Done with the number days

Sunday ran 6.25, no watch (dead battery), no ipod, just nice cool, cloudy weather.  Another 6 today - running 45 sec/mile faster than 2 weeks ago at this time.  Also I dropped a pound, finally!!

Day 29 = Frustrated

Been eating right for the most part and running and strength training, no weight loss and same inches.  What is going on???  I can usually just lose 4 to 5 pounds with running and eating pretty quickly.  Not sure what the deal is.

Today 5.5 miles...

Time to get Serious

So, I weighed this morning.  The EXACT same as I started.  I could not believe it.  Food is my nemesis.  I do not eat much, but I do allow myself to eat some junk.  So this is what I'm doing.  Going back to my food journal and 1600 calorie limit.  I lost weight fast and healthily last year when I started this.  It's tough, but I have to go to the grocery today anyway, so I'll stock up on Chobani and veggies.  Here goes nothing.  Clean eating is the goal - no processed junk, no sugar.  Hoping this will also help my energy levels return.  Let me at 'em.

Day 6 = Nike Training Club

I love, love, love this app.  Find it here:  Nike Training Club
Didn't have time for a workout, had to get the house cleaned and visit family that is in town.  But when we got home this afternoon I was able to get two Nike Training Club workouts.  One for legs and one for abs.  Nice.  I may jump on the treadmill in a bit after I get the boys in bed.

I've been cheating my diet, but will get back to it.  I really want to get this weight off.

By the way my arms were a bit sore from swimming, but not bad.

Day 2 = Yawn

I've been so tired this afternoon.  I only ran 3.5 miles this morning and I was soaking wet with sweat.  I must be tired from losing all that water.  My plan was to then go swim some laps at a local indoor pool.  My friend has asked me to be on stand-by for her sprint triathlon relay team since their swimmer is nursing an injury.  The race is 2 weeks from tomorrow so I better get some swimming in.  I swam on the swim team all growing up and into high school so it's pretty easy for me, but still, I would want to swim well if I had to jump in for their team.  Anyway, I get there and they only take cash or check which I don't have.  I was planning on getting a month membership with my credit card but I guess that will have to wait until Monday.  I had lots of errands to run today, along with mowing the yard, so didn't get a chance to get back there.

I may take tomorrow off and then run again Sunday morning.  I will weigh in again on Monday. :)  Feeling good about the weight going down.  I've been watching what I eat and think I can lose the first 5 pretty fast... after that it will require more mileage.

I'm so far away from where I should be right now.  It's ugly.  I really wanted to maintain over the summer, and here I am almost starting over again.  Still I'm excited about the process of regaining my endurance, even though it's quite painful here in the beginning stages.

Me and my boys playing on the computer today...

Back to Running, Back to Reality

The time has come!  I am venturing on a return to running journey.  My kids will be safely tucked away in school starting Thursday, August 4th, and I will have more time to train.  I'm going to weigh myself that morning, report that weight here on my blog, and get back on the running and weight loss train. I will log my weight loss, inches and miles here and hopefully you can watch as I transform back into the runner in me.  :)  Cannot weight wait.

Tough Days

My oldest son has been sick the last two days.  It's hard when it's 95 degrees and you have to stay inside and do nothing all day.  I did get a 3 mile run in on the treadmill.  I'm considering getting a few more in tonight when my hubby gets home and it cools off a bit.  We are headed to the beach soon and I need to lose a few pounds that I've put through the craziness of the past couple of months.  But I can't wait for our trip.

My plan is to limit my calorie consumption to 1600/day and to exercise each day on top of that.  If I can net 1500 calories or less every day I should be able to shed a pound or two each week.  We'll see if a) I can actually do it and b) if it actually works.  Last fall I lost about 10 pounds doing this pretty fast... and since I've gained 4 back.  So it worked and I kept most of it off until recently when I wasn't exercising.  Let's see if I can do it again!!  The hard part has been us staying at home and me being bored - it makes me think about eating too much (or the lack there of) when we have to stay home.  Hopefully Jordan will feel better soon and we can get out and about.

What a Week!

... And don't think I mean that in a good way!  I realized today, after running 11 miles with a new friend I met at our weekly training run and running some extra unintended miles with her, that I ran 33 miles this week.  On top of that, my most weekly mileage ever by the way, I also did a killer strength session on Tuesday that caused me mucho soreness for multiple days.  On top of that I did a Yoga Workout and an Ab workout on Thursday after my run.  On top of all of this... I totally ate healthy and cut my calories.  I was tired this week!!!  I did lose 1 pound. 1.  1 pound.  Crap.  The last couple of pounds are doozies I find.  I will weigh in tomorrow morning to see for sure since I haven't weighed since Thursday morning, but for some reason, the weight seems stuck right around 125.  Booooo.

I'm proud of my 33 miles though.  Very proud.  And I will take a day off tomorrow. And it's suppose to rain so I may or may not lay on the couch most of the day with the iPad and Netflix.  After Church of course. :)

Chasing

  I made a bad decision to run 5 miles this morning with some friends.  My legs are continually tired for some reason.  I ran 8 Friday and 6 yesterday but thought I could keep up for 5 miles, even though these two girls are much faster than me.  We started ok though I was having some stomach issues... mile 1.  (We ran these miles are much faster than my tempo run, actually much faster than my goal 10k pace).  Mile 2: I am fading now.  Sara is way up ahead a couple hundred yards and JW is in between Sara and me.  Mile 3 proved brutal... did I mention the 30 mph winds seemingly pushing me backwards?  Stomach pain.  I can still see JW - just keep her in site!  Mile 4.... stomach pain!! I can barely see JW but am determined to keep up.  What is wrong with me?  Mile 5: Just suffer push through one more mile.  I finished the 5.  I have to remember that I didn't feel the greatest, my legs are still not back for some reason, and the windy conditions were tough.  Chasing is a pain in the rear.  But it pushed me beyond what I would have done on my own.  I am wiped out for some reason.

Weight Loss Challenge:
I am currently trying to restrict my calories a bit in order to lose some weight.  This isn't helping my energy level, though I am eating many small snacks instead of my usual meals.  I started at 126.6 lbs this morning.  I am going to weigh again on Thursday.  My goal is to get down to 120 lbs. or close to it by my 1/2 marathon in March (towards the end of March).  We'll see if my plan works as I weigh in twice a week.

Weight Loss

   Want to lose some weight? You don't need to spend a lot of money on fancy pills or nutritional bars.  It's all about calories in vs. calories out (fyi: calories out need to be greater than calories in... very important!). The number one way to keep up with your calories is by keeping a food diary. Keep a pad of paper in the kitchen and write down everything you eat - EVERYTHING! This not only helps you see how many calories you're ingesting, but also makes you aware of them and holds you accountable. Another benefit of a food diary is it helps you learn portion sizes and control because you are having to read labels.

     Still reading? Good. Next you need to figure out how many calories you burn daily - click here for a good web tool to help you. The final step is figuring out how to increase the calories burned (hint: exercise) and decrease calories consumed. Set a calorie limit for your weekdays and allow yourself a slight increase on the weekends - that way you will feel like you are getting a reward each weekend and won't feel so deprived. A good start is to decrease your calorie intake by 400-500 below the average amount you burn each day. Even with an increase on the weekend, this will give you a weekly calorie deficit of about 3000 (3500 = 1 pound). If you add exercise on top of this, you can easily lose a pound a week, if not more.

   Just remember, sometimes when you start an exercise program it causes you to feel more hungry than normal.  To offset this increase, make sure you are eating quality foods such as whole grains, lean proteins (low fat cheese, greek yogurt, skinless chicken, eggs), and good fats (olive oil, nuts, avocado, olives). This will help you feel satisfied most of the day. And remember my motto "If you want to lose weight, sometimes you're gonna be hungry." Just make sure to curb the hunger with smart choices. If you get too hungry, you are more likely to make poor food choices. Sugar and white bread are the worst - causing blood sugar spikes which eventually cause a crash - plus high in calories and low in nutrition.  If you try any of these ideas, let me know how it goes and how you progress.