Exercise Identity

Well, today is turning out to be another nice day and I have a running victory to share…

My treadmill workout today, with incline set to 0.5%:
2 mins brisk walking and then stretching
5 min warm-up walk @ 4.0 (15:00 pace)
10 min run @ 5.5 (11:00 pace)
3 min walk @ 4.0 (15:00 pace)
10 min run @ 5.5 (11:00 pace)
2 min walk @ 4.0 (15:00 pace)
10 min run @ 5.2 ( 11:32 pace)
5 min run @ 5.0 (12:00 pace)
3 min cool-down walk down around 3.5
Miles walked/ran = 3.7 (before cool down)
Time: 45 minutes (before cool down)
The gym wasn’t too busy today, there were always treadmills open, so I decided to stay on the treadmill running for a full 45-minute workout. There were few rough moments, and overall it was an awesome workout and I felt great!
I was nervous about those 10-minute runs since 5.5 is the fastest pace I’ve run at consistently. I should’ve known it would be okay though, because I’m in week 6 of the Couch to 5K Program and that program works.
My goal in doing this program for the second time was to run the entire 30 minutes at the 5.5/11:00 minute mile pace. So, I’ve been following all of the program with my running intervals at that pace, and I can see that I will reach my goal.
In fact sometime during the last 15 minutes of my run I smiled and thought to myself, “I am a runner. Me. [insert BIG grin] YES, I. AM. A. RUNNER.”
I think I found my exercise identity today….
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Happy First Day of Spring!

There’s nothing particularly healthy for me to share with you today, but I’m having a wonderful first day of spring.

Here in North Carolina it has been reaching 80 during the day and I’m loving it. I don’t love getting hot, but I have a/c in my house and I’m not ashamed to use it for a couple hours every afternoon. 🙂 The nights are still cooling down to the 50’s, so we leave the windows open at night and our house is chilly in the mornings.
Lovely.
Years ago I used to hate the thought of the winter without snow, but this year I’m liking a warmer-than-normal “winter”….because I LOVE MY SANDALS!!
Now I’m just waiting for April so I can wear springy colors more often. I do have a hard time wearing springy colors before Easter. 🙂
Anyway, I am on track with my food today and feeling very good about that. Plus, the laundry is getting done and my room got rid of some clutter spots that I’ve been ignoring for months. *contented sigh*
It’s a good day.
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How Full Can You Get?

Yesterday morning our assistant pastor gave a great analogy that I want to share with you today. He used fountain drinks in the analogy, but work with me here. The point of the story that really hit me to the core as a Christian, and also in my weight loss journey.

“You know how you go to a restaurant or fast food joint and when you order a large soda you realize that you get very little beverage due to the high amount of ice in the cup? Oh, so vexing!

So, you learn real quick that if you want more soda to drink you need to ask for “little ice” or “no ice”.
Well, that’s like our lives. The ice being the “junk” in our lives and the soda being God. We want God to fill us up, become more a part of who we are, but He is only able to fill you so much. Until you rid out the “junk” – hangups, habits, attitudes – he is only able to fill in the free space. As you remove the ice/junk, then He is able to fill in more and more of your life.”
This was a lightbulb moment for me as a Christian. It’s like to some extent I can limit what God is able to do in my life. It’s not his fault, but my own “junk” that prevents Him from doing more.
It also made me think about my healthiness journey.
I have lost just over 50 pounds. I have kept it off for a year now. I have allowed certain changes into my life that made room for weight loss, a level of maintenance and an active lifestyle.
If I want to see my healthy goal weight of 140 I am going to have to rid myself of the rest of the “junk” that is filling up my life and preventing me from going forward in my weight loss journey. Until I do that I can not complain about where I’m at. My weight will only change according to what I am allowing in my life, er my mouth.
So, if I want to hang on to certain foods or larger quantities of foods then I will stay where I’m at. It’s up to me.
It’s nothing new, but having the visual of a cup full of ice and beverage sure made a point with this very visual lady.
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Weigh-In.. Hovering

Today’s Weight: 178

Loss/Gain: +0.5 lb
I haven’t posted all week and it’s pretty much because of what you see today in my weight. I’ve been hovering around 176-178 all week. I know why I didn’t see a loss this week. I haven’t been eating weight-loss portions, every day. There are lots of areas where I see myself behaving very differently around food, but I have not been keepingy calories low enough throughout the week to see the pounds stay down. ( I was pretty happy when I saw 176 earlier this week)
One nice thing is my exercise has been fine. In fact, I’m happy to say the running is going well and I’m feeling stronger every time I run. My husband and I are considering doing a race in May, so I’ll keep you posted about that. I can tell in my shape that the more intense workouts are paying off with some nice muscle toning.
My life has also been pretty busy with everyday things, so I haven’t been blogging much lately either. I’m okay with that, knowing I had stated once I would at least check in for my weekly weigh-ins if that’s all I had time for.

I am still hopeful that I’ll get with the program in the area of food and the weight will start coming off again. In the meantime, I have a pretty free evening so I am going to try and catch up on blogs this evening. Thanks for checking in and I wish you all a wonderful weekend!
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Weigh-In … Non-Scale Victories

Today’s Weight: 177.5
Loss/Gain: + 0.5 lb
Considering being on a vacation of sorts while my friend was here and TOM arriving yesterday (meaning this was also PMS week) I am not surprised, and only glad it wasn’t more. 🙂
I had an awesome time with my friend, Sarah. One of the things we enjoyed the most was going to the gym on the week days she was here.
We had three good workouts together and enjoyed a few minutes in the sauna after each workout. What fun!
A few non-scale victories happened this week:
  • I didn’t gain lots of pounds while allowing myself to “vacation” in my eating while my friend was visiting.
  • I completed my regular workouts while my friend was visiting.
  • Today I ran 3 miles straight!!
I was so excited about finishing the 3 miles today that I was smiling all goofy at the gym. Had anyone asked why I was smiling I would’ve gladly told them it’s was because of running 3 miles straight through after only getting back to running a month ago.
Super exciting!
Oh, and not exactly this week, but recently a girl at church asked if I’ve lost weight. I told her only about 10 from when I moved there and she said, “Oh! Well, it must’ve been all in the right places!” or something like that… I grinned.
I’ve gotten nice compliments like that and I think it’s because I’m starting to fit in smaller sizes so it’s getting noticeable that something is changing.
Now to get the eating to be as successful as the running has been. In the meantime I hope you all have a good weekend. I’ll try and get around to reading blogs over the weekend. 🙂
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Weigh-In … Okay


Today’s Weight: 177.0

Loss/Gain: -0.5
I’m okay with this. Any loss is better than a gain.
Today my friend Sarah is in town visiting for a couple of days. I’m off to enjoy a great weekend of girlfriend time starting out with a trip to the gym this morning after we drop of my kids at school. 🙂
Have a nice weekend!
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So Quick!

I had a “snack” this evening after church and just sat down to calculate the calories I consumed. I didn’t get stuffed, but I’m full enough. I’m too embarrassed to say how much it was…boy it sure adds up quickly. Oh my.

The worst part of this late night snacking is I was debating for about 20 minutes, while I prepared for bed, whether or not I should have a Greek yogurt. That would’ve only been 170 calories. I ended up eating over twice that.
*sigh*
Folks, this is my worst area of weakness..snacking. I know I’m not alone in this..I was just amazed at how many calories I could consume quickly and not feel stuffed.
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Victory

I am currently reading through Made to Crave Devotional by Lysa TerKeurst. It’s a 60-day devotional that goes along with her line of thought in the book Made to Crave.

Today’s thought for the day really spoke to me in light of my recent weight loss struggles:
“Thought for the Day: Victory isn’t a place we arrive at and then relax. Victory is when we pick something healthy over something not beneficial for us — again and again.” – Lysa TerKeurst, Made to Crave Devotional
I have nothing to add to that except to share a victorious moment in my day today.
My workout for today was set to include my “long” run, which for me means trying to run the majority of my 30 minutes on the treadmill (at a slower pace) with fewer walk breaks. On a whim I decided to go ahead and see how long I could run before I felt the need for a break. I covered up the time with a towel and when I first checked it I was already 12 minutes into the running. I knew I could easily keep going, so I covered it back up with the towel and kept running.
In the end I made it the entire 25 minutes fairly easily at a 12:00 pace on a 0.5% incline. (I do a 5-minute warm-up walk before running.) On top of the fact that I made it the entire time running was the fact that I did it at the same pace I was running at when I stopped last summer.
V I C T O R Y ! ! !
Apparently I am not going to have to wait for months before I can run for a solid 30 minutes again. It would appear of all those little choices I made over the last 9 months, amidst a major relocation, to stay active in some way have paid off with regards to my running efforts.
It was a victorious workout to be sure. And with every better choice, whether in activity or food, I know I’ll continue to have victory in my weight loss efforts as well.
It is a good day today. [contented sigh]
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Weigh-In … Thankful

Today’s Weight: 177.5

Loss/Gain: +/- 0
Considering the week I had I’m okay with this maintain. It’s always better than a gain.
Thank you all very much for your kinds words, encouragements and shared wisdom on my Meltdown post. I was surprised at the number of responses and touched by every one of them.
It seems as if that meltdown let to a new day, because I’ve felt very much more with the program since I wrote it. Even that afternoon I was already feeling better.
This week reminds me of my #1 motivational song that I keep in that little playlist below – The Climb by Miley Cyrus. I’m not a fan of her or her movies, but this song sums up my weight loss journey very well.
I’ve faced a mountain and had to get over it. I did it, and sharing about it here in blogland reminded me that I have a virtual group of supporters who have been there, are there and ultimately are cheering me on.
Thank you again and I hope everyone has a great weekend!
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Meltdown

Prologue: I debated writing this post because it’s a bit depressing, but I wanted a written history of what happened to remind me that this journey is full of ups and downs.

Just before bed last night I had a meltdown. A complete, sobbing meltdown with regards to my weight loss, or lack thereof lately. I’ve been struggling on and off over the past week or two with caring whether or not I ate healthy or moderate portions.

I was so frustrated and decided I just didn’t care any more. I was tired of it all, etc. etc. I was thinking of never blogging again and just walking away from the pursuit of my healthy weight. Heck, I’m discussing health subjects with a friend who actually practices what she preaches while I’m overeating because I can’t, or won’t, discipline myself enough to eat right. I figured I would keep running and exercising and living like I am and be comfortable at 180.
But the sobbing continued, and I knew deep, deep inside I couldn’t quit. I always quit and I can’t this time. I’ve committed to fighting through this and as hard as it was I knew I couldn’t give up.
The only thing that stopped me from crying was I told myself I needed to brush my teeth before bed. As I was brushing I stopped crying, and then, upon finishing, I crawled into bed.
There were no more tears, but I just knew I couldn’t quit and had no idea how I was going to finish. Just when I thought all the “I can’t change” thoughts were over I found myself battling them again and I felt a tad hopeless.
About ten minutes later my husband asked if I was okay when he got into bed and I whispered, “no.” He spoke a few encouraging words to me and encouraged me that change doesn’t happen over night (and apparently not in 2 1/2 years either for some of us).

I woke up feeling a little better and decided I would just take it a meal and a day at a time; but I still had some funkiness going on. I also had a moment of realization/reminder.
No, I can’t do this. I can not be disciplined and be the Perfect Dieter who sticks to her plan and sees great losses every week. The woman who just gets it done and doesn’t bat an eye about the need to sacrifice to reach the goal.
Not on my own.
As I literallycried out to God about the subject this morning I kept thinking of the beginning of Philippians 4:19 “but my God shall supply all your needs…”.
I do not want to be a women obsessed with her weight and healthy eating; but I know that eating in moderation and taking care of my body is a good thing. By myself I can not break down this wall of “I can’t.”, but with God’s help I can.
He promises to meet my needs. He already proved that to me last night when my husband asked if I was okay and let me cry for a minute about this issue. God knew I needed that. He knew I was struggling and needed someone to help me remember that I have lost 50 pounds and kept it off, and that I did chose to not eat my entire restaurant breakfast that same morning, or that I ordered turkey sausage instead of regular without giving it a second thought.
I know I have to make the decisions that will lead to weight loss, praying will not make the pounds fall off, but I am reminded that I am not in this alone.
Maybe that’s why I had that meltdown. I needed to remember that I do still struggle with “toxic thoughts” (another subject for another day), but…I can press on.
Though last night I didn’t think I’d say this again…giving up is not an option for me. One choice at at time I will continue to fight and work towards winning this battle. If I need a break from reading all the weight loss blogs and comparing my journey to others, then I’ll take it. However, I will continue exercising and journaling my food and making better choices. And I will continue to update my weigh-ins every Friday.
I will also continue to ” trust in the Lord with all [my] heart and lean not on [my] own understanding.. in all [my] ways [I will] acknowledge Him and he will set my paths straight.” Proverbs 3:5-6, adapted for personal use.

Thank you for listening.
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