Couch to 5K update

I have been working on the Couck25K running program for about a month, working toward my goal of RUNNING an entire 5K race by the end of the year.

For the average person, the program is designed to turn a couch potato into a 5K runner in nine weeks. For those of us who have 100+ pounds to lose, it is going to take a little longer.

Download the C25K app and get running!

It took me a couple weeks to get to the point where I could complete all of day one (5 minute warmup, followed by eight cycles of running 60 seconds and walking 90 seconds). I just kept working at it until I was able to somewhat comfortably complete it. Today I moved on to Week 2, Day 1 (5 minute warm-up, six cycles of running 90 seconds and walking 2 minutes, followed by a 5 minute cool down.)

I was expecting it to take me at least a week to be able to complete it without having to walk one of the running segments, but I did it on the first try! It wasn’t easy. I really wanted to quit on the last two cycles, but I kept going and I finished it. It felt great!

I didn’t even have shin splints, thanks to the new kicks!

I had been tracking my progress doing week 1 over and over again by watching my speed and distance increase. I knew it would go down a little bit because I would have to slow my pace moving on to the next step of the program, but overall, I was pretty happy with how it went.

5K Progress

Week 1

30 minutes total (5 minute warmup, followed by eight cycles of running 60 seconds and walking 90 seconds)

• Attempt 1 — 1.68 miles
• Attempt 2 — 1.73 miles
• Attempt 3 — 1.78 miles
• Attempt 4 — 1.78 miles
• Attempt 5 — 1.82 miles
• Attempt 6 — 1.71 miles (sore knee)
• Attempt 7 — 1.89 miles

Week 2

(5 minute warm-up, six cycles of running 90 seconds and walking 2 minutes, followed by a 5 minute cool down)

• Attempt 1 — 1.85 miles

Hopefully I will be able to comfortably do week two in under two weeks. Fingers crossed!

Also, I have set a goal for myself to walk/run or bike more miles than I drive in my car. Today I logged 9.27 miles (1.85 walk/run and 7.42 on the bike).

Weight loss goal for the week: 3 pounds

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Sneakers, a hike and a fresh pair of blisters

My new running sneakers. You’ll be able to see me coming!

I took a ‘me day’ Saturday and went to Columbia to get my gait analyzed and buy a new pair of running shoes. After they had me answer a bunch of questions and recorded me running and walking on a treadmill, they narrowed what kind of sneakers down to about a half dozen. I went with these hot pink New Balances. Once I start walking at night when it gets warmer, you’ll be able to see me coming!

Then I went walking around the mall and got a new pair of ‘goal pants.’ It is going to be a while before I can fit into them, but they should help keep me motivated. It was great to go into the stores and find I am down two sizes! Trying on clothes was a lot more fun. I also got myself a pair of black workout pants with hot pink stripes up the sides to match the shoes.

It’s hard to tell from this cell phone picture how long and steep this part of the trail is. It was harder than it looks.

On the way home I saw a historical marker just outside Jefferson City, so I drove out to take a look to see what it was. It turns out it was Clark’s Hill — a section of the Lewis and Clark Trail along the Missouri River. It was only a mile hike, 5. miles out and .5 back, so I decided to go ahead and walk it.

It was a pretty short hike, but very hilly and super slippery in places because of the recent rain and snow.There was one particular steep part that I didn’t really notice until after I was at the bottom of the hill. As soon as I got to the bottom, I turned around and realized that, in a few minutes, I was going to have to turn around and walk back up the damn thing.

I was glad I got out and walked it, even though I got some blisters thanks to the new shoes. It is just one more thing I am doing differently in my life. I don’t think it would have even dawned on the old me to hike the trail, I would have just kept on driving by.

Post-hike photo.

 

Down .4

Weigh-in this morning revealed I lost .4 pounds since my last weigh-in. This week I lost 1.8 pounds for a grand total of 37.7 pounds since Jan. 16. That 40 pound goal is SO close, I can’t wait to hit it.

I was slightly disappointed to see I didn’t lose much at all since Monday, because I was perfect with what I ate and I went to the gym for at least 45 minutes five times this week. But I hit so many other goals this week, I have no reason to complain.

Headed out to reward myself for my progress. 🙂

Have a wonderful weekend.

Another goal met… time to shop

Yesterday I was thrilled when a coworker finally noticed my weight loss. This morning I checked another goal off the list.

Remember those pants my grandma bought me a couple months ago that were super tight in the thighs and wouldn’t come close to zipping without at least a minor miracle?

My first set of ‘goal pants.’

Today I wore them to work. 🙂

I get really discouraged when I step on the scale after a good week in the gym and not cheating on my diet only to see no progress. I have been told that when I am not losing pounds, I am losing inches — So I tried to measure myself. (I’m pretty sure that is impossible to do on your own accurately).

I needed another way to track my progress, so at least once a week I tried those pants from my grandma (I called them my goal pants) to see if there was any progress. It was encouraging to see that, even though I wasn’t losing pounds, I was losing inches.

Tomorrow, I am headed up to Columbia to get a new pair of ‘goal pants’ to keep myself going.

I’m also going to a specialty running store to have my gait analyzed and get some new running shoes.

While I was on the treadmill today, I was thinking that the whole ‘running thing’ might be growing on me. I can’t wait to be able to do it without getting shin splints.

Also, after about a month, I think I am ready to move on to week two of the couch to 5 K program. After taking a week off from running to baby my knee, I did the program again tonight and went my farthest distance in 30 minutes yet — 1.89 miles.

Weigh in is tomorrow. I weighed myself today and had only lost .3 pounds since last time I weighed myself after St. Pat’s. It doesn’t look like I am going to get to 40 pounds lost this week, which is a little disappointing, but I’ll get there eventually.

I can’t believe I am saying this, but I think I love these shoes. Maybe they will prescribe them for me!

A little perspective on weight loss

So far in 2013, I have lost nearly 40 pounds. I’m proud of what I have done so far, but I have such a long way to go it is hard to really appreciate how far I have come in a relatively short period of time.

I am slowly noticing small changes in my body, but I am not to the point yet where people are noticing (or saying anything) about my weight loss.

Honestly, that’s OK with me. I would MUCH rather someone ask me if I have lost weight because they genuinely can see a difference, than just ask me because they know I have been trying.

As of March 20, 2013, I have lost 37 pounds. This bag of dog food weighs 31.1 pounds. That helps put how much I have lost in perspective.

To keep myself going, I just keep asking myself these questions:

Do I feel Better?Yes.

Do my clothes fit better?
Yes.

Am I more fit?
Yes.

Do I look better? A little bit.

Right now, those “yeses” are enough to keep me going.

I got a new perspective on how much weight I have lost today during a trip to Walmart.

My dog was out of food, so off to the pet foot aisle I went.

I awkwardly picked up a big bag of food and put it in the cart. Man it was heavy — 31.1 pounds to be exact.

I’ve lost more than that so far this year!

It helped put things into perspective for me. Yes, I have a long way to go, but I have come pretty far.

Next time I start feeling down on myself, I am going to Walmart and move some dog food around.

2013 — the year of me

In January, I decided that 2013 was going to be my year. I was going to do whatever I needed to do to make myself happy. I am now just over three months into my weight loss plan and things are going swimmingly.

I haven’t been happy with my professional life in a while, and after moving halfway across the country New Year’s Day 2012, I have felt lost living so far from my friends and family.

I didn’t know if I wanted to stay in Missouri and try to make things work here, or move back to Massachusetts. I prayed for a sign to tell me what to do.

A short time later my landlord insisted I sign another year’s lease (even though I still had three months left on mine) and they were going to jack the price up an additional $100 per month. That price increase, along with my taxes going up this year, was enough that I couldn’t afford my current house.

I’m taking that as a sign it is time for me to move on.

I am taking a huge leap of faith, moving halfway across the country in the middle of May (without a job lined up). I know it is going to be hard, but in the long run I think it is going to be the best thing for me to do.

I’m very lucky to have an amazing family to guide me through this and to help me get back on my feet again.

It’s strange, one of the things I am the most nervous about is falling off the wagon as far as my weight loss goes. I have developed a great schedule here, and that is all going to be thrown up in the air for the next few months.

I can’t afford to fail this time. I am going to keep going, regardless of what it takes.

This year is my year.

Post St. Pat’s update

There was a huge crowd at this year’s parade.

After meeting my weight loss goals last week, Saturday I went out and celebrated St. Patrick’s Day with a few friends. I was good on my diet as far as food was concerned (frankly, I ate a lot less than I should have) but I made up for it by having a few more beers than I should have.

We decided skipping burned more calories than just plain old walking, so we skipped from bar to bar all day.

These coins are now all over my house. Hopefully that’s not bad luck!

Sunday was spent recovering from Saturday.

I stepped on the scale this morning expecting to have gained a little weight back, I was just hoping it wasn’t too much. Apparently all the skipping helped because I was down another 1.4 pounds for a grand total of 37.3 pounds on the year. I was super pumped. It was another one of those occasions where I didn’t deserve to lose the weight, but I wasn’t going to look a gift horse in the mouth.

At some point during all that skipping around town I tweaked my knee a bit. Nothing major, but I didn’t want to aggravate it by running on the treadmill, so instead I did 35 minutes on the bike (8.18 miles).

I set the first of my major weight loss goals at 40 pounds. It is so close I can taste it. I’m going to work extra hard and be extra good on my diet. Hopefully this is the week I reach that goal!

I love that I am not doing this journey alone. A friend of mine from college is also losing weight right long with me. We keep each other motivated, tell each other when we cheat, and help get one another back on track.

I talked to her today and she said she got both of us heart rate monitors. I get mine at the 40 pound mark, so that’s another reason to work harder this week. I am excited to see just how hard I am working at the gym.

Thanks buddy, this next picture is for you!

2.6 down this week

I lost another 2.6 pounds this week. I’m happy with it, but I was (like always) secretly hoping for more. I am up to 35.9 pounds this year. I am really looking forward to the 40 pound lost mark. For some reason in my head 30-something pounds isn’t much lost, but once you get into the 40s and beyond, then I’ve lost a lot of weight.

I would REALLY like to lose 5 pounds next week just to get over that hump, but I am going to try not to get my hopes up too high. I’ll get there eventually.

Short post this morning, off to get ready for the St. Pat’s festivities!

A visit to the doctor

My last visit to the doctor was one of the main motivating factors in why I decided it was time for me to lose weight. I was so embarrassed and scared by the number I saw on the scale.

I was visiting the doctor because I was sick as a dog, I was one of the lucky people that managed to come down with the regular flu, the stomach flu and bronchitis all at the same time. Basically I hit the germ jackpot. After my doctor finished writing me a fistful of prescriptions she looked me and asked “are there any other health concerns you have?”

I wanted to sink into my skin. Obviously we both knew what she was talking about, but who was going to be the first one to say it?

“I’d like to lose some weight” I told her.

She nodded and recommended I cut back portions and get a little exercise. What she didn’t understand is that I don’t do things halfway. When I take on a new project, it’s all or nothing. As soon as I recovered from my plague, I started working toward the new me.

Quick side note, as far as I can remember, she was the first doctor to ever mention anything about my weight to me… crazy.

I scheduled an appointment with the doctor to double check to make sure I am doing everything right with my diet and to make sure there are no limitations to what I can do physically.

I was excited to see there was only about a 2.5 pound difference form the doctor’s scale to mine. (Of course I was fully clothed at the doctor and had already drank a smoothie and a couple glasses of water).

Even more exciting news, I got a clean bill of health! (Minus the high blood pressure I get every time I walk past a doctor’s office.) Plus, the massive amount of stress I’m working through isn’t helping things a whole lot. She said once I get some of the stress out of my life and lose some more weight, my blood pressure will fine.

She said I was doing great with my workouts and not to change anything. As far as my eating habits go, she wants me to snack more during the day (healthy snacks of course) and also, I need to be adding protein to my morning smoothies. She recommended tofu, I’ll have to give that a try in the morning. I was so glad to hear I don’t have to make any major changes or stop my workouts, it was a relief.

I think this was the first time I left the doctor’s office with a smile on my face.

Keep on keepin’on.

Doing the ‘Denim Dance’

Regardless of your size, everyone has done the Denim Dance at some point in their life.

OK ladies, (and some gentlemen) I don’t care if you are a size 4 or a size 44. At some point in your life you have done the denim dance.

Here are the steps:

1. Pull jeans out of the dryer
2. Put both feet in, hop three times to get them all the way up.
3. Wince and stick your tongue out the side of your mouth while trying to zip/button. Nope, that’s not going to work.
4. Lay down on bed, hold your breath, suck in your stomach, and fasten your jeans.
5. Squat/lunge your way around your bedroom until they stretch out to the point where you can walk like a normal human.

We’ve all done it.

A couple months ago I wore that pair of jeans, they were uncomfortable for most of the day.

“When did they get to be this tight?” I though to myself.

Today I wore those jeans again. Not only was the Denim Dance not required to get them on, I had to keep hiking them up all day… that’s my new denim dance.

Moving forward.