MY WEIGHT LOSS PROGRESS

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Friday, March 26, 2010

Race Tomorrow

I have a 5K tomorrow with my daughter.  I'm so excited!  It is going to be fun!  I want to try and PR on this one but we will see.  Training exclusively on flat land makes it hard when I encounter hills on a race.  There are no hills here.  There is a levee and that is one BIG hill and I tackle it sometimes but I am afraid of aggrevating my calf muscle that I tore last year.  That was aweful!  Since starting my spinning class it has bothered me some.  I iced it yesterday, took yesterday as a rest day and also today will be a rest day so maybe it will be okay for race tomorrow.  I have trouble thinking my rest days are as important as my run/race days but I am getting there.  I get into a mode where my thinking tells me if I don't do something today I am failing.  I want to be one of those runners that run every day.  But at my age and being a newbie, that may not be possible right now.  But after this torn calf muscle and the pain involved, I don't want to take any chances and mess myself up completely and can't run at all.  So taking a day off for me is hard sometimes.  I can't believe I just said that!! - pretty good for someone who used to love sitting on the couch and stuffing my face!! 

I started this journey in 2005 at 238 pounds and wanting to los 100 pounds.  I lost 60 pounds then gained back 35 of that.  I have now lost a total of 43 pounds, 15 of that in the last two months since I joined OA.  It's good to have someone along for the journey.  I have been losing it slow but I don't mind.  I want to keep it off for good!!



I will post a race report as soon as I can.  Ha ha - I am writing like someone else really reads this thing!  :)  But that's okay.  I like to be able to look back and see my progress.  So if it gets read by someone else that is cool.  If not - maybe my kids will read it after I'm dead and gone.  :)  At any rate, I hope everyone has a great weekend. 

MAKE it a great day - I know I am! 


Monday, March 22, 2010

My first spinning class

I just finished my first spinning class or group cycling as they call it here.  I like to say "spinning" that sounds so much cooler!  My butt was killing me.  It was really a learning process today since I had not done it before.  It was not too strenuous but I know it will be once we get going really good!  I am hoping this will help with my weight loss.  It surely could not hurt.  Now I have to find where to fit it in my schedule.  I think I need to print out a calender to keep up with all of my exercise I am doing.  Wow! - never though I would hear myself say that! lol.

Now to find something to eat for dinner that won't put me over my calorie range.  I did not lose any weight this week.  I ate several things that I should not have but I was out of town having a grandbaby !!  So I splurged a bit.  But I don't hate myself for it.  I just pick up and keep moving forward - one day at a time.  I know I won't be perfect at it so it is what it is.

MAKE it a great day friends!

Sunday, March 21, 2010

I'm a grandma and other ramblings.

My husband's daughter gave birth to her first child this past Thursday! Yea!  I am a grandma.   As she was a high risk pregnancy (she had lost two other children) she was out of town for her delivery.  Donald Wayne McCoy III, we will call him Way, was born March 18th at 3:22 pm. on my husband's birthday.  The best birthday present EVER, he said!!!  He was 6 pounds and 20 inches.

I am so excited!  He has a head full of hair and is so beautiful!!!

I was sitting in the waiting room and I looked down at what I had brought with me and I could have cried.  What a different person I am today!  And I have the picture to prove it -  


I am exercising, eating better and reading everything I can get my hands on to keep this healthy lifestyle going.  BTW - The Runners Rule Book - awesome read. If you are a runner you will LOVE this book.  Get it ASAP.  It was cute, funny and very informative! If you don't run but know someone who does, it would make a great gift.  In keeping with my new healthy lifestyle, I got tired of waiting so I decided to walk outside instead of sitting on my behind!  It felt great.  I did three miles around the hospital and next door was a vacant bank with a small set of steps so I took advantage of those too.



I can't say that my eating was on par since I was out of town though. I did eat a few things that I haven't eaten in a while - M&Ms for one! But that's okay, they were good and I not eat compulsively!

We stayed with my daughter and she ran 3 miles with me on Friday morning. That was really fun!  It made my day - even though it was dark and spooky  at her house at 5 am!  We are also doing a race this next Sat. together.  Fun!!!!  My daughter is such a special young women and I love her so much!  She is smart, intelligent, and beautiful.  She gives me great joy!

Here is a picture of me and husband - the proud grandparents!!!



MAKE it a great day my friends!

Monday, March 15, 2010

Half marathon registration panic attack - aka registration foul-up!

Ok...I signed up for the Renaissance Half Marathon in June of this year.....or so I thought!  I signed up "by mail" which means I signed up online and printed out a confirmation sheet to send it with my check.  After checking the website several times I never saw my name on there.  So I emailed them. I had assumed they were waiting for my check to clear.  Glad I contacted them!!  They had not received my check and after emailing back and forth they realized that the wrong addess was listed on their website to send my check too.  WHAT???? So where was my check???  I panicked!!!  I called my son, whining and almost crying (he and his wife are signed up to run it with me).  I knew he could dispel my fears.  Well, I had several choices - none of which sounded good to me:

  1. I could wait for my check to return to me (and who knows when that would be) and resend it to the right address.
  2. I could go ahead and send another check and cancel that check at the cost of $30.00! 
  3. I could re-signup on line and pretend I never wrote the check and hope whoever receives it throws it away because they could care less if it got to where it was going anyway. 
Decisions, decisions!  After talking to my son and my husband I decided to wait on my check to return in the mail - for a little while anyway.  They are only 2,000 allowed to run so I have been checking the website daily and counting the number of people who have signed up.  If it gets close and I still have not recieved my check back in the mail, I will just have to sign up again. 

The best part about all of this - if there is one - is that the gentleman I had been corresponding with was extremely nice and asured me I would get to run.  He even said he would honor my early registration fee that my original check was written for.  Now that is cool!

I remember getting returned mail one time and it took three months from the date I mailed it to return to me.  Can't wait that long this time.  And I hate waiting anyway!  But wait I will..for a few more days. 

When I finally calmed down, I realized that this is not such an aweful thing.  The worst that could happen is that I don't get to run but  I don't see that happening.  In retrospect, I think next time I will sign up online ASAP.  I don't recall this ever happening when snail mail was all we had...but then again, I didn't run back then either.  Life is still good and I am learning patience....I think! 

MAKE it a great day friends.    


Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Today has been a great day.  I got up at 4 am (can you believe it???) and made it to the track with a few of my running buddies at 5 am.   The more experienced runners were doing speed work but I just did my usual 3 miles.  I don't like running alone so I will go whever there are other runners.  There were about 15 people I believe.  It was nice weather as far as temp goes.  It was extremely foggy though.  It always feels so good to get out there and "just do it"!  Why is it so hard to get out of bed??

I am trying to work on my speed some as well.  But what I do is just run faster than I am accumstomed to during my run segments.  I have lost 13 pounds in the last two months and I can tell.  But what is great is when someone else notices it.  A friend today said, "you have lost some weight haven't you"?  That made my day!   I am also trying to start out slow and pick up the pace.  I seem to start fast like most newbies do.  I guess it is because I am not tired when I get started.  Since I bought my Garmin I have been able to better pace myself.  But still struggle with starting out slow and finishing fast.  Here are my stats for today.

Mile 1 - 15:51 (started out walking with friends)
Mile 2 - 13:43
Mile 3 - 13:54 

Total time was 43.29.  Probably could have done better but I was just happy to be out there!  I know that I will improve as I lose more weight.  Speaking of Garmin - someone told me she had named hers.  Maybe I will name mine. Not sure what. Will have to think of something cute and creative - that may take a while for this brain people!  :)

Anyone who knows me knows I love gadgets.  Well, this is not actually a gadget but I love it just the same.  I got a Road ID.  It is pretty enough to wear all the time and I do.  You never know when I might just take off running.  he he....









Well this is all for today folks.  I am picking up my two great nieces (who are like my grandchildren - I love them that much) and keeping them tonight.  I am trying to encourage them to play more outside, weather permitting, and not stare at the TV so much.  I don't want them to grow up a couch potato like I did! 

Oh BTW - for you Spark people - I just downloaded the spark app for my BB and I am in love!!! I have been waiting a long time for this.  Now I can record my food, water, and exercise ANYWHERE.  No excuses now people!  I will always have my food log with me.  Yea!  (it doesn't take much to excite me). 















Wednesday, March 3, 2010

What have I learned?

Reading another blog gave me something to think about.  What have I learned since I started running?  The list would probably be pretty long.  I know that I wanted to run for a while but never thought I could really do it.  I always felt I was too fat even though some of my childhood pictures do not show an overweight kid. But somewhere I got the idea that I was fat and ugly.  But I was neither.  I eventually did become fat but I am currently taking care of that situation.  I have lost almost 40 pounds and I am working on losing more that that.  I have around 100 to lose in all. 

I first started running to lose weight but that didn't happen.  I trained with the Galloway Program at our local YMCA to run a 10K but at the last minute I chickened out and did the 5K walk and I thought I was going to die!  Literally!  But I survived and crossing that first finish line and getting that first piece of medal really moved me!  I felt like I had really accomplished something...and I did.  At that moment I was no longer the fat, lazy kid that only wanted to sit on the cough and watch TV and stuff my face.  I enjoyed the running so much that I motivated people to come along with me adding several friends to my group of running buddies on Saturday.  One special friend, Linda, got the running bug big time and is doing great! She was the first one to encourage me to try for a half marathon.  I said, "no way"!  "Not me"!  But guess what?  I decided I could at least try.  I had always heard what did not kill me would only make me stronger.  I told Linda I would do if she would do it with me. So that is how that got started.  We trained with the Galloway Program to run a half and in December of 2009 we DID IT!  We ran our first half, The St. Jude Half Marathon in Memphis Tn.  But to top it all off, my son and his wife trained and they ran it too!  We had a blast.

I started my running career in February of 2009.  I have run a race almost every month since then.  I had hoped to lose lots of weight by running but I am a heavy, slow runner so I don't suppose I burn many calories but that's okay.  I can tell my endurance is getting better each day.  And at first I still ate like I always had.  But after doing the half, I realized that I wanted to beat that time so I have gotten serious about my eating. I am trying to eat healthy and not eat the fast foods like I used to.  So far this year I have lost 12 pounds total.  I have a hard time keeping a balance between eating to lose weight and eating to have enough energy to run but I must be doing fairly well since I am able to keep up with the running and am losing weight now too. It doesn't get much better than that!!  

In my short span of running I have learned:
1. I can do anything I put my mind to. 
2. Not to let what other people think about me keep me from doing what I want and need to do. 
3. There are lots of awesome runners out there who are very supportive of us beginners. 
4. Just because I run/walk doesn't mean I am not a runner. 
5. Just because I am overweight doesn't mean I can't be active and healthy. 
6. A good pair of shoes is important.
7. I build great friendships by running with others.
8. Encouraging others to exercise and get healthy is just as much fun as doing it myself! 
9. God does cares about what I consider the "little things". 
10. I CAN do all things through Christ who gives me STRENGTH.
11. I love myself today and because of that, I can love others unconditionally. 

I am sure there are many other things that I can't think of right now.   I know that today I feel 100% better than I have in my whole life. I don't drink, smoke, do drugs, or compulsively overeat anymore.  And I am a runner who is on the verge of losing more weight and getting faster!  Each day gets better and better.  I couldn't ask for much more than that.

MAKE it a great day friends.

Monday, March 1, 2010

Its Monday already???

It's Monday AGAIN!  I ran last Tuesday for 4 miles - actually I ran for three and then walked with some friends for the last mile.  It was fun.  Why do I keep saying that??? It's always fun!  It may not seem so at the start but I always end up feeling great afterwards!  My group run this past Sat was 4.5 miles and we ended our run with a pancake breakfast for the Kiwana's club.  It was fun.  We ran a new route and I loved that.  I enjoy finding new places to run.  There are not many in my town. 

My SIL did not show up for the run...hummmm.... after talking with her she said she has hurt her knee somehow so she will sit out for a few days.  Rest is always good as long as we get back out there before too long.  I struggle with trying to do too much too soon.  I have had to hold myself back lots of times when I wanted to try and keep up with the person next to me.  I got good advice one time - run YOUR OWN race!  I can go at my own speed and run it however I feel comfortable with.  I don't have to keep up with anyone else.  And Jeff Galloway confirmed something for me - whether you run 20 miles fast or 20 miles slow, you have still run 20 miles. The conditioning is the same.  So why try to knock myself out with speed when a slow steady pace is just as good!  What a awesome idea and I believe that is what keeps me so excited about my running.  I am only competing against myself and no one else.  I am doing this for ME!  Sure, one day I want to be a little faster but that will come with time (and more weight loss).  So I am going to enjoy this ride for however long it lasts.  And getting other people to enjoy it with me is even more fun!    I know what it feels like to realize that I CAN get off that cough and move.  Getting others to realize that too makes for an exciting journey.  I get great joy from my running and if I can share that with others, that is so cool!

At the moment I am fighting a sinus infection but it is not bad.  Will probably go away after a day or so.  I am still losing weight.  Yippee!!  It is coming off slowly but it is coming off.  I am down 12.3 pounds this year so far (5.8%).  I have learning to enjoy every loss no matter how small and not to stress because I don't have "biggest loser" numbers each week.  Any loss is better than a gain. I have finally gotten under 200 pounds, which I have done on several occasions though, I just need to stay there and keep going in the right direction.  And I will.  I have confidence in myself today. 

My recovery meetings are going great.  I missed two weeks of meetings and I could tell - not that anything bad happened but I missed sharing with my recovery friends about how my life was going and I missed hearing about theirs as well.  It is go great to know that I am not alone in this journey.  When I was struggling with my alcohol and drug addiction, I though I was the only one with this problem.  Getting into recovery I realized that I was NOT alone and that others could relate to my problem. 

The same goes for my compulsive overeating.  I have friends who understand the pull that food has on my life and they are there to listen to me cry, laugh, and complain. They are willing to share their experience, strength and hope with me.  It is so good to know I am not alone and I have people I can call when I think I am about to eat that whole bag of chips and seriously regret it later.  It may sound silly to some, but to those of us who have this problem we understand how food seems to call our name and tempt us at every turn. And it is refreshing to have someone I can talk to about it.  I look forward to Tuesdays with much excitment for two reasons - 1) My recovery meeting and 2) Biggest Loser comes on!  I am finally making some progress in this weight lose game and it is exciting and fun!  I love when my recovery firiends share my excitment with me after losing weight and I also love how they spur me on even when I don't lose weight!  Just showing up at the meeting is important whether I have lost or not!  My goal is to feel good, be healthy, and stay active.  Weight loss is not even in that equation but it will be the end results I am sure. 

Today I can honestly say, life is grand!

MAKE it a great day my friends!