In the Army, life is all about acronyms. Heck, we joke there are acronyms for acronyms!! So writing the above acronym is easy for me, but do YOU know what it means?? C25K stands for Couch to 5k, the running program that I am starting, again, to get back into running. Just like a baby has to learn to crawl before they can walk, runners need to start off the program slow, walking before running. The entire plan can be found here but here is what I have learned over this past week.
Running. Is. Hard. Like REALLY hard. I'm not sure if it helps that my husband is a runner, and I would love to go running with him one day. But he ran in high school, and in college, and can run at a 7:30-8:00 mile. My current average is around a 12:13 mile, but that is also with walking for the first 5 minutes of the 20 minute work. It's actually not a bad time, my walking time average is around 14:13, and when I get to running I can get up to as fast as a 10:40 pace. So the average of my 12:13 per mile run is slowed down by the five minute warm up.
I know that warming up is important and I cannot let that slow me down or discourage me from keeping with this program as I view my overall times. I hope to one day get to the point where I can do a few jumping jacks and maybe some knee highs in the house before going out and hitting the pavement, and pressing "Start" on the ipod and Nike+ that keeps my running log. Here's hoping for a 10:30 average by the time this C25K program is finished, and maybe a run with that Roadrunner (aka-my husband).
Sunday, January 6, 2013
Saturday, January 5, 2013
What I Have Learned: What I Can Stomach
Since listening to the cues that my stomach gives me, I have actually learned a lot about what I can and cannot eat. I am not sure if this is me getting order and my body cannot handle foods the same way it did when I was 16, or am I just getting wiser about how I can. I'll go with the second option on this one.
Anyway, here are a few things that my 34 year old body can no longer handle. First off, grease. I cannot stomach (no pun intended) this horrible, nasty stuff the way I previous could. Here is my example for you: on the way home from Christmas vacation, Joel and I drove through McDonald's for a breakfast value combo. I picked up the Egg McMuffin Value combo, since that was the combo with the fewest calories. Coffee: O zeroes; McMuffin: 300 calories; Hashbrown: 150 calories. Not too bad. As we drove along, I drank my coffee while eating the McMuffin, and then picked up the hashbrown. I was kind of full, so I decided to take this with small bites. YUCK! EW! GROSS!!! It tasted like pure grease and fat. So I wrapped it up to throw away when we got home. Yeah me for recognizing how horrible it tasted and stopped eat then!
Another thing I have found my stomach and taste buds are having a hard time handling is sugar. I am sure that I eat too much of it, but I don't necessarily add it to my diet. I try to sweeten things with Sweet N Low instead, or if I need that sugar taste I go for the Splenda. But recently I made a cookie and brownie mix thing and nearly had to spit the thing out of my mouth, it was horrible! My husband said it tasted ok, but again I just could not eat it. I guess that is a good thing, no more brownies in the house, so that will help me lose weight. But how sad...no more brownies? :(. Let's all have a moment of silence.
So on this journey, I am finding out that what you can eat is not only a mental thing, but sometimes also a physical one as well.
Anyway, here are a few things that my 34 year old body can no longer handle. First off, grease. I cannot stomach (no pun intended) this horrible, nasty stuff the way I previous could. Here is my example for you: on the way home from Christmas vacation, Joel and I drove through McDonald's for a breakfast value combo. I picked up the Egg McMuffin Value combo, since that was the combo with the fewest calories. Coffee: O zeroes; McMuffin: 300 calories; Hashbrown: 150 calories. Not too bad. As we drove along, I drank my coffee while eating the McMuffin, and then picked up the hashbrown. I was kind of full, so I decided to take this with small bites. YUCK! EW! GROSS!!! It tasted like pure grease and fat. So I wrapped it up to throw away when we got home. Yeah me for recognizing how horrible it tasted and stopped eat then!
Another thing I have found my stomach and taste buds are having a hard time handling is sugar. I am sure that I eat too much of it, but I don't necessarily add it to my diet. I try to sweeten things with Sweet N Low instead, or if I need that sugar taste I go for the Splenda. But recently I made a cookie and brownie mix thing and nearly had to spit the thing out of my mouth, it was horrible! My husband said it tasted ok, but again I just could not eat it. I guess that is a good thing, no more brownies in the house, so that will help me lose weight. But how sad...no more brownies? :(. Let's all have a moment of silence.
So on this journey, I am finding out that what you can eat is not only a mental thing, but sometimes also a physical one as well.
Tuesday, January 1, 2013
New year, this is how it begins
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!
So, here are the cold, hard, ugly facts of where I stand in my new journey to health:
Yep, that number is right. :( 147 pounds. Not my heaviest, but not my lightest either. When I got pregnant with Miles (who turns 7 in 17 days), I was at 127. I was eating healthy, and going to the gym five days a week. I know that second part is a distant memory, at least until both kids are in school later this year, but still 20 pounds is a big difference! That is the size of an average 1 year old!
So, now that the picture of the scale is out there for the world to see, here are some other stats. Because, why not? You already know how much I weight.
Measurements:
Bust: 37"
Waist:36 1/4"
Hips: 39 1/8"
Wow, that is an even uglier picture than what I orignally thought. Ready for some more ugly?
See, bad bad bad. This is what carbs and no workouts do to you! So here is hoping over the next 364 days I can make improvements to my lifestyle and health. And hopefully posting a picture on December 31st of me in a bikini!
So, here are the cold, hard, ugly facts of where I stand in my new journey to health:
So, now that the picture of the scale is out there for the world to see, here are some other stats. Because, why not? You already know how much I weight.
Measurements:
Bust: 37"
Waist:36 1/4"
Hips: 39 1/8"
Wow, that is an even uglier picture than what I orignally thought. Ready for some more ugly?
 |
| Front view |
 |
| Side view |
See, bad bad bad. This is what carbs and no workouts do to you! So here is hoping over the next 364 days I can make improvements to my lifestyle and health. And hopefully posting a picture on December 31st of me in a bikini!
Monday, December 31, 2012
Goals, not resolutions
Everyone makes New Year Resolutions, and everyone breaks them. Seriously, who is still on track with their New Year's resolution in March? We all know the gym packed with new members in January, but stick around and you will notice that the crowds thin out by Valentine's Day.
I believe there is a huge different between resolutions and goals. Resolutions are thing you want to do, goals are dreams that you have but you also have a plan to get there. So while we all might say, "I want to lose weight," or "I want to run faster," this year I have goals with outlines of plans on how to get there.
1. To lose at least 7 pounds by my birthday in October.
My plan: workout four days a week and to eat better food. Already I have totally given up regular soda, only drinking diet sodas. And with those, I only have 1 a day. Baby steps, if I change too much too soon I know I will fail. And another change I have made, and this is huge in my book, is not putting creamer in my coffee, not even skim milk! This is big, HUGE, for me and I personally am very proud of myself! :) GO ME! Anyway, 7 pounds in 9 months seems doable.
2. To run a 5k in less than 30 minutes.
My plan: to run more. Seems like an easy plan, right? But I am seriously hoping that Joel's schedule will not derail these plans again. I am starting, again, the C25k program, and while I think I am a little further ahead in it, I really want to complete this timed goal. Currently I am focused on distance, as in trying to run further each day, and from there I will focus on time. I know you remember from way back when when I wrote how much I love my Nike+ system, so with the tracking of splits in that program I can learn how fast I am running, and where I need to work on my time. Currently, I am running with an average pace of 12:35/mile, which means I need to know off 3:00/mile in order to reach this goal. I foresee A LOT of sprint training in my future to reach this, but goals are suppose to be hard, right? If they were easy, everyone could achieve them.
3. To complete a 10k.
No time limits on this goal, at least not yet. This is probably the "pie-in-the-sky resolution" that I have, because I feel that I need to mentally and physically get past the 5k distance, and then I can see the starting line of a 10k race. But it is something to keep on this goal list to work towards in the coming year.
So there it is, out for all of the world to see. I hope someone out there can help keep me accountable and cheer my lazy butt along on some days. :)
I believe there is a huge different between resolutions and goals. Resolutions are thing you want to do, goals are dreams that you have but you also have a plan to get there. So while we all might say, "I want to lose weight," or "I want to run faster," this year I have goals with outlines of plans on how to get there.
1. To lose at least 7 pounds by my birthday in October.
My plan: workout four days a week and to eat better food. Already I have totally given up regular soda, only drinking diet sodas. And with those, I only have 1 a day. Baby steps, if I change too much too soon I know I will fail. And another change I have made, and this is huge in my book, is not putting creamer in my coffee, not even skim milk! This is big, HUGE, for me and I personally am very proud of myself! :) GO ME! Anyway, 7 pounds in 9 months seems doable.
2. To run a 5k in less than 30 minutes.
My plan: to run more. Seems like an easy plan, right? But I am seriously hoping that Joel's schedule will not derail these plans again. I am starting, again, the C25k program, and while I think I am a little further ahead in it, I really want to complete this timed goal. Currently I am focused on distance, as in trying to run further each day, and from there I will focus on time. I know you remember from way back when when I wrote how much I love my Nike+ system, so with the tracking of splits in that program I can learn how fast I am running, and where I need to work on my time. Currently, I am running with an average pace of 12:35/mile, which means I need to know off 3:00/mile in order to reach this goal. I foresee A LOT of sprint training in my future to reach this, but goals are suppose to be hard, right? If they were easy, everyone could achieve them.
3. To complete a 10k.
No time limits on this goal, at least not yet. This is probably the "pie-in-the-sky resolution" that I have, because I feel that I need to mentally and physically get past the 5k distance, and then I can see the starting line of a 10k race. But it is something to keep on this goal list to work towards in the coming year.
So there it is, out for all of the world to see. I hope someone out there can help keep me accountable and cheer my lazy butt along on some days. :)
Saturday, December 29, 2012
What I Have Learned: Volume
The other day I jotted down several different ideas of things I wanted to write about, and a few of those ideas could be grouped together for a series. I thought a series would be more entertaining, and it could make the entries shorter, thus (hopefully) keeping your attention.
This series comes out of what I learned during December, after the coughing sickness that lead to my losing weight. I realized that I *am* capable of losing weight, and now need to focus on how to keep doing so. Obviously, not eating is NOT an option. So I did some reading, and started to focus on the cues that my body was giving me, but that I was obviously ignoring.
The other day after a workout, my stomach did a huge growl and since it was lunch time I decided to treat myself and stop into the nearest Burger King to pick something up to take home. Once there, I ordered the Grilled Chicken Sandwich, which was a change from the Whopper Jr. meal that I typically order. No drink and no fries for this fitness girl! So off to home, where I could sit on the couch, watch MSNBC in peace, and eat my sandwich with no kiddo distractions. Once I got half way through my sandwich, I realized I was full!! Crazy, it was only half eaten, and remember I had no side items!
So it seems that the doctors and nutritionists might be on to something...eating less food but more often is the way to go. Instead if eating the entire chicken sandwich, I wrapped up the other half, and ate the rest a few hours later. Yes, I might be eating or drinking something all the time, but my body was not designed to be stuffed until you need to roll me home. My stomach is only so large, and I am on the road to being healthy. I will not over eat, I will not keep eating once I am full. I will be mindful of what my stomach and telling my brain, and stop eating once I am full.
Seems simple enough, but if it that simple, why is it so hard?
This series comes out of what I learned during December, after the coughing sickness that lead to my losing weight. I realized that I *am* capable of losing weight, and now need to focus on how to keep doing so. Obviously, not eating is NOT an option. So I did some reading, and started to focus on the cues that my body was giving me, but that I was obviously ignoring.
The other day after a workout, my stomach did a huge growl and since it was lunch time I decided to treat myself and stop into the nearest Burger King to pick something up to take home. Once there, I ordered the Grilled Chicken Sandwich, which was a change from the Whopper Jr. meal that I typically order. No drink and no fries for this fitness girl! So off to home, where I could sit on the couch, watch MSNBC in peace, and eat my sandwich with no kiddo distractions. Once I got half way through my sandwich, I realized I was full!! Crazy, it was only half eaten, and remember I had no side items!
So it seems that the doctors and nutritionists might be on to something...eating less food but more often is the way to go. Instead if eating the entire chicken sandwich, I wrapped up the other half, and ate the rest a few hours later. Yes, I might be eating or drinking something all the time, but my body was not designed to be stuffed until you need to roll me home. My stomach is only so large, and I am on the road to being healthy. I will not over eat, I will not keep eating once I am full. I will be mindful of what my stomach and telling my brain, and stop eating once I am full.
Seems simple enough, but if it that simple, why is it so hard?
I'm back!!!
Hello there!!! Remember me? :)
Yes, it seems that I have taken some time off from the this blog....and from running. Sadly, other things seemed more important at the time, and recently I have shed a lot of those responsibilities. My husband changed jobs, which means that my job as head cheerleader for his company was put to rest. I resigned one of my consulting jobs, and another volunteering job that I currently hold will end in May 2013. So here right now, on this blog, I am officially declaring 2013 is the "Year of ME!".
I know what you are thinking---how rude. Seriously, as a mother and wife, I have learned a lot over this past year, and I know that I need to start treating my body like a temple and not a trash can. Good things need to go into it instead of the trashy food that we as Americans consume on a daily basis. And I need to produce a good output (exercise) to keep up with these energetic kiddos that rule my house.
And yes, this is also a selfish journey for me as well. Here is what happened: Over Thanksgiving weekend, I developed a cough which was really tough. It was one of those coughs that took over your entire body when you did cough, and it eventually sent me to the doctor. I rarely go to the doctor, like most moms out there (I think) I was just content to let things take their course. But there were two days in a row that the cough was do violent that I was sent running to the bathroom to get sick. Seriously, that is a BAD cough.
While the cough did eventually go away, so did some of my weight. I lost seven pounds in seven days. Yeah, not the healthy way to do things, but with getting sick, and my throat being so sore from coughing so much that I could not eat, the pounds fell off. And crazy thing is that I have plateaued there for awhile. So that goes against my theory that I could not lose the weight. Dang it! So now my new goal is to have the first two numbers of my weight to be "13" instead of the "14" that it currently resides at, which is down from the "15" it was a few weeks ago. Lucky number "13"!
So that is the story behind the starting line of my selfish journey for 2013. I hope you will join the journey with me!
Yes, it seems that I have taken some time off from the this blog....and from running. Sadly, other things seemed more important at the time, and recently I have shed a lot of those responsibilities. My husband changed jobs, which means that my job as head cheerleader for his company was put to rest. I resigned one of my consulting jobs, and another volunteering job that I currently hold will end in May 2013. So here right now, on this blog, I am officially declaring 2013 is the "Year of ME!".
I know what you are thinking---how rude. Seriously, as a mother and wife, I have learned a lot over this past year, and I know that I need to start treating my body like a temple and not a trash can. Good things need to go into it instead of the trashy food that we as Americans consume on a daily basis. And I need to produce a good output (exercise) to keep up with these energetic kiddos that rule my house.
And yes, this is also a selfish journey for me as well. Here is what happened: Over Thanksgiving weekend, I developed a cough which was really tough. It was one of those coughs that took over your entire body when you did cough, and it eventually sent me to the doctor. I rarely go to the doctor, like most moms out there (I think) I was just content to let things take their course. But there were two days in a row that the cough was do violent that I was sent running to the bathroom to get sick. Seriously, that is a BAD cough.
While the cough did eventually go away, so did some of my weight. I lost seven pounds in seven days. Yeah, not the healthy way to do things, but with getting sick, and my throat being so sore from coughing so much that I could not eat, the pounds fell off. And crazy thing is that I have plateaued there for awhile. So that goes against my theory that I could not lose the weight. Dang it! So now my new goal is to have the first two numbers of my weight to be "13" instead of the "14" that it currently resides at, which is down from the "15" it was a few weeks ago. Lucky number "13"!
So that is the story behind the starting line of my selfish journey for 2013. I hope you will join the journey with me!
Monday, January 16, 2012
So far, so good
Yep, I've only half-way fallen off my wagon of 2012 Goals....I haven't GAINED any weight, but I have not lost any either. On the positive side of things, I am getting to the gym more often. YEAH ME! I have to average 9.7 miles per week to reach my goal of 506 miles in 2012. And I a head so far! For example, for this current week I only have 4.17miles still left to log, and that is before my run on Saturday.
At the beginning of the year, I decided to join the Clarksville Running Club. It's a group of runners (duh!) that meet every Saturday morning for a group run. Most of the members are SERIOUS runners, and on that first Saturday in January they were like "Oh, I think I want to aim for ten (miles)," in such a nonchalant kind of way. I was PUSHING to reach four (I managed 3.78) But I always have to remind myself that I am (still) a beginner runner, and at one point they were at the point that I am at now. I do like how I am accountable that morning, since two of my neighbors have also joined and we carpool together. Makes it a little more bearable when rolling out of the bed before 7am on a weekend morning.
But I also feel like I am "cheating" some days when working out---like I am not totally pushing myself to the limit that I know I can reach. For example, one day this week I cycled since all of the treadmills and the working elliptical machines were taken. GRRR!!! But I stayed at the gym, and logged 5.11miles on the bike, followed by 1 mile on the elliptical machine that had just opened up behind me. And while I did log 2/3 of my weekly mileage in that one day, I still left the gym like I had not totally pushed myself to the extreme. I kept waiting for the cycling to get harder and to hurt more, but it never came. I only did the elliptical for that small amount because of time constraints, but I still was not exhausted by the end of the workout.
Hopefully, someday soon, I'll find an exhilarating fitness routine that will leave me winded, but coming back for more....
At the beginning of the year, I decided to join the Clarksville Running Club. It's a group of runners (duh!) that meet every Saturday morning for a group run. Most of the members are SERIOUS runners, and on that first Saturday in January they were like "Oh, I think I want to aim for ten (miles)," in such a nonchalant kind of way. I was PUSHING to reach four (I managed 3.78) But I always have to remind myself that I am (still) a beginner runner, and at one point they were at the point that I am at now. I do like how I am accountable that morning, since two of my neighbors have also joined and we carpool together. Makes it a little more bearable when rolling out of the bed before 7am on a weekend morning.
But I also feel like I am "cheating" some days when working out---like I am not totally pushing myself to the limit that I know I can reach. For example, one day this week I cycled since all of the treadmills and the working elliptical machines were taken. GRRR!!! But I stayed at the gym, and logged 5.11miles on the bike, followed by 1 mile on the elliptical machine that had just opened up behind me. And while I did log 2/3 of my weekly mileage in that one day, I still left the gym like I had not totally pushed myself to the extreme. I kept waiting for the cycling to get harder and to hurt more, but it never came. I only did the elliptical for that small amount because of time constraints, but I still was not exhausted by the end of the workout.
Hopefully, someday soon, I'll find an exhilarating fitness routine that will leave me winded, but coming back for more....
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