10 October 2009

Accountability Day

When I started this two week break I wanted to drop as much weight as possible. The first week kind of went awry and I was sidelined for a couple of days. The second week though has been awesome. I have been active and productive and just feeling fabulous. Cool. But, have I lost any weight this week? The answer is yes!! 4 lbs. I began the week at 188.5 and am now 184.5. Sweet. So how have the last few days been with the new car buying and everything? Well, since you asked, I'm putting in the entire week:

Day 1: 1900
Day 2: 1830
Day 3: 1375
Day 4: 1550
Day 5: 2000
Day 6: 1705

For a total of 10,360 calories consumed, 3,000 cals burned which equals 7,360 net consumption. Divide that number by 6 and it totals out to 1225 calories per day. Sweet!!! That is not bad at all. And one of the things they used to throw around WW was to vary your daily calorie intake so your body doesn't get used to it. Now this week I probably drank a little too much beer but it's clearly not the end of the world.

I really think the key, for me at least, is exercise. If I get my workout done in the morning I am just so much better all day. I find it much easier to eat right and resist sweets.

So I've done fairly well this week but break is now over. Monday it's back to school and that means getting up at 4:30 to work out. I know I can do it I just need to watch what time I go to bed. So next week will be an adjustment but I feel so good I don't want to stop.

09 October 2009

What have I been doing???


This!!!

My Escape was slowly falling apart. The muffler had been rattling for about 6 months, I just know it was rusted to pieces but I didn't want to look to find out. The clutch was starting to act funny, I knew it was going to need another one soon. Also, the transmission had gotten really sloppy - I'm sure that was on it's way out. Then last weekend the rear window broke. I took it to the dealership on Wednesday to find out how much it would be to fix it and they told me about $1000. With all the other stuff the car needs we were looking at spending about $3000 to keep it on the road. It's a 9 year old car, how much longer will it last? When I was at the dealership getting a price on the window, they had 2 Mustangs there with pink stripes. I immediately fell in love. When I got the bad news about my Escape I jokingly said I'd just buy the Mustang. Well yesterday after lunch Hubby and I walked over there just to see what kind of deal we could get on the car. The hardtop was $30,000 but they ended up giving us like $5,000 in rebates and trade-ins and all kind of stuff. Plus we got a sweet deal on the financing - thank god it's a bad time to sell cars :) Anyway, I drove this thing home yesterday. After 9 years in a 4 cylinder stick shift SUV, driving an automatic car is weird. But I'll adjust :)

Most importantly this has not sidetracked me from my pursuit of healthy living. I biked yesterday morning. I ran this morning. My food intake has been excellent even though I had beer with lunch yesterday. I feel incredibly and now I have a shiny new car. Woo Hoo!!!!

08 October 2009

Day 6

Wow, I feel just amazing. I don't know if it's the break, the activity, or the eating right but I feel just awesome.

Yesterday was a pretty good day, busy afternoon. I went for a run in the morning which was the hottest, death march of a run I've done in a long time. But I did it and it didn't kill me so I am happy. I did treat myself to a muffin yesterday. I had class last night and there is a little shop that sells the best muffins right near there. I allowed myself one yesterday and it was good. I'm sure it was like 500 calories though so it's debatable if it was that good. I ended up eating 1800 cals yesterday but I burned 500 on my run so in a way I guess the muffing balanced out.

Today it's a bike ride. I got new tires I need to put on then I'm off for a ride.

When ever I start working out again after some time off or a period of inconsistency my body reacts. When I start working out regularly again my body develops all these aches and pains. Now granted I may be sore and achy from getting back into it but it's almost like my body is protesting. Weird, I know. I get the same kind of pain in the same places every time. For instance, when I start running again my knee bothers me. It's not really pain more like a rubbing that feels weird. It is annoying as hell but not really painful. It seems like my knee is saying don't run, really, just stop. Same with my back. My low back acts up. Again, not really pain just an out of place feeling that is annoying as all get out!! Anyway, I'm in that phase right now. I know if I get through it I will feel great on the other side, but right now I would gladly trade some parts in on newer models if I could :)

07 October 2009

Day 5

The really important thing is how good I feel.  When I eat right and workout regularly I feel just awesome.  Not only do I have energy but I also feel much more comfortable in my skin - if that makes any sense at all.  I had to go somewhere yesterday and I had to dress nice.  Afterward I stopped at Target looking for something and as I was strutting through the store I realized how awesome I felt.  I was standing tall and really strutting and I just felt fantastic.  To me that is why I work out and eat right.  When I feel like that there is nothing I can't do.  I love it.  Also, it makes 7 months, 5 marathons, 1 year to prepare seem not only possible but likely.  I still haven't completely committed to that, I tend to jump into things without thinking it through, So I'm trying to give this lots and lots of thought before I commit outright.  Though I have started training for it :)

One of the things that I want to do and keep forgetting, is to log my calories eaten every day. I'm shooting for a top end of 1500 per day.  Here is how the last few days look:
Day 1: 1900
Day 2: 1830
Day 3: 1375
Day 4: 1550

So, after a somewhat rocky start I seem to be getting my act together.  The thing is none of what I've eaten in the last 4 days is junk of any kind and even though I ate more then I wanted to the first 2 days , I felt awesome!!!  That is what I need to focus on - how I feel.  The number on the scale will always let me down, but how I feel will always steer me right. 

06 October 2009

Abort, Abort, Abort

or I have the best bad luck :)

It's been raining here for a couple of days and that pretty much puts bike riding out of the question for me.  I don't like to ride in the rain.  Anyway, although it rained most of the night here I woke to blue skies and sunshine.  Out came the bike and off I went.  I wanted to ride for an hour, I've been building up slowly,  but I didn't want to head out on the main roads with the commuter traffic so I decided to do 2 loops of the back roads. I complete my first loop, after stopping to take pictures of the beautiful day, and I'm at the closest point to my house when all of a sudden I hear pssssssssst.....  Huh??  I stop and get off the bike.  Apparently I've run over something because there is a big hole in my tire and the tube is leaking. Bummer my ride was cut short, but great that I was only a block from my house.  I tell you, I have the best bad luck :)  I have some errands to run this morning and now that includes a stop at the bike shop for new tires.  I think I'll get two since my tires are 2 years old.  I should probably pick up some tubes too. 

7 months, 5 marathons, 1 year to prepare.  I think I'm going for it.  Why not?  It will push me like nothing has pushed me in a long, long time.  It will give me something really big to work  towards.  I will do sprint and olympic triathlons over the summer just to vary the training and activities.  I really think I'm going to do it. 

05 October 2009

Stuck in my head....

7 months, 5 marathons, 1 year to prepare. I read somewhere a long time ago that you have to have a goal and just losing weight wasn't a goal. It's too vague and unformed. What has always worked for me in the past has been racing. When I was running and doing triathlons I was in the best shape ever. I had already decided that I was getting back into racing next year starting with the 10k on New Year's Day. But the thought of really pushing myself, really striving towards something that seems almost impossible, really appeals to me. I would have to push myself really, really hard. I would need to lose weight and get into awesome shape. There would be absolutely no excuses for missing workouts and I would have to work harder then I've worked in my life. I want to do triathlons next year but my serious focus would be on running. I am seriously considering it. On my run today, passing the manufactured homes they just put up for the seniors, it was running around my brain. It's a fabulous goal that just might be what I need to really push me.

Day 3

I read a weight loss blog and he titles his posts by the day number. He's been on his weight loss journey for over a year now and so his posts are 38something. I like that. I think it would help keep you focused on the long term goal. Remind you how far you've come when you get the desire to just chuck it all - as happens. So I may do that. We'll see.

Yesterday was pretty good. I ended up laying on the couch in the morning and pulled a muscle in my back. It wasn't too bad, in fact if I walked around it got better. Today it seems to be okay.

Second week of break. Woo Hoo!!! I really like this teaching gig, I tell you. I have some things to do today but nothing earth shattering. I really want to get my unit plan finished for school. I'm tired of looking at that thing. I have it almost completely done just a few little tweaks. I may submit it with a couple of things missing and then I can redo when it gets kicked back. I have other projects I want to move on to!!!!

This morning is a run. I'll be heading out shortly. In another couple of weeks I'll start training for the New Year's 10k. I'm looking forward to that. I'm liking having a goal. I was thinking of signing up for the Maui Marathon. It's Sept. 2010. I have a year to train. I'm not going to be doing the Honolulu this year, just not ready, but I will be doing it next year. So I could do Maui in Sept. Honolulu in Dec. and I think there's another Maui one in January. Or is it Kauai? I just went checking, Kauai is Sept 5th and Maui is Sept 19th. Do you think in 12 months I could be ready to run back to back marathons? Hmmm..... I wonder. Do I have the drive? Do I have the determination? Do I have the will? This is something to think about. Right now....I must run....


Just some thoughts:

Sept 5th - Kauai Marathon
Sept 19th - Maui Marathon
Dec 12th - Honolulu Marathon
Jan 23rd - Maui Oceanside Marathon
March 20th - Big Island Marathon

7 months - 5 marathons - 1 year to prepare. Can I do it???

04 October 2009

Day 2

Well yesterday wasn't as great as I'd hoped it'd be.  I was hoping for an amazing start to the week.  Not exactly!! But, as usual, it wasn't as bad as I feared it'd be either.  So I guess it's a wash.  Today will be better.

I think I see a problem with my eating.  I'm not that hungry early in the day. I do eat breakfast but I can usually get away with a small one because I'm just not that hungry. Breakfast is usually around 225 cals and that's plenty.  Even by lunch time I'm still not that hungry and 350 cals or so satisfies me.  But then comes the afternoon.  About 3 or 4 I start getting hungry.  Since it's too late to really eat anything I try to have a light snack - fruit and nuts.  But what happens a lot of times is that I've built up a calorie deficit during the day and now it needs to be satisfied.  I frequently go into dinner pretty darn hungry and eat more then I planned on.  Also, it's that time when my resistance is down and I'm susceptible to sugar. Time for a new plan.

I'm going to try and more evenly portion my calories out over the day. I'm trying to stay below 1500 cals so I'm thinking 400 cals a meal. That's 1200 cals and it leaves me 300 cals to play with. For breakfast I'm going to have my new favorite banana with peanut butter, that comes in around 225 cals. A little later I'll have my Greek yogurt with granola and fruit. That comes in around 200 cals so that will be ~425 for breakfast.

Lunch will be things like veggie burger or lunch meat on a wrap with hummus and veggies. That comes in anywhere from 200 - 250. Add some fruit and we are looking at 350 for lunch.

Then around 3 or 4 I need a snack. That will either be an apple or a granola bar. Both come in around 125.

At this point I'm at ~900 cals for the day. That leaves me 400-500 cals for dinner easily. The day will total out at ~1400 which leaves me a little flexibility if I choose to have a little something extra during the day.

I was reading another weight loss blog this morning and they were saying how weight loss can be boring. You eat the same things, workout at the same times, it's gets to be dull. But that's what creates success. That's what helps you lose the weight. It's time for me to get back into that boring, weight loss routine. It's not near as exciting as looking for pensacola beach condo rentals but it works. Speaking of Pensacola, I actually have a friend there that I would love to go visit. Maybe that will be my reward for sticking to my program for 6 months. Hmmmm.....not a bad thought. I'm off to look at those rentals.

Conversation with Hubby

 So yesterday morning I presented my idea of working out at home to the Hubby. Once I presented it to him, he said he was in. I told him I h...