I got my MOJO back!

I admit it:  I had not been motivated to stick to a healthy eating plan for nearly a month.  On a few days I would eat pizza for dinner following by warm brownies or chocolate bundt cake topped by vanilla ice cream.  YUM!  I took 10 days off from exercising after the L.A. Marathon, but had since only exercised about half of the time I wanted to.  I was in a rut.

Then I went to a Weight Watchers meeting where the leader talked about going shopping in his own closet.  He talked about having clothes with the tags still on them!  I was thinking, "Has he been looking in my closet?"  I have so many goal outfits that I don't need to buy clothes for years to come.  Heck, some of the fashions have been there so long they might be out of style.  :-)  However, there are plenty outfits that I really want to be able to wear!

The next thing that happened was me watching the Biggest Loser last night.  There is (well now, there WAS) a contestant named Courtney on there from Valporaiso, IN.  She has lost a total of 204 pounds.  Two-hundred, four pounds.  That is a whole person!  What's more, she lost the first 100 pounds on her own at home despite the fact that her family owns a Dairy Queen!  Are you kidding me?  She has such an amazing attitude and has come so far that I was completely inspired by her last night.  She said we can reach our goals by just taking it one day at a time.  Her amazing progress is proof positive of this fact.

So I got up this morning with a plan to go to the gym and run on the treadmill.  However, something made me decide to run outside on the Lakefront instead.  I also decided I would comfortably jog the whole way, but not pressure myself to go at a certain pace.  It was my first outside training run in a long time and I just needed to see where I am.  I am SO glad I decided to run outside.  I did 3 miles which now serves as my baseline as I run on the Lakefront from now until next winter.

One of the problems I have is not recognizing the value in taking small steps toward my overall goal.  I feel like I have to lose 5 or 10 pounds a week or train 5 days a week to get results.  However, if I consistently lose a pounds a week, that would be over 50 pounds in a year.  There are people who lose as much as I weigh by being HONEST and CONSISTENT, even if they are not running marathons.  They walk, take in fewer calories than they expend and have fantastic results.  So I have a new attitude in that I will try to be honest and consistent and not pressure myself to lose X number of pounds a week.  I won't have an all or nothing attitude but just stay the course so that one day I will look up and have reached my goal.

LA Marathon - A Nightmare in a Monsoon

It's has been quite a while since I last posted, but I did reach my goal of completing the 26.2-mile LA Marathon...in a rainstorm.  Don't misunderstand me - it was not my goal for it to happen in the rain, but it poured the WHOLE time.  It was Jackie's first marathon so I decided to walk it with her once I arrived to L.A.  I have to give it up for the walkers because we were out there for nearly 8 hours!  Here is a clip of the weather situation (listen with the sound 'on'):

 

Can you see why I called it a nightmare in a monsoon?  Thank GOD it's over!  

Now I am on to the next goal...

Jackie and I have decided to lose weight together over the course of the next 12 weeks.  This is the timeline because my next race is Grandma's Marathon on June 18 in Duluth, MN.  I am going to lift weights as well as do some yoga this time to better prepare.  Thanks for reading and stay tuned!

9 Days to L.A. - 5 Pounds to Milestone

I cannot remember the last time my weight was in one-derland.  I think I was living in Virginia, so that would be at least 3 years ago.  I am less than 5 pounds from that milestone as of this morning.  And as of two days ago, I was 7 pounds away.  It will be soooo nice when my weight says one-ninety-something.  I can hardly wait; it's so close I can taste it.  Okay, maybe that's my problem...I've been tasting too much!

12 Days to L.A. - Beating Stress

Good morning!  As my friends and family know, the week before grades are due tends to be very stressful for me and Stress = Overeating + Lack of Sleep = Weight Gain.  

Well this year I will try to have a different outcome.  I am trying to keep myself busy getting work done, blogging and exercising as opposed to eating and watching lots of TV.  (Speaking of which, why didn't someone warn me about all the channel available on cable TV?  Oh dear!)  Today's meal plan includes egg whites with spinach, tomatoes and onions; baked chicken and a yam; and salmon with salad and Greek yogurt.  This morning I'm headed out for the run.  Have a great day!

18 Days to L.A. - Sore legs and an afternoon binge

After the 20-miler on Sunday, I ran 5 miles on Tuesday.  My legs were REALLY sore Tuesday evening and I decided to delay the 8-miler until Thursday morning.  My legs are still a little sore, but I will just have to run through it tomorrow.  It's a mental thing now and I will not let my mind tell me that I need more rest.  I have come to close to stop now.

I generally try to eat every 2-3 hours but today I let 5 hours pass between lunch and my afternoon meal.  That was a big mistake.  At 5 o'clock when I got home I made a great salad of organic mixed greens, mandarin oranges, red onions, baked chicken breast, toasted walnuts and lite raspberry/walnut dressing.  It was a perfect meal.  However I was so hungry that I then had some chips and guacamole (I did measure both).  Then I had two Weight Watchers Almond bars.  A couple hours later I ate some pistachios then some pita chips with American cheese food.  YIKES!  When I wait too long to eat, I sometimes lose my mind and start binging.  I really have to try to avoid this in the future.  

Sigh...it's a lifelong process, Folks.

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.