Couch to 5K- Week 1 Day 2

I really want to be a runner, I really do.  Everything in my being tells me I'm crazy. I have never jogged in my life. My body asks, Why do I want to do this? I need to prove something to myself-- that I CAN HEALTHY and ACTIVE!

Throughout high school I would do mile runs but it was more like a walk. I never got good grades for P.E. It was usually a C because I couldn't get myself to improve my mile runs. I didn't want to either. Why would I want to get all sweaty when I have to go back to class after it. I hate the feeling of my body wanting giving up. I hate that I feel out of breath. I hate that nasty pain on my side I'd get. So now that I want to loose weight and be healthy just the thought of jogging makes me sick to my stomach. That is why I decided to set a few goals for myself.

I will be running (at a slow pace) my first 5K. My boyfriend and I always say we are going to run the Lupus 5K Race for Life and NEVER do it! So, on March 19, 2011 I will be running my first 5K. I was inspired by Alan, you can also find him on twitter as @sweating_it_off. He is doing Couch to 5K and has signed up to run a 5K as well. Couch to 5K is: (according to c25k.com) a gentle introduction to getting the body moving, starting off alternating between walking and running small distances, and slowly building up until after 8 weeks, you're ready to run 5 kilometers or 30 minutes non stop.

Week 1 Day 1-3 is as follows:
5 min warm up
1 min jog
1:30 min walk
repeats 9x
5 min cool down.

Day 1 was hard. I had to stop in the middle of it because I was tired. I figured I had already done 15 minutes of it, why not try and finish. When I first started exercising I tried to do this program. I would maybe be 5-8 min and would stop. I couldn't do it. Day 2 was interesting. I felt okay until about 10 minutes in. I didn't stretch properly and honestly I was tired. I kept on pushing and thought I could at least get 20 minutes done and repeat this day some other time. After 20 minutes I felt better. I had to keep on giving myself pep talks but I got it DONE! WHOO!!! I felt great afterwards, tired but still great!

I saw what week 2 has in store for me. I am a little scared. I promise I will give it my all

Oh and I said I would track on my blog all week so I could get better at it... Here goes:

Breakfast:
Sandwich :1 Sandwich thin (1pt) 1oz of Turkey (1pt) 1 Tsp of Mayo (1pt) 1 cup of Spinach (0pts) 1 egg beaten (2pts) 1 slice of Kraft 2% American Cheese (1pt)

Snack: Peach Chobani Yogurt (3pts)

Lunch:
Chicken tacos: 2 whole what tortillas (1 pt each) 4 oz of chicken breast (4pts) 1 oz of TJ Mex Cheese Blend (2pts) 1/2 med sized Avocado (2pts)

Snack: 8oz grapes (2.5pts) 1 Chocolate pudding (2pts) Too much Kettle Corn --about 3 cups (3pts)

Dinner:
1 2/3 cups of Bulgur (4.5 pts) 1 oz of chicken breast (1pt)
12 halves of walnuts (5pts)

I went over by like 7 points. I wasn't anticipating going to my friends to eat or a customer bringing in a huge bag of kettle corn from the farmers market down the street.
I tracked, I feel good, I worked out. In all I don't feel this day was bad. There were a few things I could havedone without -- walnuts and kettle corn (they put me over). I'm still learning to say no to things that are very tempting. I am very proud to share that when I got home last night there was a box of Krispy Kream donuts on our dinner table. I looked at the box and went straight to bed. I didn't need that to ruin my day. =)

Tracking with TJ

Alright... I am in need of some motivation. TJ said we should track together! That sounds like a great idea!

Breakfast:
1 1/2 cups of Oatmeal w/ 1 TBSP of brown sugar and 1 TBSP of almonds

Snack:
Voskos Strawberry Yogurt

Lunch: (my sandwich was soggy when I tried to eat it)
3 oz of Chicken
1 Fiber one bar
85 grams of string beans
7 oz of broccoli

Dinner:
1 Wheat tortilla
5 oz of chicken breast
2 oz of low fat Mexican blend cheese
1/2 cup of tomato
1/2 of avocado

I didn't eat much today. I was starving by the time I got home today. I rushed to go vote and eat! Last night, I bought a whole chicken at Costco. I cleaned it of all it's meat and put it away in a container. This way I can make sandwiches, burritos, tacos, whenever I want. Yay for Costco!

I will be going to the gym today... as soon as I'm done typing. (I am participating in #NovGTD-- November Go The Distance by FatgirlvsWorld aka Robby. I have pledged 75 miles of elliptical, 75 on the bike, 25 on the treadmill. Let's see how I do!

Bouncing Back

I hate the feeling of not being in control. The past 2 days are a perfect example of that. After I had my accident (see here) I couldn't get a hold of it and say Okay it happened now get over it. Instead, I ate. I ate my emotions away. Here a copy of what I had: (for accountability purposes)

Wednesday:
1 1/2 cups Oatmeal w/ 1 TBSP of brown sugar & 1 TBSP of almonds

2 cups of Spaghetti Squash
1 Chicken breast, grilled

3 cups Frozen Yogurt  (11 pts!!!)
1/2 Blueberries
1/2 cup of raspberries
1/4 cup of dried cranberries

1 Chicken breast, grilled
1 serving of Zucchini and Spaghetti Squash Lasagna


Thursday:
1cup Oatmeal w/ 1 TBSP of brown sugar & 1 TBSP of sunflower seeds
7 (estimate) Hershey's Kisses
1 Pumpkin Butterfinger (don't know how may pts, 10?)

1 1/2 cups of strawberries
2 cups of grapes
2 servings of Zucchini & Spaghetti Squash Lasagna  (with extra cheese)
10 pieces of Chettos Puffs

4 pieces of some meat my mom made
1 1/2 servings of Zucchini & Spaghetti Squash Lasagna
1 Taco with about 4oz of ground beef 80/20

I was amazed at how much junk I put into my body the past couple of days. I 'm sure that there is something in there that I missed. To be honest, I don't want to eat like that anymore. I've said this before, I used to lie to people that I had eaten already and would stuff myself with more food. I felt that way last night. I wanted to tell my boyfriend that I hadn't eaten as much as I had. I told him anyway.

I hadn't felt the feeling of being REALLY full in a few weeks. Wednesday and Thursday, I felt like this. I was feeding my body more food than it was asking me for. I caught myself looking at the cereal on top of the fridge looking for a quick fix of sweets. I didn't get any. Instead I poured a cold glass of water. I knew this would all be emotional but I didn't think I'd be crying so much! I've been behaving this way all my life. I remember days when I would eat as much as I could because I said I would start my diet on Monday. It was always, this is the Monday. Well, this is my Thursday to bounce back. I cannot let 2 days define my week or me!

=)

Week 7 Update

Started Sept 8th, 2010
Starting weight: 260.4
Weight as of Oct 25th, 2010: 248

After a good week of eating and exercising I stepped on the scale Monday at 6pm and I lost weight! I lost 4.4lbs! Wow! That's the most I've lost in a week. The Weightwatchers website said I lost too much and I need to slow down. It does seem like a lot of weight in just a week. All I can think I did difference was actually stick to a plan. Saturday and Sunday I had big meals but I save my points for dinner. I am excited, I am almost at my 5% goal -- 247!!!

I went to Old Navy on Saturday to look around. I am pleased to share that I now fit into an XL. For the past year or so I've been having to buy XXL. Anything that was XL fit too snug. =) I am wondering if I should have even bought anything. Either way, the thermal I purchased look good. I didn't feel too conscious of my belly showing. It's starting to go down! Same thing with work clothes. I am able to fit into work clothes that hasn't fit in a long time. I bought some brown pants months ago and unfortunately, they didn't fit. They do now! I don't want to be pleased with just that thought. I need to continue the fight... I want to be forced to buy smaller pant size! No more 18/20 for me... soon.

Today wasn't great food wise. I had oatmeal for breakfast and found out that almonds are really high in points! I didn't know this! I went to lunch with our District manager, security manager and a few other center managers... we had CHINESE FOOD! It was so delicious but I doubt that it was healthy... or clean for that matter.

Exposed my way

I have been reading all these exposed blogs and at first I thought," I can't do this". How can I put this body out there for the world to see? It's now been about 2 weeks and I realized that I can't move on if I don't come to terms with my body.

                                                     

I started on Sept 8th, 2010 at 260.4. As of Oct 18th,2010 I weight 252.4. This is now. This will no longer be me-- Thank Tara for helping me see it this way). I was inspired by Tara to expose myself. I don't even show these type of pictures to my bf, they are usually strategically taken so my best angle is captured.

This is my body.

 It's not very fast right now but it will be.

I love my legs that look muscular even though they aren't.

I love that my butt is starting to not look like a flat board - thanks to exercise.

I love my arms that wrap around the people I love.

I love my belly for sticking with me through all the yo-yo diets.

I love my hands for making healthy meals for me to eat.

My biggest fear with this (weight loss,exposing myself) is that I am ashamed of what I've done to my body. I don't want people to look and say, Eww why did she do that? Yes, I'm naked. But guess what, I love my body right now.It's going through so many changes. I have to embrace my body and know that I was at the gym at 1am last night because I promised myself I would work out at least 5 times this week. Body, I am trying to make you better. I've abused you for 26 years and I think it's about time you are fit. I'm not showing too much in my naked picture-- my belly covers my privates :) I will be amazed the day I can stand in front of the mirror and say "hey there you are". This was hard. I can't tell you all how good it feels though. I feel FREED.

Thank you to all my friends that have been supportive & all my new friends on twitter. You are my inspiration. Check out www.eatingjourney.com. Mish is the lovely lady that started the exposed movement. Thank you Mish.

The 16 point Sandwich

This morning I knew that I would have to buy lunch-- My Managing Director was going to walk into my store and inspect every little nook and cranny. He didn't but he did have a lot of helpful suggestions.(I worked from 7am-9pm last night and i was back in the office at 7:30 am today. Not fun!) So, what I didn't plan on doing was having a sandwich worth 16 points. Corner Bakery offers a Green Chile & Chicken Sandwich -made with all-natural jicama slaw, diced tomatoes, white cheddar cheese and roasted garlic mayonnaise. It doesn't sound so bad. When I got back to my office I looked up the nutritional facts and O-M-G! And to be honest, it wasn't that great. I had a better 7 point sandwich at Subway last night!

Cooking is not a strong point for me. I've lived in a household where Mom has cooked all my meals since I was a child. (Yes, I know that must sound terrible). Our meals usually consist of meat or chicken, lots of rice and possibly beans. Now that I am changing the way I eat, it's hard to walk in and expect a healthier option. She won't cook with olive oil, she won't stop frying things, the sweet bread/croissants don't stop, our cereals are: lucky charms, cookie crips, frosted flakes, trix.. ahh! I can do this. I bought a Weightwatchers cookbook in hopes that I can start cooking my own food. I have to learn one day, right? All I know how to make now is chicken (on a George Foreman Grill) and that's about it. I don't know how much seasoning to add to things, I'm not like my Mom :(
She's awesome. Makes something amazinly delicious out of nothing.

The 16 point sandwich. It does look like a lot of points!

My Nemesis!

I was confused when my team member walked into my office today and said, "We have LUNCH!". I said to her, "Umm, yes I do, upstairs" ( I repeated this about 3 times... then she disappeared for a second and brought over 2, not 1,2 Large boxes of my nemesis... PIZZA!

I tried to resist. I couldn't. It smelled so good. I thought of only having one piece, to get rid of the instant craving. As I walked over to the box and reached in, I grabbed TWO slices. I paid for it about an hour later. I could feel my heartburn acting up. It's a burning in my throat that I can only take for so long. I popped 2 Tumbs and the pain went away. --Note: another reason I decided to take this one was because of my heartburn. I would wake up in the middle of the night feeling like I couldn't breathe. My throat would burn and eventually I would throw up what I had eaten throughout the day. Not sexy! Usually I could see a black film of some kind and everything had to come out for me to feel okay again. This went on for a few months. And I must say, haven't happened since I starting WeightWatchers!-- I can't let this keep on happening to me.

I love what  Sheryl said on twitter after I ate my slices of pizza, "@PaulyBeariver don't consider that "no willpower". That sounds negative. It's just life! acknowledge it move on,it could have been worse! :)"  ,I love her advise. Because I can dwell on the fact that I ate those two slices and eat shit for the rest of the WEEK or I can acknowledge it and MOVE ON!!! I am moving on! (Please check out her blog , she's an awesome blogger). Her comment made me feel better about the whole pizza thing. Thank you Sheryl. Now I gotta get going, must go to the gym and get some cardio (and miles for #OctGTD) in.

My body is changing a little at a time...

Yesterday I met with Sanar. She is a personal trainer at 24 Hour Fitness. When I upgraded my membership on Sunday, I decided to sign up take the "bargain" and pay $129 for 3 training sessions. I'm not too familiar with machines, except the elliptical, even then I shy away from new things at the gym. The Membership manager said Sanar would be the best if my focus is on weight loss and scheduled me in for Tues, Thurs, and Sunday.

I was nervous coming in because I had met with a trainer before many years ago and I didn't feel comfortable with her. She made me feel like being overweight was my punishment for eating so much and wasn't very nice - don't remember her name, she was from Bally Total Fitness. So, I'm waiting and she comes over with her previous appointment and gives me a big ol' smile. She introduced herself and starting chatting away about my goals. I felt at ease but I still wasn't sure how the appointment would go.

15 minutes into the training session and she had me laughing. I felt really comfortable and decided to give all her suggestions a shot. We did some Core work and let me tell you I was shaky! I have never done a Plank or a Superman! What is that? She explained misconceptions of weights and bulking up, showed me how to use some machines all while motivating me for a whole hour. She wrote everything down for me and told me to do this everytime I come to the gym. I didn't stay for cardio, I was too tired. I've been going to bed late because I'm wired when I get home!

The picture you see here I took today. I am starting to see small changes here and there. The biggest is my stomach. It's not hanging out as much as it did before. My upper body doesn't look so bulky. Slowly but surely I will get to my goal weight... right now, it's only to get down to 200... after that who knows. I've always been "bigger", I don't know how to be someone that's a healthy weight.