Real life.

I by no means consider myself an expert on weight loss, but I'm sitting here watching I Used to Be Fat on MTV and I just felt like I needed to speak up. (Yea, that's right, I'm eating dinner sitting on my couch watching TV.. a weight-loss no-no.)

I just watched a scene on here where the girl goes out to dinner with her friends. The friends each order sandwiches and french fries while Gabriella, the girl losing weight, orders baked halibut with pepper and steamed vegetables, then comments on how she can only eat half of it and tells her friends how good their food looks.

I will be damned if I ever deprive myself of something like that. I love the fact that I have lost 60 pounds in a year. It's been a very slow process and it's been very frustrating, and I'm sure I could have lost much more had I not allowed myself to indulge, but that's just not me. I love food. I love going out to dinner. I just enjoy that stuff. I have lost 60 pounds on my own and have eaten french fries, pizza, hamburgers, whathaveyou, and have never felt deprived. Of course there are times at dinner when I get baked chicken breast and steamed veggies, but that's because I want that.
I am impressed by the people who are able to stick to a diet meal by meal, but that's not for me. That being said, one last weekend of crap food and drinks ahead, then I'm going to back off the sweets, fast food, and fried food.. I taught two Zumba classes back to back last night and felt sluggish. I gotta get back into it. :) I'd love to lose 40 more pounds. I signed up with a trainer, I'm registering for the Mega on Saturday, and then registration for the half-marathon is coming up soon. I've got a lot to start working for!

New Year's resolution? No.. It's a life resolution.

Dec. 16th.

175.8

Up 3.2 from November 10's weight of 172.6. GRR.

4.5

I have to brag about myself a little bit.

Yesterday, I went to the gym, even though I had every intention not to. I had met with a trainer Saturday morning, got my butt kicked, then went out with friends and had too much to eat. Needless to say, I wasn't feeling too hot belly-wise or head-wise Sunday morning. As soon as I got up, I put on my workout clothes in the hopes I might convince myself to actually get moving. I took Lucy for a walk, then told myself that I'd go to the gym for just half an hour and work on the elliptical, then go to the grocery store.

Somewhere between my apartment and the gym, I convinced myself that I was going to run 3 miles.

Somewhere between the lockerroom and the treadmill, I told myself I was going to run until I got tired.

Then, I turned on the TV on the treadmill and caught the end of Watch What Happens on Bravo and Millionaire Matchmaker started, so I told myself I was going to run until Millionaire Matchmaker was over.

I tried to run as long as I could, but my new sneakers are giving me some wicked blisters in my arches. I ran at a slow pace, 4.3 mph, but I ran, and I walked at 3.8. Altogether, in 1 hour, 8 minutes, I nailed 4.5.

So proud of myself.

Not bad for the girl who was only going for half an hour. :)

I know I still have a long way to go, but these little successes are really proving to me that I'm capable of more than I expect of myself sometimes.

I won't be able to get a run in tomorrow, but I'm shooting for Wednesday since I have a personal day. I'm not sure yet if I'm going to push myself or not, possibly just a 2-mile run to get my legs moving, otherwise I won't be able to get one in until Saturday most likely.

It's funny because I was reading an old blog I used to keep when I started this journey and a year ago I was weighing in at 215 and had never run a mile before in my life. Isn't it crazy to look at how things have changed in just the course of a year?

:)

Woah.

I had an Arby's roast beef and curly fries for lunch today after 4 1/2 mile run. I felt okay afterwards, but now about 3 hours later, I feel like I'm going to need to run for the bathroom.

I think I can officially say no more fried food for this girl.

Novembers.

Left, November 2009.
Right, November 2010.

Dec. 8th Log

Ugh.. I'm not even going to lie, I could have made way better choices today. I hate days in the middle of the week that don't follow the schedule I'm used to - I feel like it messes up my meal planning.

Breakfast:
bowl of Special K w/ skim milk
cup of coffee

Snack:
donut
miniature bag of M&Ms

Lunch:
small side salad w/ peppercorn parmesean dressing
small turkey boat sub w/o mayo
picked at onion rings & french fries

Snack:
90-calorie Special K bar

Dinner:
1/2 glass Shakeology w/ skim milk
turkey & smoked provolone on 100-calorie roll

Exercise:
45 minutes of Zumba!

So, I got my shipment of Shakeology in the mail today and I thought I'd give it a shot. I started to feel sort of gassy, so I stopped halfway through. I read a bunch of reviews online about people having stomach problems and getting dizzy from the supplement, so I'd rather not try it right now while I've got a lot going on.

(Backstory: Many, many years ago, I left the gym thinking I was having a heart attack. My entire stomach was contracted and I couldn't breathe, couldn't stop shaking. I went to the ER and it turned out it was only a gas bubble! Anyway, gas bubbles and I don't get along.. so I'm super nervous about how bad this one might get. :/)

Dec. 7th Log

Breakfast:
1/2 c. oatmeal w/ honey and banana
coffee w/ skim milk & Splenda

Snack:
90-calorie Special K bar

Lunch:
cottage cheese with blueberries
Lean Cuisine Chicken Parmesean meal
miniature Peppermint Patty
6 Whopper candies

Dinner:
1 turkey sausage link
1 c. brown rice cooked w/ 2 egg whites, broccoli & carrots
slice of Weight Watchers smoked provolone cheese

Snack:
1/2 c. Edy's Hot Chocolate ice cream

Workout:
3 mile run (43:20)

Dec. 6th Log

Breakfast:
1/2 c. oatmeal w/ mashed banana, honey, & brown sugar
cup of coffee w/ skim & 2 Splendas

Snack:
chocolate chip cookie
100-calorie YoCrunch yogurt

Lunch:
salad w/ nonfat Italian dressing
Lean Cuisine Hunan Beef entree
miniature Peppermint Patty

Snack:
90-calorie Special K bar
1 cup of Tropicana 50

Dinner:
1 cup of skim milk
1/2 c. brown rice
1 tsp. Olivio
chili lime tilapia fillet w/ olive oil
miniature Peppermint Patty

Workout:
1 hr. Zumba!

New and exciting things!

Well, well, well.. two okay, three new exciting things to report on!

1. I registered for the Tyler Arboretum 10K Trail Run in Media, PA on April 2, 2011. 10K seems pretty hefty, BUT, it'll keep me motivated through the winter and I need that extra motivation becauuuuuse...

2. I'm registering for a 1/2 marathon in July! Two of my friends (Caleigh and Laura) and I and, I think, Parke, are flying out to Portland, OR in July for a 1/2 marathon through wine country. It's going to be my 27th birthday present to myself. This is something I've never thought I would be capable of doing, but I'm super excited. Registration isn't until January and I wasn't going to tell everyone I'd be doing it until I did register, but now I'm locked in since the world knows! :)

3. I've signed up with Beachbody to be a Beachbody Coach. That means that through me, you can purchase nutrition and fitness programs like P90X, Yogabootyballet, Insanity, Turbo Jam, etc. On my profile, you can follow my progress and workouts as I use the 10-Minute Trainer program to supplement my running and Zumba! I'm super excited about it as a new business venture, and also as a way to support the people who have been asking me for help. I also have P90X and Yogabootyballet and I love, love, LOVE both programs, I just don't often have enough time for them, which is why I'm really excited about the 10-Minute Trainer.

You can access my Beachbody Coach site here.

Bad Idea.

So, last night, I thought I was up to teaching Zumba... so I went, kicked my butt, and during "Krazy," I got THE. WORST. CRAMP. EVER. I thought my appendix had burst or something, it was THAT bad. I wasn't sure I was going to be able to make it through the rest of my routine, so I grabbed a quick drink in between songs and skipped my last high-paced song to try to work out the cramp. By the time I got home, it was still alive and kicking, so I had a big glass of water, hoping it was just dehydration and I think that's all it was.

With this cold, I've been getting really bad headaches off and on. Last night, I went into my room to lay on my bed and do some work on my laptop and I got nailed with this awful headache all of a sudden. After Zumba last night, I felt okay.. but then this morning, I couldn't open my eyes, my head hurt so bad and my chest was congested as all get out on top of it.

I'm angrybecause I really wanted to start training today with a 2-mile run, but looks like that's out. I'm home sick again with my little "sick station" next to the couch of OJ, cell phone, tissues, and the remote control.

Hopefully I can kick it this weekend, because it's driving me crazy being under the weather.

Slip-Up.

I've really let myself slip up on the eating these last few weeks. Obviously I've been doing well with the workouts since I'm running Zumba three nights a week, but other than that, I've been doing a crap job. I'm not even going to lie. I use Zumba as an excuse for why I can eat whatever I want. I mean, I haven't been doing THAT bad, but I haven't been feeling guilty if I order french fries or get take-out.

Being home at Thanksgiving rocked my diet world. I'm not used to being around junk food and I don't know how to curb myself once I start. My mom eats a very healthy diet, so there was good food in the house, but because I was around the junk food, we all know what I chose. We did go to Zumba Saturday morning, so that was a nice break, but I continued to eat like crap Saturday afternoon and evening.

Now that I'm back home, I've gotten a cold that won't go away. I was out sick on Tuesday trying to recuperate, went back yesterday for a full day.. like, a 7 AM to 6 PM day after all was said and done, and woke up this morning feeling worse than Tuesday. I've been on the couch all day with Robitussin and OJ, so I'm hoping to knock it out of me.. or at least well enough that I can feel like a functioning member of society at Zumba tonight.

I did run out for groceries and loaded up on healthy goodies for next week since it's a busy weekend. I'm going to try the Lean Cuisine business again this week. I do know that Thursday will not be a good lunch day because it's Holiday Dinner day at school and I loooooove the turkey, so I'm going to plan a cheat day for Thursday and try to be spot on the rest of the week.

I have some big news coming up, by the way. :) Stay tuned!