Two thirds down, one third to go...

Week 40! Two thirds done with this challenge. 20 weeks to go, and the pressure is on...

This week's weigh in: -0.2 lbs.
Total weight loss: -19.9 lbs.

I'll admit, the plateau is frustrating, but I have no other choice but to persevere.

I'm sitting here, watching The Biggest Loser finale (I stopped watching mid-season... didn't find the contestants personally compelling enough, but I always enjoy the season finale. It's always inspiring.

So, another update: Measurements. Bust and Waist down another inch each. Total weight loss down 15 inches in the Bust/Waist/Hips measurements. I'm relieved to keep making progress on that front. This week was a "pictures" week, too. I'm not posting them. I think they look good, but not too much change from week 30 in general. But, I *can see* that, beyond the basic measurements areas, I can see a slimming of my upper body, less extra flesh in places that it just isn't welcome. So, I've got that going for me, which is nice.

On another note, I did my Week 3, Day 2 of C25k, and as I expected, I definitely ran more slowly on the road, I can tell. But that's okay for the first run of the week. This weekend, I should transition to Week 4 at some point, and I'll do that on the road, too. Sloooowly, but I'll do it.

(I was going to say, "if it takes all day," but given that it's a timed workout, at least I know there's an end in sight. :-) )

I hope you all are enjoying the end of May... it quickly approaches!

Thanks for reading!

Did something different today

Just a short post, but I was proud of myself today, and thought I'd share.

As I'm in NH today, I had a few options. I could go to pilates, or I could pay to get a day pass to use the treadmill at the gym to do Week 3, Day 1 of my C25k (where longer runs come in), or I could try to do the C25k outside. I decided to be brave and try it outside.

As you leave our complex, you can go left, or you can go right. Left stares at a hill. A big one. I have great friends that run this way all the time, and I'm a bit in awe of them. I'm no where near ready for that hill.

But going right is kind of flat. I figured I could handle that. So I gave it a shot.

The first thing that surprised me is that my first 90 second run felt like 45 seconds. I was so surprised when the program beeped for transition! The 3 minute run felt longer, but it probably felt like 3 minutes, and not 5. I am attributing this to a few things. 1) I'm just getting more used to longer runs. 2) I probably didn't run as fast as I do on the treadmill, when I can set the speed, so maybe I wasn't working as hard and 3) running outside, instead of a treadmill, is just plain less boring, and time can go by more quickly purely because it is interesting.

I still plan on using the treadmill for this stuff, because I feel like being able to pay attention to my speed an how fast I'm running is an important part of me feeling like I'm making progress, but it was nice to know I have options (like for next weekend, when I'm back in NH again) and beyond.

Oh, and I also came to a decision today, even if a bit earlier than I needed to:

I'm going to keep going, week by week, on this 9 week program. I'm handling it okay, and I feel like I'm accomplishing something. 2 more days of Week 3, I can do. Week 4 has alternating (with walk breaks) 3 minute and 5 minute runs. I can't look past that week yet - I'm just going to try it and see where it goes.

And, yes, for those of you counting at home, my "weeks" are averaging a bit more like 8 or 9 days, but I'm okay with that. :-)

Thanks for reading!

The downsides of the new life style

So, I don't normally talk about some of the negatives about my diet and exercise, but I thought I'd take a moment to do so.

Maybe "negatives" aren't the right word. Let me list some out and maybe you'll see what I'm talking about:

• time commitments: When I have friends say, "what's a good time to get together?" I find myself thinking, "well, I can't do it Monday, because I have pilates, and I can't do it Thursday, because I have Zumba. And I definitely need to go to the gym one other night in between there..." and if it happens to be a weekend I'm planning to go north, suddenly, there are no nights I've made available for other things

• food shopping frequency: I definitely have to go food shopping more often. And it costs more money

• clothes: I've spent more money on clothes the last 9 months than I probably did the previous 3 years combined. And half the clothes (more?) that I've bought the last month don't fit me any more. Seriously, I've bought about 15 pairs of pants, and probably 3 fit me right now. (fortunately, I've got a lot of skirts that work with multiple sizes)

• laundry: well, to be fair, my husband does the laundry, so this is really a negative for him, but I go through workout clothes all the time.
  

• time-suck on gym nights: Here's a typical night where I plan on going to a one-hour class at the gym. I get home about 6:15, get something quick to eat, change, and leave for the gym about 6:40. Class is at 7. Ends at 8. Go to the locker room, get cleaned up. Walk home. It's 8:30 easily by the time I get home. So, my "one hour at the gym" absorbs about 2 - 2.5 hours of my evening. If I go for longer, it only increases (obviously). I get home, exhausted.
  

• side effect of time-suck on gym nights: things aren't getting done as readily as they used to. Mail sorting, bill paying, house cleaning, other home admin stuff... those nights I'm at the gym, it just doesn't get done. The other nights, well, sometimes I'm so into a "I need a night off" that I avoid that stuff, too, in an indulgence of laziness and catching up on the tv I missed while at the gym the night before.

I don't mean to be negative... clearly, I love what results I've had from making this part of my life a priority where it didn't exist before. But I don't think I anticipated some of this, and it's worth being honest (with myself) about where the priority shift had an impact. And I think it's important because, let's face it, come October, it's not like I'm just going to be able to say, "Okay, body! Freeze just like this! We don't have to work at it any more!" Some of this stuff is going to have to stay in my life, the eating habits, the exercise, etc. I'm just going to have to continue to find better ways to make sure that the rest of the things in life don't fall out of sight. I'm starting some online classes in the fall, and I'm already worried about how that will all fit in....

And, heck... I don't even have kids! I know a lot of YOU do, and I marvel in your energy and commitment. And sanity. :-)

Thanks for reading!

Two long weeks?

Still with me? I'm lucky! After two weeks of silence, I thought I would have lost you all!

First, the weigh in:

This week's weigh in: +0.8 lbs.
Total weigh in: -19.7 lbs.

I think this weeks I'm down a bit from last week... gained probably a pound or more in the week from May 3 - May 10.

Why the silence? I'm not really sure I have a good reason. For one, I've been more tired than usual. And a bit more distracted, but I can't really say by what. For another, I don't feel like this has been the same kind of priority that it was... I'm getting used to things, even the gym, and I think that's all contributing to the plateau.

But there are some things that are new and noteworthy:

1) I bought new sneakers. Since I've been doing more running, I thought it would be a good idea to invest in some new running shoes. My last pair (Brooks, that I liked) were probably 4 years old. Granted, they hadn't seen a lot of miles, but I've relegated them to being the NH house sneakers, and invested in some Asics Gel Cumumlus 10 sneakers, when I found a great deal on some closeouts. They're really comfortable and they're cute, too. I find them to be supportive, but cushiony, and it's made a difference in my comfort level when I'm on the treadmill, which REALLY makes a difference to KEEP me there.

2) C25K is still going! I'm staring "Week 3" either tonight or tomorrow night. Week 2 was a challenge on the first night, where the running intervals had increased from 60 seconds to 90 seconds, but I also upped my own game, not only by length of time, but by increasing my speed for the last 2 runs of each section, so that I can really make sure I'm pushing myself.

One measure of improvement I watch for (I need small things like this!) was that I can run for my 90 seconds, and not look at the clock to say, "is it done yet?" I keep running, and the iPhone app tells me to switch to walking, but I probably could have run a bit longer and didn't notice the time passing. That is a big change from Week One, even with that week only being 60 seconds.

But Week Three introduces two intervals of three minute runs. It's a little scary; I know I can do more than 90 seconds, but twice that? I am hopeful that this is another instance of "seems impossible on Day One, but totally doable, maybe even at a faster pace, by Day Three".

At the end of Week Three, I'll evaluate whether or not I mentally commit to another few weeks. As a reminder, the plan is a 9 week plan, ending in a week of 3 mile jogs, with no walking breaks. Right now, that seems impossible for me, but I'll take each week as it comes.

3) Next week is Week 40 on this journey. That means pictures and measurements. I'm feeling like the last 10 weeks haven't been too monumental, and I'm worried that the pictures and measurements aren't going to show any progress and that's going to make me feel a little defeated. I need to stay focused on the last 20 weeks of this journey (the last third!) and I don't want to get knocked down psychologically with next week's results. But, I'll do my best!

Thank you for coming back to the blog after some radio silence. I appreciate your support!

Thanks for reading!

Waterworld

Feeling pretty good about the weigh in, and, honestly, I don't have a good explanation (other than going to the gym 4 times last week, and 2 of them being the first two attempts at C25k).

This week's weigh in: -1.0 lbs.
Total weight loss: - 20.5 lbs.

I'd raise a toast to myself of getting to a 1 pound loss again for the first time in months, but what would it be a glass of?

I know I've got some readers who aren't in the immediate area, so you may not be aware, but I'm in about hour 38 of a "boil water" scenario, due to an enormous water main break about 12 miles west of me, impacting my town and about 30 other towns all supplied by the same water authority. And by "towns" I mean these 30 or so communities make up about 2 million people and about 750,000 homes. Oh, and it got to 91 degrees here in Boston yesterday.

I'm not a water drinker. When this first was announced, I wasn't really worried. Then I started thinking (as the day got hotter, as I wanted to go to the gym, as I wanted some coffee, as I wanted to brush my teeth) that it's all a lot more scarce than I would want it to be, and the stores are out of water (panicking around these parts). My husband was on the Vineyard for the weekend, and was going to bring back water, so I knew I just had to make it through the day, but it really struck me how dependent I was during the day for water, when I really don't consider myself to be a water drinker.

When all this is over (this week???? maybe???) I'm going to spend some more time thinking about whether or not I get the right amounts of water, and what I'm doing about making changes if I need to.


Thanks for reading!

Staying motivated with role models

I did my second instance of C25k on Thursday night. It was fine... I convinced my husband to come with me to the gym and run near me, and we could go together - thought that might help me stay focused on this.

Last night, however, after a long day at work, I went out with some friends. Drank. Ate badly. Ugh. I definitely imagine the damage I did (would have been so much better if I'd just had a DQ Blizzard! :-) )

But, trying to be better today and salvage the rest of the weekend.

One thing that was GREAT about today, though, was spending time with my friend, Tracy, who is a huge inspiration to me. She started her journey earlier last year, and has put in tremendous effort to change her health and her body. She's managed to lose about 30% of her body weight, and cut her body fat percentage down by a third. Each time I see her, I'm overwhelmed by the work she's put into it, and the results she's had. And she continues to work hard to continue to improve where she's at. Her husband and children are doing their own things, too, working out, eating better, making better choices.

Spending time at their house today helps to keep me motivated to see where I'm headed if I continue to stay focused on my goals. I hope that those of you on your own journeys have the opportunity to stay connected with the people and the stories that inspire you and keep you motivated!

Thanks for reading!