been 4, but my right knee was really bothering me)
Saturday- Rest Day/Grocery Shopping
Sunday- Ran/Walked 10 miles

Wednesday Weighed in up 2.4 pounds

I'd say this was kind of a rough week.  I'm still struggling with my runs since the temperature and humidity have increased so much, and I'm still discouraged by my recent gains.

Today begins a new week.  I'm planning to make it great.  Hope you are too!

Transparency and Accountability

This is a discouraging week.  I weighed in yesterday up another 2.4 pounds.  I've gained 5 pounds since Spring Break.  I'll be completely honest and tell you, its because I'm completely off track with my eating.  Over Spring Break, I ate at old favorites in my hometown which were not the healthiest.  I grazed when the kids snacked.  Coming back, I fell prey to Easter candy, then we had my son's birthday last week.  I've given in to more temptation in the past few weeks than in the past year. Even though, I know all the little things add up, I've allowed myself to nibble while cooking and munch on whatever the kids are snacking on.  No more!  I know deep down, its not worth it, and I'm getting back on track starting today.  No more beating myself up for the bad choices. Its time just to pick up and start making good ones again.  No one ever said this journey would be without bumps in the road, but I'm not giving in, and if you're struggling don't you dare give in either!  You aren't alone.  Every day is a new beginning.  Make today count!

Sunday Wrap Up

Still struggling to get back on track.  We had a sleepover for my son's birthday on Friday, and Birthday dinner on Saturday.  I've had too much junk food for sure.  Probably going to be looking at a gain again this week.  I've got to get my discipline back.  My running mojo also seems to have taken a leave of absence, and I've really been struggling lately.  Still not giving up!

Monday- Ran 4 miles
Tuesday- Ran 5 miles
Wednesday - Rested
Thursday - Ran 2 miles (with my youngest son)
Friday- Ran 5.25 miles (fell short of the 6 miles I had scheduled)
Saturday - Rest

Sunday Wrap Up. One day late

I've been really behind on these updates.  Our Spring Break trip really threw me off course with posting and my diet.  I've fallen off the wagon a bit with my eating habits, but I'm struggling to get back on course.  I'm not giving up! Here's last week's wrap up.

Monday- Ran 4.06 miles
Tuesday - Ran 5.26 miles
Wednesday- 45 minutes of yoga
Thursday- Ran 4.25 miles
Friday- Ran/Walked 7 miles
Saturday- Rest day
Weighed in on Wednesday  up 2.6 lbs :(

Hoping this week will be better!

Eat More?

Maybe.  I've been dealing with a lot of ups and downs with weigh ins over the last 6 months or so and haven't been dropping as quickly as I'd like even when I'm being super careful about my diet and exercise.  I lost 50 lbs in my first 6 months, 75 in my first year, but I've only lost 6 in the last 3 months.  Naturally, the loss is going to slow down as I get closer to my goal, but this has seemed really slow. I've mentioned before that I use an app called Lose It!  which gives me a calorie budget each day.  What I've been been doing is eating my full calorie budget (right now its 1,513) and leaving the calories I burn with exercise as a deficit.  I was looking at this a couple of weeks ago and realized there were days (like on long run days) that after my exercise calories were deducted my net intake was only around 1,000 calories.  Conventional wisdom says that you should not eat less than 1,200 calories.  I started eating additional calories making sure my net ends up right around 1,200 each day just to see what would happen.  Guess what?  I've lost 1 lb each week I've done this.  I was shocked by it this week, because we went out to dinner last Friday with my grandparents for Mexican food which resulted in a lot of extra calories, and I indulged in some Easter candy over the weekend.  Given that and the fact that (sorry if this is TMI) it is very close to my time of the month, I fully expected a gain yesterday, but lost 1.1 lbs.  Wow!  I'm not convinced yet, that this is the reason why, but I'm going to keep at it as long as it works.  Now, I should say, I don't wait until the end of the day and take in a couple of hundred extra calories.  I'm a planner.  I actually log all of my meals and snacks in the morning that I'll be eating that day, and I know about how many exercise calories I'll burn that day so I work the additional calories in over the full day.  If you aren't losing, maybe the answer is to eat more. Who knew?

Introduction

Welcome!  I've thought for a while about starting a blog.  I guess, since I'm more than 1 year and 1/2 into my journey, I'm a little late.  Life, though, is a never ending journey, so you're just joining a program already in progress.  In June of 2012, I weighed in at 243 lbs, and was either going to have to buy some bigger clothes or get some weight off.  I opted for the latter.  This wasn't the first time, I'd made an attempt a losing weight, and I had some success before but never lasting.  What made this time different?  I honestly think that Lose It!  has made all the difference for me. What is lose it?  Its a free app that sets a calorie budget and helps you log everything you eat and all of your activity.  I'm a bit type A anyway, so I'm good with all of the pre-planning, weighing, measuring, etc.  Not, that Lose It! requires all of that.  Its just what works for me.  In the beginning, my main goal was just to stick to that budget and exercise (lightly) 3 times a week.  I've made other changes as I've progressed.  I currently run 3 days a week, and do some other kind of work out 3 days with 1 day of rest.  I don't belong to a gym, and you should know that I work for a custom cake designer.  Truly, if I can do this, anyone can.  I look forward to sharing more with you as I continue my journey. If you have any questions, or would like to see a post on something specific, feel free to contact me.