a So-So week

A couple of victories to tell you about...

First, I ran the turkey trot 5k on Thanksgiving morning and I finished in 36 minutes and 16 seconds, that is 2 minutes faster than my last 5K at the end of September. I was very happy with my time.

Second, I ran a 10k route 3 more times so I am considering that "hot 100" goal accomplished. Yippee!

The setbacks...

I didn't work out nearly as much as I should have this week running twice and taking one Zumba class. This wouldn't have been a big deal if it hadn't also been Thanksgiving week. I ate way too much on Thanksgiving and then had leftover stuffing and yams on Saturday (I threw away the leftover pie). Stepping on the scale Sunday morning I was prepared to see a gain. I gained a pound this week putting me at 199.8.

Today is the start of new week and my goal is to get rid of that extra pound plus a couple more.

The Hot 100 goals are going well...
I completed a 10k run 4 times and my weight is currently under 200 pounds (if ever so slightly under) so all I have to do is keep it under 200 and I can consider my Hot 100 goals completed.

Good-bye fat clothes

I took three large garbage bags full of clothes to Goodwill this morning. As I threw things in the bag I realized the things sized 20 and 18 were mostly bought from Goodwill only a few months ago... seems more like clothes rental. There was one skirt I have had for several years that I loved-loved-loved when I bought it but only wore it twice. Since I don't (or really can't) dress up for work I seldom get a chance to wear dress clothes. So instead of ending up in the Goodwill bag I used it to recover my office chair (see photo below).



What do you think?

Inside the store I found a pair of size 14 Levi jeans that fit but are still a little tight around the waist and pair of size 12 jeans that I just thought were too cute to pass up. I will get into them some day. I also found a pair of pj pants and a pair of running pants.

I probably won't post again until after the Holiday. Have a wonderful day!

Weigh-in Week 20

Last week was 202.4 and I was crossing my fingers to get into the 100's this week and I did. YIPPEE! 198.8 pounds showed up on my scale this morning, that is a 3.6 pound loss this week. I have really increased my workouts in the past couple weeks and it sure is paying off on the scale.

This week however is going to be a little different, and my goal this week is not to gain any weight. This is my long work week so fewer hours to exercise but I do plan on attending at least 1 zumba class and I am running the 5K Turkey Trot at the YMCA on Thanksgiving morning, add a couple more runs scattered through the week and I think I have an acceptable workout schedule. But then of course there is Thanksgiving and on Saturday I am helping my sister give a baby shower for one of her friends (both of which will revolve around good food).

Why do we do that? Why do celebrations always involve food? Case in point... at work we have had these rail cars filled with hazardous waste on our lot for a long time. We got a grant from the state to help pay for cleaning and disposal. On Friday they finally hauled the cars away. Afterward I get a call from the offices telling me to come down to the cafeteria and celebrate by having cake and ice cream. Cake and ice cream to celebrate waste disposal? Or should it be waist disposal?

The Hot 100 goals...
#1... be less than 200 pounds. Made it! Now I just have to keep it off between Thanksgiving and New Year and that goal is as good as done.

#2... run a full 10K, I have a 10K route and have been running/walking it once a week. This week with my 5 minute warm-up and cool down I did run the entire thing in 1 hour and 20 minutes. But I am not going to call this one finished until I run it a couple more times.

Tried spinning

I gave spinning a try... it seriously kicked my ass. I went into this class think, "I have been running and taking zumba and riding my bike for months, this shouldn't be too bad." Wow I was not prepared for my legs felling like jell-o after only the first hill interval. Every time the instructor told me to "push it" I wanted to get off my bike and full body tackle that skinny bitch to the ground. The only thing that stopped me was being uncertain that my legs could support my own body weight. Ok... maybe I am exaggerating a bit. The instructor was actually very friendly and she told me at the beginning of class that she may tell me to do things in an attempt to push me further but I should ignore her if my body was telling me to rest. So I did. I didn't have a problem with sprints or jumps it was when she wanted us to stand for longer than a couple minutes that I had a problem. I didn't feel too bad after the class as far as sore legs (although my butt is sore from the bike seat). I will definitely try a spinning class again but what I really need is a different upper body workout. Does anybody have an upper body workout the enjoy and/or has shown results?

Week 19

Weigh-in day once again. With such a great week of working out I was anxious to get on the scale this morning... 202.4 (a four pound loss!!!). This was a bigger loss than I expected, ever since hitting 210 (and a size 16) my weight loss seemed to go from 5 pounds a week to 2 pounds a week. So four pounds this week was very exciting. It is also exciting because it marks a 60 pound weight loss mark, it makes my BMI 29.9 which makes me overweight instead of obese, and it puts me just 2.5 pounds away from being in the 100's (maybe next week???).

I have noticed this week that the size 18 jeans are getting too big to wear, I had to keep pulling up my pants at work last night. It may be time to donate those pants too. :) I also need to get to the thrift store and find some size 14 jeans.

Hot 100 goals
Just 2.4 pounds away from being 200 pounds.
Ran/Walked a 10k this week and will try it again on Wednesday.

Great Work-Out Week

I was a work out freak this week, getting in a workout everyday. Saturday I had Zumba, Sunday a run, Monday a run, Tuesday zumba class and a run, Wednesday water yoga, a 4 mile walk and zumba class, and Today was a run and zumba class. I was feeling particularly energetic today before going for my run so I mapped out a 10K route and decided to see how well I could do on this hot 100 goal. I didn't run the entire distance (but I didn't expect to either) but I ran for most of it walking for about 1/2 mile, maybe a little more. I am feeling pretty confident that I will make this goal.

Also I had a fun NSV this week... I was taking a walk around our local mall looking for good deals. I wandering into Payless shoes and one thing I have always wanted was pair of knee high black boots but I have never been able to get a pair completely zipped. I saw a pair that I liked a lot, although the heel was a bit higher than I would like. I pulled them on fully expecting them not to zip but they did! All the way up over my calf and I loved them. That night I was going to a see old silent Laurel and Hardy movies with my movie group so I put on a knee length red and black skirt and my new black boots... I loved it! I have always wanted to wear something like that.

aghhh... what a week

I like to run... I run for fun... I run for fun in the hot hot sun.

Dr. Seuss poems aside I haven't been running in the hot hot sun for over a month I have actually been running in the cold cold wind but that doesn't really rhyme. Anyway, I changed up my run a little this week mostly because it gets dark so early now and I don't get done with work until it's fairly late. When I work days I can often talk myself out of running since it's late, I'm tired and it's dark (and kinda creepy) on some of the streets along my route. So this week I was working days and I decided I had to patch this loop hole before I fall completely in and lose my running motivation for the winter. So instead of in increasing my mileage this week I attempted to increase my pace with speed intervals. It takes me about an hour to run 4.7 miles so instead I found a 40 minute program that takes me through a warm-up, a set of speed intervals, an endurance run and another set of speed intervals. The speed intervals are ten minutes long with one minute at a slower pace and one minute at a fast racing pace. I figured with a workout that is 20 minutes shorter I would be less likely to talk myself out of running when I get home late and am dead on my feet. So I did better with running this week but only had time for one Zumba class... working a swing shift kinda sucks sometimes... but now I am on my 7 days off... working swing shift is kinda sweet sometimes.

I did my weigh-in this morning and the scale showed 206.4 that is a 2.2 pound loss for the week and it's about what I expected. Still well on my way to accomplishing the Hot 100 goals of being less than 200 pounds and increasing my running distance to a full 10k. (I am hoping to find a 10k route that I can run/walk at least once this week while I am off).

More photos...

A friend of mine posted some photos on Facebook from the weekend and it got me looking through some of my old Facebook photos that friends "tagged" of me in the past. I thought I would share a few before weight loss and some current comparison photos. I may not be able to tell a difference in my appearance from day to day but I sure see a difference in these photos.

Before... Helping decorate the birthday cake.

Last weekend... Helping carve a pumpkin.

Before... at a birthday party with my friend Greg.

Last weekend... Trick or Treating with my friend Greg.

Weigh-in Monday

On "The Biggest Loser" everyone has those weeks when you step on the scale and the number is much higher than you would like... and often higher than you deserve. They stand on the scale and shake their heads saying, "I don't know what I did wrong." This morning I weighed in a day late because I was away for the weekend. When I stood on the scale it showed a one pound loss. I would like to say I could stand on the scale and shake my head like a Biggest Loser contestant but in reality I knew I wouldn't lose much this week for a couple reasons. First, planned exercise was detoured twice once to watch my niece (totally worth it) and the second time for a job interview (not sure if it was worth it yet). Secondly, I went out to eat with a work friend once this week and went out to eat twice this weekend. Lastly, it was Halloween and I did have a Reese's Peanut Butter cup from the Trick-or-Treater stash. On the positive side while I was away this weekend I got up earlier than my friend on both days and set my ipod to count down 5 miles. So I was away for the weekend but I made sure I kept up with my workouts even though we had a couple late nights. Also, I think I am getting better about ordering at restaurants and making healthier choices without even thinking much about it. All in all, when I got on the scale this morning I knew I wouldn't see a four pound lose this week and in reality I don't feel bad about losing one pound... I actually think it was a pretty successful week.

The Hot 100 goals are still going along well... However this week I am working days and I think I might do shorter runs because I have some new speed interval music I downloaded because I want to improve my pace a little before the Turkey Trot run on Thanksgiving morning. More updates on running will be coming soon.

Have a good Monday!