My First Race Recap

Saturday morning I did something a little crazy!  Some would say *a lot* crazy.  I did the Rose City Run 10k!!

What in the world?!  I'm still classified as "morbidly obese."  I can't run a mile straight.  I certainly don't look like a runner.  

But I did it.  All 6.2 miles.  I had trained in the weeks prior (not near as long as I probably should have, honestly.)  And I'd done 5 miles by myself a couple weeks ago, in preparation for the big day.  

So my plan was to keep up a steady pace throughout the entire race - I've heard the horror stories, where runners hit it hard to start with, and wind up struggling at the end.  

I downloaded an interval app that would make different noises when I needed to run, and again when I needed to walk.  Because can't run a lot on my own, I have to do it in intervals.  So I set the app for running for 1 minute, walking for two.  So that's my version of running.  Hey, don't knock it.  It's better than the couch.  

So the morning of the race, I was freaking out.  I mean, seriously. Freaking. Out.  FIGHTING to keep from having a panic attack.  Seriously.

Physically, I knew I could make it.  But there were several mental hurdles I was trying to get over.  

I didn't want to be last. (I'd looked up the past 2 years's finish times and the last person came in both years at 1:40, so I knew that was the time to beat.) I didn't want people looking at me and feeling pity for me because, "bless her heart, she's trying".  I didn't want to have the police car following me. I didn't want to have the medic cart pacing with me, probably thinking I was going to fall out. 

So when we arrived at the start line, we gathered with my coworkers and took the "before" pic.  My company is super supportive of any fitness endeavors, so we always try to represent them well.  I was seriously so nervous, I was having to concentrate on not breaking down.  Like, I could have boo-hoo cried or just thrown up all over everyone there. But I knew I couldn't give up now - we hadn't even started yet!

So we're lined up at the starting line.  I could barely hear the announcements and such, but I did notice that it didn't seem like people were lining up according to their projected pace.  The last 5k I did (a year ago), they had the runners group themselves at the starting line so that the faster ones were at the front, and the slower ones at the back.  I'm guessing that keeps down the traffic jams and possible injuries. 

But that didn't seem to be a problem here.  In a way, time seemed to crawl by while the coordinator was talking before starting the race, but before I knew it we were off!  I didn't want to start out running -- I had been just standing there with no warm-up and I do not want to deal with any plantar fasciitis mess again.  So I walked for the first minute or two, then started jogging until the next whistle in my earphones told me it was time to walk.  

Our course started on the beautiful bricked-roads of downtown Thomasville.  I hardly ever get to enjoy the downtown area, so it was kind of nice being in that environment.  I was just worried I'd step wrong or trip over a brick, so I kept my eyes down most of the time.  (Do other runners think about that?  Or just me?) I did not want to be spilling it at all, much less at the start of the race!  

All my coworkers are way more fit than me, so they were long gone at the start.  I honestly thought I was doing pretty good - and I was able to keep one of my coworkers in sight the entire race, and she's a lot smaller than me, so I was feeling pretty good.  I noticed about the second mile marker that there was a lot less people passing me -- but that was mainly because there was less people behind me left TO pass me.  

And of course, at this point, it starts raining.  RAINING. Do you know, I REALLY dislike rain.  I know, I know it's necessary.  But I don't like it.  So I prayed - "God, I can't handle this right now."  And --- no lie -- it stopped!  

Despite that God-wink, I started getting pretty down, but I kept reminding myself to keep going.  And several times I had to physically FORCE my feet to move quicker.  My thing is I'll run and feel good running, but I get tired so quickly.  I've worked up to a much better place than when I started, but about halfway through I couldn't keep running for the full minute, so I ran as long as I could each time it came up. 

Of course, during my recovery periods (2 minutes walking), I tried to keep my pace quick so that I wouldn't lose all the speed by walking too slow.   It was about this time that the last of the young-ish people walking/running passed me.  But I kept going.  

So about half-way through, I came to the realization that the last walk/runners had just passed me (an adorable older couple!).  I tried to use my run periods to overcome them, but I couldn't - I kept sliding back on my recovery periods.  So I just accepted it.  I was now the person the cop car with the blue lights (and, by-the-way --- EXTREMELY squeaky brakes!) was following.  

Between the 3rd and 4th mile, we passed by the local high school band playing fight songs (you know I'm a band geek, right?  I loved it!), and the cheerleaders were there too.  That was extremely thoughtful and appreciated.  But I was in a bad mood from being last --- and trying to breathe normally --- so I probably didn't appreciate it as much as I could have.  

About mile 5 or a little further, not only did I have the cop car following me, but the EMS medic golf cart was pacing with me.  I REALLY wanted to just look at him and say, "Listen, dude.  You're messing with my mojo.  Go somewhere!"  But he was just doing his job.  And he probably thought the chubby girl was going to fall out any minute, so I didn't say anything.  (Not that I could.)

Several times through out the course, we passed by families and spectators sitting in their little chairs cheering us on.  I didn't know any of them, but they were all very much appreciated.  Especially the two cute little boys (probably 3 and 4 years old) around mile 5 that cheered and clapped when they saw me.  They didn't know me from Adam, but they were happy to see me running. LOL

So we're coming upon "Heartbreak Hill".  This hill has quite the reputation, mind you.  It's the last hill before the finish line and apparently the place a lot of people have to stop or slow way down.   I've been able to keep the next person about 20 feet ahead of me - maybe less.  and the next person was about 20-30 feet ahead of him (my coworker).  Well, at Heartbreak Hill, the middle school cheerleaders and some cheerful, peppy adults were there to cheer us up the hill.  Someone was on a bull horn, saying things like "Push it! Push it! Rose City Run 2015! You're almost there!  Keep going!  You're less than a mile to finish! Go! Go! Go!"  That was kind of cool.  

So at the base of the hill I notice one of the adults had gone over to the man in front of me (about 10 feet in front of me now) and was patting him on the back and encouraging him.  Then next thing I know he was coming to me!  I was preparing myself to say thanks, ready for the pats on the back, and all that fuzzy, warm stuff to keep me going.  But then something crazy happened.

That man (I have no idea who he is) grabbed my hand, and said, "Come on, you got this!  Let's go run up that hill!" And he started running with me!  I'm like "o - o - OK". And I just run too.  

So here I am, all sweaty and exhausted and wondering where my next breath is coming from, and I'm running up the hill with this guy who's saying "you got this, you got this!" and I pass the man I'd been trailing for miles, and I get all the way to the top of the hill and finally started walking again.  And by the time I get there, my breathing probably sounded like I was hyperventilating!  But I did it.  And I just kept telling myself I'm not last.  I'm not last.  Don't slow down. Can't be last. Don't slow down.

I felt really good then.  Then just a few feet ahead - still breathing crazy hard, mind you - I nearly get run over by a cop car (I may be slightly exaggerating that part) and hear all this commotion about moving to the side, "here come the runners!"  I'm thinking, are you kidding?  The runners already finished!  But it was the kiddos doing their fun run!

First of all, they were super cute!  And some of them were tough!  But (and this is not a reflection on the kids - they all did great) there were still at least 10 or so 10K runners on the course and we were VERY close to the finish line - I'd say within a half-mile or so.  And we actually started running to get out of their way, but there was a LOT of confusion.  I think about 6 kids ran into my elbows or arms trying to get around me, and when we finally got to the chute, we back-of-the-pack 10Kers were not allowed through the chute.  We had to go around.  So we do not know our official times.  I asked a worker at the chute where we get our time cards and such but she was busy with the fun run kids, so of course she couldn't help me.  

According to my Runtastic app, I finished in 1:37:51.  

Here's my splits:

mile 1: 15:03

mile 2: 15:40

mile 3: 16:18

mile 4: 15:54

mile 5: 15:37

mile 6: 15:17

6.2: 16:56 slower because of having to go around the chute crowd/finish line and not remembering to turn my app off immediately at the line.  

If you're a runner, those probably seem REALLY slow.  But my best, best, best pace was 17:22 as of last week, so I'm pretty stoked with those times! 

My man and my sweet boy cheered me on a couple of times around the course - I found them waiting around mile 2 for me yelling and flashing our "I love you" sign language!   So precious!  

I did wind up getting a blister on my toe - really weird, because I knew not to wear new shoes or socks for a race.  No idea how that happened.  And of course, my legs were super tired and tight and exhausted and S-O-R-E.  But thankfully my Panaway oil helped me to walk mostly normal the rest of the day.  (and Sunday...and today...Love my Panaway oil blend!)

So, that's the (incredibly long) recap of my first 10K.  I can't say I'm looking forward to doing it again anytime soon.  But since this is a once-a-year thing here, I do have an entire year to plan for it and will be quite a bit lighter next time I try it.  

I have a 5k this coming Saturday, so that should be a piece of cake!! :-)  

By the way, I've lost a total of 18 lbs.  Many more to go, but happy for the ones I've lost.

The Deal with Spinning

What would we do if our lives weren't crazy sometimes?  LOL

Last weekend we had an awesome women's conference that our women's group attended.  I have to confess, with everything going on right now with my dad's health and the busy-ness of life, I just did not want to go.  But I'm so very glad I did!  It was just what I needed. Funny how God sets up little things just to encourage you and keep you going.  ;-)

So, as you know, I've been going to lunchtime express classes at our local Y on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.  Tuesdays and Thursdays are usually Spinning at lunch.  It took a lot for me to walk into my first Spinning class.  (And a lot to actually walk afterwards, but that's a different post...)  Now, I really miss it when I'm not able to go.

I really didn't know what to expect when I went to the first Spinning class.  I knew I'd be on a bike.  And sweating.  And I figured there'd be lots of skinny moms in there.  Or skinny college girls.  Or skinny anybodies.

Of course, when I got there, I realized I had assumed some things that were not particularly true.  Like thinking that everyone would be staring at me wondering who I thought I was kidding, trying to spin at the size I am...

Turns out, they were all very welcoming.  A lot of the group from the Lunchtime Express classes come to the lunchtime spin classes, so besides my coworkers, I still saw some familiar (and friendly) faces, so that helped.

So setting up the bike was slightly unnerving.  I kept thinking I was doing something wrong and I'd wind up falling off the bike.  Thankfully that didn't happen.

Here's the bikes (please excuse the pic quality - I'm not a great photog when I'm in motion. LOL)

 

So the most important thing I have learned is to make sure the seat is high enough so that you don't hurt your knees.  For the first few weeks, my seat was lower than it should have been.  I'm 5'6" and I had my seat lower than my instructor's seat -- and she's 5'3" I think.  So once she noticed that and I moved it up, I was in a much better position to really enjoy the class.

I also had to figure out how to get my feet into the straps on those pedals.  I wind up securing my left foot while my right is still on the ground, then I boost myself up to the seat and have to bend over from the seat to hold the straps far enough so that I can get my right foot in that pedal.  I feel like I'm about to fall on my face every time I do that - I mean I'm teetering on this teeny tiny seat!  But I've not fallen yet, and last time I was able just to slip my foot in without bending down to hold the straps.
The way our spin classes are, once the music starts, the lights go down and all you have are blacklights up top and rope lights around the floor.  We can still see to move around and such if we need, but it's a really cool effect they offer to kind of keep you focused.

We'll start with a warm up, which usually includes sprints (pedaling REALLY fast) and standing, and stretching your arms/shoulders, and hovering.  Hovering, for some reason, is still really hard for me to do.  That's when you see the cyclist off the seat, but bent over and resting their upper bodies on their upper arms, which are on the handlebars.

The instructor will make sure we have some pumping playlist and she calls out when she wants us to turn the resistance knob (to increase the resistance), when she wants us up, or down, or hovering, or ...(wait for it) ... doing jumps.  

I think jumps just might be a form of torture.  That's where you keep your pace pedaling, pedaling, pedaling and alternate standing and sitting - about every 2-4 pedals.  It's fast.  I can't do it yet.  My jumps are more like speed bumps. Or just REALLY, REALLY slow jumps.  Like I can get up and get down ONE Time in the time it takes someone else to do 3-4 jumps. But that's better than when I started.  When I started I didn't even attempt the jumps.

So usually by about 1/2-way through, I'm glancing at the clock, trying to count down the minutes until the end of the class.  And I've learned I had to really keep my heart rate in check.  In that class it's so easy to go, go, go and just keep going.  It is fun, even though sometimes I feel like I'm going to die. (Kidding!!) But if I let my heart rate get too high and stay too high, I wind up having a killer migraine by the time I get home.  So I have to back off a bit on the last half of the class.

By the time we leave, I get off that bike -- carefully, because my legs are like jelly and I REALLY don't want to face plant in front of the skinnies.  I can barely walk to the disposable wipes to wipe down my bike. There's sweat literally rolling down my back, dripping off my hair onto my neck.  My breathing is quick but deep.  And the pride that I feel for finishing another kicking fitness class is bubbling up through all that - making the muscle fatigue and the sticky work out clothes worth it.  I'm telling you, there is nothing like pushing yourself to the point that you think you won't make it, and then keeping on going a little further.  There's nothing like knowing I absolutely did my best.  It may not have been faster or longer than my neighbor's pace, but it was my best so far.  I just feel so accomplished.  So gloriously exhausted and accomplished.

So if you're thinking about trying something new - do it!  Don't let your preconceived notions about other people keep you from doing what YOU want to do.  Think about it - I spent most of my time before this class (and most any other time going to work out) judging the people who were going to be there because I thought they were going to judge me.  I started judging them first! LOL

Well, thank God some co-workers talked me into going that first time.  It was well worth it.

Now, for an update.  I've lost 10 pounds!  That seems such a small amount to me still (my weight loss journey began 1/12/15, so 10 lbs in 2 months doesn't seem like much for a woman like me), BUT I know I've lost inches.  Check out the difference in my face (stepping WAAAAAY outside my comfort zone now!).  The first pic is in mid-December with my beautiful prayer daughter K.  The second pic is last weekend with my other precious prayer daughter H.  You can just barely see a difference in my face - not as swollen, I guess.  And clothes are fitting better.  As much fun as it is to embrace this new fit life and enjoy working out as much as I do, I still struggle to keep my focus and not get discouraged when I see those numbers.  So I keep looking for things like this to kind of prove to myself that I am doing something right, I guess.

Here's to small steps -- it may take me a while, but I'll get there!

No Longer Hiding

I know the last few months I've been REALLY quiet on my blog.  There was a reason, I promise!

Several months ago, Jerry and I applied for a casting call with a major network for a weight loss show.  (Not the Biggest Loser)  We made it through several cuts and were flown to LA for the final cut - only 16 couples had made it that far and we were so excited!  We just knew that our chance had finally come!  We'd be able to have access to trainers and therapists and nutritionists and FINALLY lose weight and be healthy!

Over those several months, we had to provide a ton of pictures and videos of us.  It was exciting at first, but after about the third time of them requesting even MORE pics, it was growing pretty thin.  "We need some full-body shots of you," they said.   I mean, don't they realize fat people don't like the camera?  That's why I take the pictures - I don't like to be in them!! ;-)

But somehow they still wanted us to come to the finals and meet with some big-wigs so they could find the best couples for their show.  So, of course we had to stay quiet in case we were chosen.

The flights were pretty cool.  It's been a while since I've flown (like 15 years!) and I kept taking pics of EVERYTHING to show our boy when we got back.  (Some great friends were taking care of him while we were gone.  Man, I missed that handsome little trouble-maker!)

Long story short, they did not choose us to be a part of this show.  I believe the words they used were they "decided to go in a different direction".  I was heart-broken.  And when I say heart-broken, I mean faith-shaking, mind-numbing desperation.

You see, in the interviews we had, I'm pretty sure we had two major strikes against us.  One: the producers thought Jerry couldn't live without me for any length of time (putting a kink in the show plans). LOL    And/Or Two:  They didn't think that once I lost the weight I'd be able to keep it off.

How many times have I been down this road, where I start to lose weight, start getting healthier and then just fizzle out?  Slowly returning to bad habits and gaining all my weight back and then some?

How could I go back home knowing that someone who had the power to give me every tool, every support person, every therapy session I'd need to be successful --- that person(s) didn't even believe I was worth the effort, because I'd probably just gain the weight back anyway.

Very few people knew where we were and what we were doing.  But how could I come home and face them, and face my son, and tell them that I/we failed in this most recent attempt to be a normal, healthy family?  I'd proven to myself time and time again that I can't do this on my own.  Why were we brought across the country just to be told we didn't have what it takes....again?

I was beginning to think it would have been better for me to come home in a coffin.

Then I started thinking about the poor guys who'd have to carry the coffin and started crying again because I'd still be a burden dead.

I can honestly say I have never been in as dark a place as I was that weekend.

But the show must go on, right?  I came back to a new job/promotion, so that was a good thing.  And we have a church to lead, and a sweet son to raise, so I kept putting one foot in front of the other.  Left, right, left, right....

We had talked quite a bit before flying out to LA about what we would do if we were chosen, if we were not chosen, etc.  We both agreed that no matter what, this HAS to be the year of change for us.  We joined the Y a couple months before flying out, although we hadn't really made full use of our membership (something one of the producers took great joy in pointing out -- "well, you have to use it, for it to do any good."  That was right before the casting director interrupted me to say, "You're done.  Time to leave."  Joyful banter, no?)

Jerry, I have to say, seemed unshaken.  He was my rock through this.  Always telling me, "we have this.  We know what to do. We have a plan, we just need to work the plan."

And so we have.  Jerry was fully on-board with making a lifestyle change as soon as we got back.  I honestly just went through the motions that first week.  I really didn't want to disappoint Jerry again, so I just kept going to the Y with my coworkers and ditched Mountain Dews (no Mountain Dews for me since 1/11/15!) and choosing better meals.

Since that first week, my mindset has done a complete 180!  Praise God, because that depression mess is exhausting!

Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday I go to Lunchtime Express Class (full-body work out during your lunch break) and recently have added Spinning on Tuesdays and Thursdays.   Once I figured out my calorie intake needs (I wasn't eating enough for all the exercising, can you believe it?), I've been losing an average of 2-3 lbs per week.  Which is what we want to do.

Jerry goes to the Y every morning to work out alone.  He says the "social work-out" is my thing, not his.  LOL

The best thing is this plan that we're on seems totally doable for the rest of...forever.  We're cooking more at home (saving the $$$, PTL!) and enjoying a healthy lifestyle.  Another thing that makes this feel so different and still so successful is that we (I) don't completely melt down if I eat too much or don't have my "healthy" lunch or dinner.  Because I know that the next meal will be back to our new normal.

So that's where I've been.  It's not something every pastor's wife might admit, but I'm not every pastor's wife.  I'm learning not to hide my faults as much.  It's exhausting to do that.

What have you been hiding that holds you back?  Talk to me!

PS>> For those who use myfitnesspal.com for tracking food and calories, look me up! My username is tabrewis.  Find my workout posts on Instragram under the same username (tabrewis).

Was I crazy? - First A.M. workout with my man!

Well, we finally did it!  We got up at about 5:15 this morning and worked out togethe!.  Working out with my husband is a great experience.  We're close enough that we can be honest with each other, but we also look out for each other too.

Our morning workouts (thanks to a good friend who blessed us with this program) will actually consist of the T25 program.



For those of you familiar with Shaun T or the beachbody family of products, T25 is a shortened, more "focused" version of Insanity.  The great thing is it has a modifier for every move, so for people like me and the hubster, we can still keep up even though we're not bouncing and moving around like Shaun T.  We'll eventually be able to do the regular moves and the results will speak for themselves in the coming weeks.

Jerry's actually pretty excited about it - I haven't really seen him excited about exercising before.  To be fair, though, while cardio is my thing, he HATES cardio --he'd much rather weight train.  So of course he wasn't excited about exercising in the last few months - all I suggested was cardio, LOL!  But he's excited, which makes me even more excited!

We got up this morning and dragged ourselves into the living room to do the first work out: Alpha: Cardio.  Within the first 30 seconds , we were both "feeling it" in our hips and legs!  We pressed on through it, and at about 13-minutes in, didn't think we'd make it.  At about 23 minutes in, I thought I was going to vomit, but I guess since I didn't have breakfast yet, I would up being OK.  Jerry had do some deep breathing, too - but we made it!!  We finished it!!  I wouldn't say we nailed it, but bless God we finished it!!

I've been feeling good pretty much all day from it.  The hips and legs (and for some reason my right knee) are definitely feeling it as the day/night wears on, but we will be getting up again tomorrow to do Alpha: Speed.

It's a very interesting thing to work out with a buddy, though.  I've definitely got a little bit of a competitive streak in me, so I wind up pushing myself, but Jerry and I know each other well enough that we're looking out for each other too.  We were constantly telling each other, "watch your hip on that move" or "make sure your feet are facing forward when you go down"....just so we don't get hurt.  Or maybe so that we don't have to take care of each other if we do get hurt! - LOL

We did take some "before" pics last night, but of course those are going to stay hidden away until they can be compared to our AWESOME "after" pics ...coming in a few months.

Make it an awesome week, friends!

Made for Walkin' and some fave Apps!

Happy Thursday, everybody!

Today was a very emotional day for me - I was stressed to the max, and had planned on going walking before eating lunch.  My office is very supportive of us making fitness a priority, so I can go on a walk (or run, eventually) and come back and work a bit in the office in my work out clothes & "dry off" before putting my office clothes back on.  SUPER good thing, if you ask me.

Anyway, my "lunch time" got pushed back more than an hour, so by the time I got to go walking it was hot as Hades out there and I was mad as a hornet because *my* plans didn't go how I thought they should.  (You know how that is, right?)

But I still got out there and worked it.  This was my first walk-at-work time since probably April or May, and my first time walking on pavement without the family in a while.  If it's just me, my pace tends to be quicker than when I have my dear hubster and my 10-year-old with me.

So here's what myfitnesspal.com says about my workout:

So, 3 more minutes and I would have hit my daily work out goal of 30 minutes, but I'm not too worried about 3 stinkin' minutes!  According to this app, I rocked out my daily calories burned target, but I realize that's just an estimate.

Another app I used, mapmywalk, estimated my calories burned at around 250-something.  This is when I'd REALLY love to have either a fitbit or Jawbone UP to have a better estimate of my calories burned.  We all know that weight loss means you burn more calories and eat less calories, and I'm geeky enough to want an accurate read-out of all that data all the time! :-)

I've found out I'm a bit of an app junkie, though, when it comes to fitness apps. LOL - Here's a quick run-down of what's on my phone right now

sparkpeople (I'm thinking about making the switch, thought, to myfitnesspal.  Basically trying to find out which one I like better as far as inputting info and finding friends/support..  BTW, my username for sparkpeople is fit4tab if you want to find me!)

myfitnesspal (username: tabrewis if you want to find me)

endomondo (supposedly this fitness tracker will track treadmill workouts better than the others - I've only used it twice for treadmill workouts.  Once it did great & the other time didn't track well at all - which may have been user error, so the jury is still out on this one.)

C25K (Couch to 5K - love this!! It will supposedly integrate seamlessly with myfitnesspal for tracking, so I'll let you know if it's as good as they say.)

Runtastic (I used this quite a bit earlier this year when I was much farther along my Couch 2 5k journey.  I'm still making up the ground I lost now.)

MapMyWalk (I downloaded this just recently since I feel sort of like an imposter using Runtastic if I'm only walking at this point - LOL)

Half Size Me Weight Loss Coach (this is the app inspired by my favorite podcast.  I've just downloaded it, but you can set your own goals and it will keep your reminded of them when the going gets tough.  There's lots of audio encouragements and quotes that will keep you motivated to make the right decisions, whether you're dealing with a potential binge coming on, or dealing with grief and trying not to use things that happen to you as an excuse to eat poorly. It is NOT free, but at only about $2.99, I think it's worth it.  Oh - you can also set up "rewards" for yourself (like a mani/pedi or whatever makes you happy) for meeting goals.  Pretty cool)

Well, here's hoping our Friday is a LOT better than the rest of this week has been.  Both my dad and my grandmother are in the hospital tonight (just a few doors down from each other), so please say prayers for both of them and for our family.

A Quick Motivation Quote List

Whew, what a weekend! After a backache, and 3-day migraine, more trips to the chiropractor and getting to see most of our family over the weekend, I am pooped!  We've not started doing the morning work outs yet, since exercising with a backache and migraine is NOT my idea of fun...but I'm going to do that tomorrow morning, since my headache is gone, praise God!

Since I've been sitting a lot the last few days, I've had plenty of time to think about why I want my life to be different.  I've outlined a few of my motivation points, but today I thought I'd make a list of my favorite quotes to help me keep the focus when the going gets tough (as it's been the last few days).  Hope you enjoy too!  And feel free to share some of your favorite quotes in the comments!

"No matter how slow you go, you're still lapping everybody on the couch."





"You may be disappointed if you fail, but you're doomed if you don't try."






"I can do ALL things through Christ who gives me (HIS) strength." Phil 4:13






Make it a great week, y'all!

4 more, more, more!

How has your week been? Have you made any changes for the good?

I've had a crazy week...but then I should be used to that by now. LOL

I've done pretty good at staying within my calorie range, except for a couple days over the weekend.  Visits with friends and a sick day will mess with your thinking when it comes to making good decisions on calorie intake, but all in all it's been good.  I've been able to drink a ton of water pretty much every day and haven't had a Mountain Dew since Sunday, I think.  Y'all know....that's like a year in Mountain-Dew-Addiction time.  Yay, me!

So I've committed to drinking four 20-ounce bottles of water per day.  For someone who likes soda so much, I find it interesting that I can't stand flavored water.  I've tried several types - from those I.C.E. flavored water, to the drops you put in your own water - and I would just rather drink plain old, cold water.  Weird, right?  At least I don't have to worry about hidden calories in flavored water, I guess!

I've learned that if I can drink a 20-ounce bottle of water by the time I get to work, then I can have a cup of coffee at work and finish the day strong with my other 3 bottles of water by the time I go home.

Side note: I tried just drinking tap water in a reusable cup instead of using all those bottles of water, but our tap water at work has been tasting wonky, and no one likes to drink nasty tasting water.  So Sam's Choice 20-ounce waters it is.

I had very seriously considered staying off the scale for several weeks before I weight myself again.  I know of several people with my amount of weight to lose who wound up being very bound by their dependency on the scale - one of my favorite podcast leaders would weigh herself in up to 5 times a day!!  I definitely don't want to switch one form of bondage for another, so I'm trying to keep things in perspective.

Having said all that, I did jump on the scale yesterday before I left work just to see where I was standing.  Mind you, this was an AFTERNOON weigh-in.  Normally I weigh in right as soon as possible after getting ready for the day, before I even eat or drink anything.  But yesterday was a spur-of-the-moment kind of thing.

Well, I've lost 4 lbs in a week!  (technically 8 days)

And, yes, I've done this enough times to know it's the "water weight" we've all heard of and the weeks from here on out may not have numbers that high.  I'm OK with that.  For one thing, I can't lose the fat weight till I get the bloat off...but for another, I'm more interested in my weight loss number after several weeks.

I want to look at the weekly weigh in as a scale to measure my success in creating a more active lifestyle for that week...sort of just making sure I'm steering myself in the right direction.  If I get too bogged down worrying about whether the scale is going to show another 4 lb loss or not, I won't ENJOY the daily efforts I'm putting in to change my long-term health.  Does that make sense?

Looking back, here are somethings I know I did right:
*drinking LOTS of water
*cutting WAY back on my Mountain Dews
*scaling back my late night snacking
*went to eat at Applebee's Sunday with our friends and chose a VERY HEALTHY and SOOOOO YUMMY meal that came in at under 500 calories!

And things I'd like to work on this week:
*Being more active after work
*keeping my night snacking in check

Speaking of being more active, we went biking as a family tonight - 1.23 miles.  It was only about 10 minutes, but I think nearly every one of those minutes was uphill!!  We all enjoyed it though.  I was so please that my hubby enjoyed it, too.  I had chosen a shorter route, because I didn't know if he'd be good with pushing as much as I wanted to, but he surprised me and suggested the route we took!  Yay, Hubster! Of course our son was loving every minute of it and wanted to do more.  Love it!

Before I sign off, I wanted to show you something I found that I WILL be trying soon!!

These are 911 Emergency Chocolate Cookies!  (follow the link for the recipe)  The description says the taste like corner brownies, are 102 calories per serving and since they are cookies, portion control is almost built in!  I do have my Ziploc Snack bags on hand though. ;-)  Can't wait to try it.  We all need some chocolate in our diets, right?

Let me know what worked for you this week!  (and if you try those cookies, share those too!)

Welcome back, world!

Well, hello there!  It's been a while, hasn't it!?!?  I kind of feel like I should write pages of updates on all the changes and updates that have happened in my little family's lives, but that would take up way too much time on my end and yours!

I admit it, I fell off the wagon.  A few times.  Got REALLY distracted by life and stress and really just took my focus off my mission of living like I'm fit.

But.... After our move last year to Ochlocknee (yes, that's the name of our town), God absolutely placed me in a job where nearly every person there is a fitness freak enthusiast, so I've had some majorly positive peer pressure going on at work.  In fact, the truth is I was and am more than a little intimidated at their level of fitness - and their dedication to it.  So I'd make some good choices while I'm at work -- like bringing my Healthy Choice lunches, etc.  -- but for the most part, it wasn't a full-time commitment.

At the beginning of this year, we all took part in "Team Lean" which is a weight-loss contest our area does each year.  I was so excited about it that I actually coordinated one at our church (Our church is The Bridge Church of God, so our contest at the church was fittingly called "BRIDGEST Loser"...cute, right?).  Well in about 12-ish weeks, I lost a bit over 15 pounds!  Had a great time doing it too!  Even at my morbidly obese weight, I actually started RUNNING and even walk/jogged a 5K in my hometown in honor of my dad, who became a lung cancer survivor this year!

Then I became less focused since the contests were over (by the way, I got 3rd place at work!).  Drinking the Mountain Dews again (that part-- the Mountain Dew Struggle--  hasn't changed in the 3 years of having this blog)...not exercising as much...being a LOT more indulgent with my food choices.

To say I fell off the wagon doesn't quite cover it.

I JUMPED OFF THAT WAGON!

Then, last week I stepped back on the scale again for the first time since the weight loss competition ended...and realized that not only did I gain those 15 lbs back...I added another 5 lbs just to even out the equation!  I was SOOOOOOOO disgusted.  Disappointed.  Depressed.

After wallowing for a while, I just had to come to conclusion that I HAVE to be in control of this day in and day out.

I've dieted off again and on-again for years now.  I know nearly everything there is to know about the science of weight loss, some of the psychology of weight loss and have tried (and sometimes succeeded with)  several different  methods of weight loss in my adult life.

Now it's time to stop the dieting and start living like I'm fit.  Like I said I would when I first started this blog.

I've learned I am definitely one of those people that has to have my inspiration and motivation in my face, day in and day out.  So I will be updating my blog a LOT more often, and I've got a few tricks up my sleeve I'll be telling you about as I journey along.

So, to keep me accountable, let me close by encouraging you to find me on sparkpeople.com - my username is fit4tab.  Also, can I ask you to post comments - even questions - on my blog posts?  And when you read, share my posts to get others to read?

Basically, I need you --- my unknown audience --- to put my story out there as it is being built.  Because I've also learned that I am someone who will do something quicker if I know someone else is counting on it.

Thanks for visiting!  Y'all come back, now!

Saturday List - Blogs & Sites

Yes, I know there's a place on my sidebar for this, but I wanted to give you a list of all kind of blogs and sites  I've found helpful and just plain enjoyable... :-)  They are in no particular order and you'll find all kinds of topics, from fitness to Chrisitanity, to motherhood, to crafting.... I'm sure there's something for (nearly) everyone in this Saturday List!!

fittipdaily.com == This site is a GREAT resource for all kinds of tips - from exercise to nutrition to even style & Hollywood.  I've set it as a favorite and check in every few days for whatever little nuggets the crew at fittipdaily.com have for me.
sparkpeople.com == You've seen me write about this before, but the fact is you can't beat a FREE resource for tracking food and fitness.  Honestly, even though I use my bodybugg and its software/program, I still use sparkpeople for my nutrition tracking.  Sparkpeople's food tracker has probably the LARGEST collection of foods to choose from & will allow you to add a recipe or food that's not listed.  When you do that, it's put into the collection so all the other sparkpeople.com members have access to it, too -- I'm serious.  Mega-Info on this site!
bringingprettyback.blogspot.com == follow Kristen as she continues on her journey to bringing the "pretty" back into her life.  She's already accomplished quite a bit in the fitness/weight loss arena, and she also writes about real-world things and it's really fun just to keep up with her.  Plus, I love her radio shows that she posts!!
moneysavingmom.com == one of the first blogs I started following a couple years ago...I totally have a blogger/mommy crush on Crystal!  The subtitle of her site says "Helping You Be a Better Home Economist" - and she totally does!  She'll alert you to deals - whether they are online, in store (and most times with coupons), but she also gives tips and info for living simpler and (drum roll, please...)  DEBT FREE!  Dave Ramsey is one of her financial 'heros' and he's actually mentioned her on his show and website because she's doing such a great job equipping families today with what they need to survive (and thrive!) in today's economy.  Plus, she's a Christian, which is always refreshing in the blogging world! :-)
fussymonkeybiz.blogspot.com == One of the most recent blogs I've been following.  I LOVE how Crystal (interesting how many Crystal's this list has...) uses Proverbs 31 as part of her header on her blog.  She blogs about her family and events and such like everyone does, but she has such a talent for decorating and shabby-chic craftiness that I feel totally inspired every time I visit!
lysaterkeurst.com/  == Lysa Terkeurst is my hero for helping me to realize that my weight loss battle isn't just a flesh-and-food kind of battle.  You may remember, she is the author of Made to Crave - a book that has totally transformed my life.  On her site, she does a great job at giving day-to-day encouragement on many different topics even though she goes through many hard times herself.  She is an awesome woman of God!
eachdaygodsway.wordpress.com/ == Leah is a good friend of mine, who I'm ashamed to say I don't see NEAR as often as I want.  But she is SUCH an encouragement on her blog!  Leah's a stay-at-home mom and wife who blogs about whatever truths the Lord reveals to her, and I can tell you from experience she is full of God's grace and love for her fellow Christian sisters.
And, last but definitely not least: sharalonghorne.blogspot.com/ == Let me just say it this way:  I want to be a Shara when I grow up! LOL  Shara is full-blooded, unashamed, almost in-your-face Pentecostal & proud of it.  It's so rare to find a Pentecostal woman who is NOT a kook (or "code 24" as some my my old WHC security friends would have said), but who is confident enough in what she believes that she honestly feels like she'd be doing wrong if she DIDN'T share! But she also blogs about things that real parents in the real world are concerned about.  I love her encouragements and her teachings, and I'm sure you will too!

Hope you enjoy!!  Happy reading!!

NSV's...my own list

So, here's a list of things I'm thankful for  - things that I owe purely to my newfound commitment to fitness!

• went down a pants size
• lost 25+ lbs
• playing with my son is a lot more fun for both of us!
• when I started out a few weeks ago it took more than twenty minutes for me to walk ONE mile.  Now I'm at just under 17 minutes for walking one mile.
• I'm running at an avg speed of 4.5 on the treadmill
• people are noticing that I'm losing weight
• clothes fit much better (didn't realize how freaking tight they were till they started fitting RIGHT!)
• I actually feel worse when I DON'T exercise

And, things I need to work on:

• staying committed to healthy eating ALL day
• exercising in the morning vs. evening - it helps me drink much more water throughout the day!
• my posture (see previous post)
• walking more at work instead of being so chained to my desk ---makes me wish I could afford one of these:

A LifeSpan treadmill desk.  I want one!  But seriously, why did they have to put an old guy on there?  Don't they know that hot, fit working moms want them too?? ;-)

So that's it for the Saturday list.  Now on to my favorite grocery store for healthy food choices for the rest of the week!!

PS - we are working on something REALLY big that's got my creative juices flowing!!  So be ready for an AWESOME DIY/shabby chic kinda post coming up soon!!

Modified Couch-to-5K (& one more treat!)

This week has been a CRAZY week!  Started the week with Mother's Day, which was emotional in all sorts of ways for me, I wound up getting sick Monday, and the rest of the week I've pretty much been catching up.  My exercise program has begun to fit into a nice routine, and the couple of days I missed the exercise, I REALLY missed it! ;-)

I've been walking on the treadmill since I saw my doctor last Friday.  He believes that my headaches after exercising are caused by some muscular issues - mainly poor posture, but also enlarged trapezoid muscles in my shoulders.  The poor posture is mostly my fault, but if you've seen my maternal grandmother's family, it may very well be a bit genetic too.  So I've been VERY careful to keep better posture this week (including my neck) and it's seemed to help.

The enlarged trapezoid muscles are due mainly to my size - hopefully as I watch my posture and become more fit that will be corrected. ;-)

The trapezoid muscles can be enlarged in obese men & women, resulting in muscle strain during seemingly "normal" activities.

Given my history of having headaches after exercising, I decided that I would just walk on the treadmill for a while instead of doing the more intense boot-camp type workouts.  So, Saturday night, I got on my -determined to just keep moving - after all some movement is better than none, right?

Well it is INCREDIBLY boring to be working out for a stinkin' hour doing nothing but walking!!  So, I decided in the midst of my walk that I'd still do my couch-to-5K program --- I would just modify it!  So here's my Couch-to-5K modified program:

Week One: 3 miles (or one hour), running as fast as possible while retaining good form for 1:00 every 15minutes.
Week Two: run every 10 minutes for 1minute
Week three: run every 10 minutes for 1m30s
Week four: run every 10 minutes for 2 minutes.

I'm not sure how I will do on this "program".  My main concern is that I maintain good form while running so that I don't wind up hurting myself.  I will push myself to do more, but I will not push myself to the point of injury!

So, It's after midnight! I will update some non-scale victories in the next day or two...stay tuned!!

BTW - here is my boy and his very first science fair project!!

Bugg and Body update :-)

So I went to the doctor Friday for the first time since I had my meltdown at the end of February and started on this new journey of fitness, and found out that since February 22, I have lost exactly 25 lbs and my BMI has dropped by 5 points! :-)  I think it could have been more, but the last few weeks I've not been as active as I'd have like (due to migraines and travel), but i will take 25 lbs anytime!

My bodybugg usage has gotten better.  Basically, I just had to accept that there were certain things that I'd have to do to make sure my bodybugg and iPhone were useful - namely, reconnecting anytime I wanted an accurate read-out.  I suppose this is to be expected for most techies out there, but this instant-gratification girl had to learn that the hard way.

I absolutely LOVE that I have a pretty accurate of my calorie burn.  For example, yesterday, after walking/running 3 miles on the treadmill, I burned nearly 500 calories MORE than my goal AND walked over 1,000 steps over my step goal, too!  Love that part.  Here's a screen pic of my bodybugg dashboard for iPhone:

I'm still using sparkpeople.com to track my food/calorie intake, though.  Mainly because Bodybugg's food tracker leaves quite a bit to be desired.  So on bodybuggs' dashboard, I should be able to see my calorie deficit (my calorie burn minus my calorie intake - you always want a deficit to loose weight), but I don't because I use sparkpeople.com to track my food.  Then I just try to make sure my calorie burn is MORE than my calorie intake by just checking between to the two apps.  Who knows, maybe they'll improve the app for food tracking, but for right now it kinda sucks. :-/

In other news - Happy Mother's Day!!  Hope all the mothers/grandmothers/godmothers out there have a beautiful day!

Here's a little bit of inspiration for you before I sign out:

Buggin'......

Sooooo.....guess who just got a new bodybuggsp?  Me, me, me!!  Today's the first day I wore my new bodybugg (the sp is attached to the name because it supposedly links to your smartphone, but I have to say, I am NOT impressed with the linking...more about that in a bit). 

Once I got the bodybugg armband adjusted right so it didn't hurt my arm or cut off circulation, it was acutally so comfortable that I forgot it was there!  Now, today I did NOT do any additional exercise (except walk to work, but I've been doing that for a while) because I thought it would be cool to see how many calories I burn just being me.  Unfortunately just being me today consisted of being chained to my desk working on resident correspondence and such, so I've been thinking all day that my calorie burn is going to be depressingly low.

Well, not so!! :-)  I burned over 2500 calories today just being me.  I can't wait till next week when I start my new (again) exercise schedule and really watch those calories climb up!! 

So, for my review of the bodybuggsp:

While I'm happy with the way it works when you upload the info via USB at your computer, the main reason I wanted the bodybuggsp was because you can link/sync it to your iphone, iPod or droid and get pretty much real-time calorie burn info.  Not so.  It worked for all of 13 minutes synced with my iPhone.  Then, I'd try to link the bluetooth with my iPhone, sync with the bodybugg program and it would go off. 

I'm hoping beyond hope that now that I've done the initial upload via USB that somehow, magically, the uploads via bluetooth to my iPhone will now work.  I have a feeling from all the negative app reviews though, that it won't be doing that.

I'll let you all know how it's doing within the next week.

Now, for some kind of good news....I don't know exactly how much weight I've lost, but it's somewhere around the 20-25 lb mark.  I've gone down a pants size!!

Hope y'all have a GREAT weekend!!

Common - it's a good thing. ;-)

I ran across something just now that I thought might help a lot of people (like me) going through weight loss struggles.  I've posted songs from Mandisa before here on my li'l blog, so hopefully you guys are a *little* familiar with her. ;-) 

For those who aren't - Mandisa auditioned years ago on American Idol and wowed the judges at her audition with her vocals.  Problem was, after she got her "golden ticket", Simon (you know, dear old Simon) said some pretty hurtful things about her size.  She didn't even know he'd said them until AFTER her AI journey was nearly over and she was watching episodes with her family! 

Anyway, she turned that hurt into inspiration, so to speak, and today, she just posted some awesome news on her official FB page: http://www.facebook.com/#!/mandisaofficial

I share with you guys things that help me see that I'm not alone.  And Mandisa's journey has soooo inspired me!  It's because of her that I've stumbled across some major tools for my wieght loss journey: Lisa TerKeurst's Made to Crave, and Beth Moore's Praying God's Word. 

There is a verse that I found through the Mandisa/Lisa/Beth's guidance, that really hit home:

NO temptaion has taken you except what is common to man.  God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted above what you are able, but will with the temptation also make the way of excape, that you may be able to endure it.  I Cor 10:13

Check out that first line: "No temptation has taken you, except what is common to man."  The worst lie the enemy could ever feed us (and sadly, the most effective) is that we are alone in what we're going through.  Can I just tell you, that YOU ARE NOT ALONE?  The creator of the universe - who cares so much about each of us individually that he individually numbered each individual hair on our head - promised YOU that what you're going through someone else is going through.  That temptation you're facing - someone else is facing.  That battle you're fighting -  someone else is fighting.  YOU ARE NOT ALONE. 

We may never meet each other on this side of Heaven, but we can rest assured that we have a fellowship of believers who are right there with us - walking the same path we're walking - united in our goal.

God bless you on your journey - whatever that journey may be.  Here's a last little bit of inspiration for the journey ahead:

water, water, everywhere!!

So I'm not braggin' or anything (yes, I am...), but this girl drank more than a GALLON of water today!!  152 ounces, to be exact!!

I feel great - haven't had a Mountain Dew in about a week and water is my main drink.  It's really a great feeling when you're doing well, you know?  I know there will be down days, but right now I'm emjoying the "up" days. :-) 

Hope you are, too!!

Mod-er-what???

What a CRAZY December this has been!  We've had something going on nearly every night!  As you can imagine with the holidays being here, the last thing on my mind most days is my fitness and nutrition.  But that doesn't mean I'm going to be spending the next couple of weeks binging on all the once-a-year kind of treats that we enjoy.  No, I"m going to be spending the next couple of weeks having some of my favorites in moderation.    (By the way, that delectable delight below is my version of my Granny's fondant balls - we only get those once a year!! Yummmmmm....)

That sees like such a foreign concept for a southern girl, you know?  Why not eat everything in sight since we only get this stuff once a year?? 

Because we have a job to do, people!  It's called life - and if we aren't doing our best to LIVE, we won't be having much of a life, will we? 

So, please join me in having some goodies this year - just a few to enjoy - and we'll continue on our journey together, shall we?

Merry Christmas, everyone!