Ahhhh... the pain.

Sunday I woke up and felt great. No soreness- no pain. So we ran. 

Today I woke up and I am in PAIN. My legs are shaky and throbbing. My ankles are stiff, even my neck and back are sore! I didn't even know I used those muscles to run!

Anyway, despite the pain I squeaked out a lunch-time walk with the co-worker. And actually after the walk I felt a lot better. (You were right Jen!) It seemed to loosen my muscles- even if I was limping!

As for this weeks diet, I am going to continue doing "Veggie Extreme". I lost 3.0 pounds- 2.2 lbs. of "new weight," at Sundays WW meeting, so I figure why change what's working...  right?

The training begins...

About a month ago a co-worker was telling me she was preparing to run a work-sponsored 5k on March 21rst. 

I thought, Holy Sh*$! A 5k? Of running???? Why would you ever want to torture yourself in such a way? Thats like 5 miles right?  But the more she talked about it the more I thought, maybe this could be a good challenge for me. 

"You could walk it, if you got tired," she offered "As long as you finish before they start tearing down the signs. It's really only 3 miles" 

Hmm... 3 miles I can do that. I think. If not I have health insurance, and I am sure someone will scrape me off the trail so the others can get by. : )

I sort of forgot about the conversation until last week at WW when I actually started reading one of their pamphlet/books. Those things are a wealth of knowledge btw and I always shove them in my bag and never read them. ANYWAY, in book 9, pg. 9 there is a section about how to train for a 5k. I took that as a sign that it was time to get off my fat behind and start training for this monster.

So, today the fiance and I started our first training session. Week 1 training goes like this:

Moderate walk- 5 min.

Jogging- 5 min.

Running (about 5 mph)- 5 min

Jog- 10 min.

Run- 5 min

Walk- 5 min.

I wrote the whole plan on my hand (as you can see) so I would remember it. And I set my phone to ring every 5 min to alert me when it was time to change levels. I packed all my supplies into a gay little fanny pack and we hit the road for our first day of training.

Let me tell you, running is a pain in the ass when you haven't done it for years. I was wheezing and huffing. Reminding me why I HATE running. It was rough and a few times I had to stop and walk a bit. The fiance did really good- but come on- he's tall and skinny and looks like he does this everyday. 

Even though this session was hard, it wasn't as bad as I expected it to be and I felt GREAT afterward! I was really proud that we did it. I actually look forward to tomorrow session- that is, if Im not too sore to get out of bed. 

I've gone VEGGIE EXTREME!

This week the fiance and I decided to go "veggie extreme"-  we are going to try and eat mostly fruits, vegetables and lean protein, avoiding all breads and starches. 

If we were going to make it the whole week we knew we had to be prepared. So Monday we went to the store and stocked up on all sorts of supplies (a huge container of salad mix, assorted veggies, cabbage, peppers, fruit, nuts, dried fruit, etc.).  When we got home we spent about a half hour cutting, cleaning and packing our supplies into little containers.  That has been incredibly helpful. It makes deciding on a healthy snack a lot easier.

I've only been doing this for four days and I  feel great! I don't feel as bloated and I am actually not as hungry- believe it or not.

So how is it working so far? When I weighed myself this morning the scale said I had lost 3 pounds since Sunday! Crazy. But I don't want to get too excited b/c the only scale that means anything is the one I weigh-in on at my Sunday WW meeting. A lot can change by then. 

I know I haven't been doing this more than a few days, but I've learned a few things already that may help someone else who attempts this:

Be prepared- buy a variety of fruits and veggies 

If you are going to eat pretty much just veggies and fruit, you might as well have a variety, otherwise you are going to be get sick of the same shiz. Now is the time to try something exotic.

Make fruits and veggies easily accessible- 

Cut, wash and portion out your snacks immediately after buying them. It will make it easier to choose the celery when it is prepared, cut & cleaned instead of buried deep in the crisper drawer. Seriously, it works.

Get creative

Mix and match fruits and vegetables, cook them together & go nuts with spices. You will be surprised what dishes you can come up with when you those are your only ingredients!

I will admit I haven't been perfect. But so far, so good. 

So, I'll keep you posted and let you know what THAT scale says in a few days...

Here We Go

I am on the endless journey that is weight loss. I have tried every diet fad known to man. I finally found something I think I can stick with- Weight Watchers. I joined the WW at work program last summer and lost almost 20 pounds in ten weeks- going from 196 to 178. I had almost reached my 10% goal-set by WW- when I slipped off the program and gained 6 pounds back through the holidays. 

I had a major breakdown at my Mom's home over Christmas and I knew that this was the point I would come to in every diet- where I would throw in the towel and say F8%ck it! I'm just going to be fat forever. But I really didn't want to do it this time.  I had only gained 6 pounds- so I was still 12 pounds lighter. And 12 pounds is a lot. 

So I started back up again, full speed ahead. Back to a new year and a new set of goals.  One being that I would lose 54 pounds by my 30th b-day. That would be 130 lbs by October 14.  Yes, I know this is ambitious and I know this a lot of weight. But you know, even If I got down to 150 I would still be so happy.

Getting back on the WW wagon was difficult. I know I am addicted to food. But I think starting this blog may keep me honest, even if I'm the only one who reads it!

Since Jan 1rst I have lost 11 pounds. So, that means I have 43 pounds to go and 8 months to get there. So here we go.

If you would like to follow me I am also on twitter: www.twitter.com/losingmythighs.