20 Days to L.A. Marathon - 20-miler DONE!

Completing the 20-miler when training for a marathon is a big deal.  It not only provides physical preparation but the psychological assurance that one can indeed finish the marathon.  Once one hits 20 miles, the final 6.2 miles are all mental.  Thankfully, I got through the 20 yesterday but my legs were shot after I was done.

Now I can start tapering (running fewer miles until the actual marathon).  This morning I feel a sense of renewal and commitment.  I got up at 4:15 to clean my kitchen and cook salmon, chicken breast and baked sweet potatoes for the week.  I also did two loads of laundry and am about to grade some papers.

Last Friday I wore a pair of pants that I have not been able to wear in at least two years, maybe 3.  I am wearing another pair that I found while "shopping in my own closet" this morning.  I also weighed myself last Friday morning and was down another two pounds since the previous week.  So that makes 13 pounds in 5 weeks.  Woohoo!  My goal is to lose at least 2 pounds this week so I can finally be in one-derland!  I will do this by really paying attention to my meals, running 4 days this week, and weight training for at least 3 days.  

I got a little spring in my step as a new season approaches.  :-)

25 Days to L.A.

Well this week has really been going well as far as both training and eating are concerned.  I did 8 miles Sunday, 5 on Tuesday and 1.72 as a warm up this morning.  I am planning on doing 10 tomorrow morning.  I also went back to the gym Tuesday evening to do an upper body workout and woke up this morning to do a leg workout after the short run.

I have also been cooking a lot:  chicken, salmon, asparagus, turkey chili and salad have comprised the meals I have taken to work this week.  I also bought some Chobani Greek yogurt that I tend to forget is quite good and satisfies my sweet tooth.  

I expect good results this week.  Life is good.

Month 1 Results

In the month since I started the blog and I have lost 12 pounds!  I was not always consistent in my healthy eating and blogging, but I am happy to weigh less than I did a month ago.  

I have a goal this month of losing another 13 (or more) pounds, writing in my blog more and taking fewer 'cheat' days.

31 Days to L.A.

I woke up this morning energized and motivated following my week-long slump.  It was relatively warm in Chicago so I decided to do my 5-mile training run on the Lakefront.  The run was fantastic!  I then came home to make my lunch after eating a breakfast of egg whites and salsa.  Unfortunately I left the lunch right on my counter and had to buy food from the school cafeteria.  I bought a grilled chicken wrap but ate it with vegetables only...no dressing.  Finally I followed the Weight Watchers program to the letter.  It was a great day!

31 Days

I have been feeling a little blah this week about working out and eating right so decided I needed something to shake things up.  I am watching a program called "I Used to be Fat" on MTV where they follow teens for the summer after high school graduation as they try to lose some serious weight before going off to college.  One thing they do is put a big countdown calendar in their bedroom that starts at a certain number of days left- I have seen 110, 99 or 90 - and counts down to 0 days.  Each morning when the person wakes up they tear the top number off the calendar.  

I like that idea and counted the days until my marathon.  Interestingly enough starting tomorrow morning it will be 31 days until L.A.  So I will check in everyday with at least one thing I have done to evolve to my healthier self...a virtual countdown if you will.  That way I have a short-term, manageable goal which feels less overwhelming than the big goal of losing 75 pounds.

Thank you Ruthie for today's motivation!

With friends like these...

I just received a message from my best friend, Robin, asking "What's up with the blog?  You are missing your entries and you said that's a must for you!"  See, that is why she is my best friend.  

Why did I not post my week 2 results?  Was it because they were not as dramatic as week 1?  Probably.  And you know what?  That is ridiculous!  I have to learn to appreciate whatever movement comes on that scale, especially when it is in the right direction.  Moreover, my NOT posting had a negative effect:  I was not as strict during week 3.

So here are my results:

Week 1:  -9.1 pounds

Week 2:  -1.6 pounds

Week 3:  +1.5 pounds

Total:  -9.2 pounds

This blog is all about me being accountable with the good, the bad and the ugly...and the pretty.  I am among friends and have no reason to be ashamed.  

I am still having to come to terms with the fact that I can run my little touche off (18 miles between this past Tuesday-Thursday alone, with another 18 miles to be done tomorrow) but will NOT have the results I want if I binge on frosted mini wheats with milk!  I mean, dang...I'm not even eating ice cream and brownies as a cheat meal but cereal and whole milk everyday at 4 p.m.!  Perhaps I will allow myself one treat a week, but I cannot have huge bowls of cereal each day.  And this is the thing:  I am actually writing those bowls of cereal down in my Weight Watchers tracker saying "It's okay, I ran a lot of miles this week."  But I really don't want to run just to be able to eat junk on a regular basis.  That is not what this is about.  It is about me making healthy choices the vast majority of the time.  It's about me choosing whole foods like honeybells and pomegranates and baked yams when I want something sweet on a daily basis.  I don't want to say I will never have ice cream (although it will have been a month this coming Sunday since I had that creamy coldstone concoction after running the Rock 'n' Roll half marathon...but who's counting?  :-)).  I just cannot choose those types of foods everyday.  Period.  (Note to self:  The Costco-sized box of cereal, like the Sam's Club-sized jar of cashews just cannot come into my house.)

So thank you for the kick in the butt Robin.  I really do appreciate it and am stating now to all of you:  I will lose weight this week!

Day 19 - Choices (again)

I am sitting in the cafeteria at my school, a place I am able to avoid most days because I choose to bring my lunch.  The only reason I am here now is I have duty every Tuesday to make sure no kids are acting up.  (Thankfully I have never seen that happen down here.)  Before I came down, it briefly occurred to me I could buy one of those yummy cream cheese/chocolate muffins that has who knows how many calories in it.  I thought to myself, "I ran 4 miles this morning, I can afford to splurge".  But the point of my exercise is not to buy myself more calories but to serve as another component of my healthy lifestyle.  So instead of bringing money down for a muffin, I decided to bring down a juicy honeybell orange instead.  I won't say the honeybell tasted the same as that muffin, but it was very sweet...to both my taste buds and my waistline!

Day 17 - Encouragement Abounds

As I was about to get on the treadmill for my 'short' 12-miler this morning, a woman whom I often see in the gym told me I am doing well.  When I reciprocated the compliment, she said she had just gotten out of the hospital and cautioned me not to overdo it.  I had noticed this woman runs really fast, but lately she had been on the elliptical trainer instead of the treadmill.  What I did not notice is how thin she is.  She told me to just make sure I eat.  I think she is anorexic based on some other things she said.  She then apologized repeatedly for turning what was supposed to be a compliment into a lecture.  I kept telling her that it was fine and that I appreciated her cautionary tale.  I honestly cannot imagine I would ever be anorexic as I love food too much and have a healthy and rational body image.  However, her experience just goes to show that some people do get caught up in some unhealthy behavior trying to get thinner, faster, etc.

For about a year now I have used my Facebook statuses to keep me honest with my workouts.  As I am preparing to head to the gym, Lakefront or yoga studio I state the training plan for the day.  Many of my friends and family members respond to this with comments that are very motivating.  They also tell me they are inspired to start working out because I am "a beast".  Most of the posts revolve around my desire to become fit and healthy.

Since I started this blog a little over two weeks ago, I have been talking to anyone willing to listen about the fact that I WILL succeed this time.  At the gym today I spoke with Susan who knows a lot about running, nutrition and health in general.  She gave me all types of tips and shared she is keeping blog as well.  I look forward to reading it and thank Susan for reminding me how important it is for us to take care of ourselves.

Day 14 - Snowbound Lessons

Today's lunch:  BBQ Ranch Chicken Salad

I have been away from the blog for 4 days and that is not going to work for me.  For now, I need to check in daily or I will not track my food as I should, hit the gym first thing in the morning or get my proper rest.  These are lessons I learned as I sat snowbound in my condo yesterday.

As you may have heard, I did not have school for two days.  Yesterday I was surprised to learn that my gym was open at U of C and I planned to trudge over in the wind and snow to get my workout in.  I ate my runner's oatmeal to fuel up for the 8 miles, did some things online and promptly fell asleep.  By the time I got back up, packed my gym bag and put on layers of clothes at 2 p.m., the staff at the gym had packed it in and closed up shop.  I was kicking myself for procrastinating and promptly began to eat EVERYTHING in my refrigerator.  Okay, not everything, but way too much of relatively healthy stuff.  I did not plan my meals, did not get to workout, and pretty much had a bad day in terms of getting fit and healthy.   The upshot is I learned a lesson and the day is done.

My gym was closed again today by I was determined to get my workout in.  I learned that the Y near my house was open so I got up, drank my water and an apple and headed straight to the gym and bought a guest pass for $15.  I have a fantastic workout, completing 8.38 miles.  I ate according to plan and even spent an hour digging out my car.  Today was a good day and I am back on program.