Milestones

I am back with a new milestone... I have completed my first half marathon!! Yay!!! It took a lot to get to this day and I almost did not make it. It would seem that every year Iron Girl challenges me with a new health ailment. Some of you may remember that I broke my ankle at my first Iron Girl in 2011. Then in 2012, I was given doctors orders to NOT run as a result of new found asthma. Well this year, 2013, I am preparing to have my gallbladder removed. None the less, I conquer on!

I went into this half having trained, but not whole heartedly. With asthma, it is hard to run when its really cold so some Winter mornings are out. Yet, again with asthma, is hard to run at night during the Spring as the pollen affects the asthma as well. I did get a 15k in a few weeks back, which I forgot to blog about, but training was thwarted by a gallbladder attack.Alas, I am here to write about my Iron Girl experiences.

I awoke ready to do this.. aside from serious stomach flutters and the feeling of wanting vomit I was in it to win it. I did end up forgetting the new handheld water bottle I bought as well as my Garmin watch. I figured, ahh what else could go wrong? We got there and I was able to use the port-a-john two times before it was time to start but my nerves were a huge issue. My palms were sweaty and I seriously thought I was gonna hurl on the person next to me. I got through it by cracking jokes and making friends the way I do anywhere I go. Then.... the crowd moved forward and it was time to go. I fumbled with my iPhone to get my RunKeeper to start and headed out. I had already decided to NOT use my normal 2:00 run, 1:00 walk, 3:00 run strategy and just let the lady in my ear give me my average pace so I could adjust my speed accordingly.

I was rocking it hard the first 5 miles... I was averaging 12:50 pace and feeling good and then, good God, my nose ring flew out whilst wiping sweat from my face. Instantly I was looking around and found it.. while attempting to jog I got it back in and carried on.  I made sure to stop at all the water stops to stay hydrated and popped some Cliff Energy Chews here and there. When I got to miles 7 I used the port-a-john. Let me tell you how hard it is to pull down sopping wet shorts when your legs are all shakey and you are trying to go fast. IT IS HARD!

Right about miles 7.5 I hit a wall. I had to pee again, so I did, and my right foot was giving me issues. Also, I was getting cramps in my side which prompted me to delight all the people around me with a serenade of large burps. I walked quite a lot... I tried to jog here and there but I was letting my mind take over AND my music got slow-UGH! I began reciting "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" which surprised the people around me who just got done hearing my burps as well as me saying," Sh*t my foot is killing me" I just kept asking HIM to get me through this.

Did I mention this race took me over to HUGE bridges TWO TIMES!!!!! Let me show you these bridges....

Clearwater Bridge (2 times)

Sand Key (ALSO 2 times)

I am ashamed to admit I began walking ALOT... the last time up Clearwater bridge had me seeing spots. I almost cried but I pushed through. Once I missed my 3:00:00 time I decided to shoot for something less than 3:30:00 and I got 3:26:00. Not to shabby considering all the things stacked up against me. I made it through, and got my finisher medal. Yeah, I AM A FINISHER!! Woot Woot!

What now?

The 13.1 sticker is going on my car and I will chill out this week and stay active but NOT over do it before my surgery. I will get back out and there and do another half. I know I can do it now and I have a PR to beat.  If you stayed and read all of this, you must really be my friend. So I thank you for your continued support. Now, to wear my medal tomorrow so I can show my students what perseverance will get you as they take on their own bridges- FCAT!

Marked Absent

So I have been absent from this blog since November 2011. In actuality, it explains a lot about my issues with weight loss, self esteem, and life. Sometimes you are ABSENT from your own life.
It can be because you have taken on too much responsibility and are living a busy but happy life, it can be because you are not in a good place, or it can be because life is a roller coaster and WHO the hell has time to keep up with a blog when they are doing so much other stuff?

The funny thing about the prior statement is that I could reiterate it with the word "healthy lifestyle" inserted for blog. WHO has time to keep up with a healthy lifestyle with so much other stuff to do? Obviously not me... as I plummeted far and deep from my intended path and watched the scale go higher, higher, and higher. I have my excuses.... (1) I teach (2) I have no time to exercise (3) I eat when I am stressed, sad, happy... Shit, I just love to eat (4) I broke my ankle at my first 5k (5) I have adult onset asthma now. Blah, Blah, Blah. Truth is, it is a mindset. You have to rewire your brain to think differently. This is a hard task with so much conflicting stimuli in life. I am a teacher, I am a mother, I am going to school to get my masters, and I do keep busy with other things I am responsible for.. BUT I am a human being that needs good health to live a long and healthy life so I can continue to be the one thing that is the most important from that list- mother.

I need to be here for a very long time so I can witness and partake in the life I created. My son needs his mother now... and then. I need to be healthy enough to be the mom he needs. This will not happen if I let the excuses and the stimuli sway me. It is not easy being a mom... more so a mother of a child that has needs that exceed other children. It is not easy being my son as I have my own insane set of needs. Just ask my husband.

So.... I am back. I cannot promise I will post weekly as I have a classroom blog I keep up with for my class. I can promise I will make it a point to share exciting news and gripe about downfalls as we all have them and they are what make us grow as people.
------------------------------------
My current state of mind was created when I stepped on the scale and it shouted back. I weighed 226 lbs at my last doctors appt which was just before the new year. I made a promise to change that. I have lost 11 lbs in the month of January but stalled out a week or so ago. I am not following any one single plan. I am counting calories and tracking carbs/sugars via My Fitnesss Pal. I am also trying very hard to get out and run 2-3x weekly. I completed my first 10k yesterday in preparation for my first half marathon April 14th.

I hope to drop another 8-10 in February and will adjust my intake til I start seeing results. MY hope is to find a doable real life change that is NOT A DIET but a reasonable intake which is not void of some treats.

I will keep you posted....

Perfect?

So I came on here over a month ago admitting I ate fries and feeling down as a result of watching an old buddy plug along on his journey and I admitted my err and proclaimed my goal for change. yeah.. well  um guess what? I am not perfect. What? Did I just admit that I am not perfect... YES I did! As a matter of fact, perfect is not a word I use or allow my students to use, along with hate, as there is no such thing as perfect. Just to prove my point I would like to acquaint you with the meaning of perfect.

Perfect - ADJECTIVE

1.  without faults: without errors, flaws, or faults

"in perfect condition"

2. complete and whole: complete and lacking nothing essential

3. excellent or ideal: excellent or ideal in every way

"That's the perfect word to describe him."

 

I do not know about you BUT I am do meet any of the aforementioned criteria to be deemed perfect.  So anyway, I did not follow through from my last post. Why? I can blame my birthday ( lots of cupcakes), my bum ankle, stress at work, Halloween, and walking 60 miles in three days.  I am sure that some of you are disillusioned, as I was, that walking for 3 days will help you lose weight. You can join me in being wrong about that. I gained weight from the salty, but necessary, snacks as well as the tons of Gatorade I drank. The end result is my pushing 199 pounds again. I am in a sad, sad state.

 

There is not much I haven't done in the name of losing weight. In the end, the one thing that worked and kept weight off me the longest was Weight Watchers. I was able to "cheat" within reason. I did not give up all my cards. I did not switch to a liquid diet for weeks. I just ate sensibly and exercised. PLUS I had a scale Nazi to weigh me in and a meeting of people to clap for me every time I reached a milestone. Anyone that knows me understands I need positive feedback, A LOT of positive feedback, to stay motivated. Why else would I post all my work out information and measurements on the "interwebz"?

 

So I am joining WW and will begin my journey, again, to weight loss.

 

 

Have you ever hit rock bottom?

I have!

I know I have been on an unknown hiatus for a little while and felt I needed to pop in and say... well just admit it.. admit what? I am a quitter!!

After several Dr's appointments and 7 weeks of two shakes a day I lost 9 pounds and found out I was completely normal and have no real reason why my body did not want to shed weight. I began to wonder why I was running 3x a week and eating a mere 1200-1400 calories a day and not seeing the results I longed for. THEN, school started and the long days came. I have not been consistent with my running and I haven't counted calories since August 22nd- the first day of school. I admit to eating handfuls of candy corn, the occasional medium fry from MacDonalds, and bread- copious amounts of bread.

God help me..

The end result is that I may have maintained my weight within a pound or two but I feel like crap and I am tired. As my fourth graders would write- I am really, really, really, so, so so tired. ( Do not worry I am fixing their writing)  So, why am I admitting this to you? I am glad you asked. I have totally hit rock bottom. People, I ate fries! Do you hear me? Fries! I had not eaten them in 2+ years!!!!!!

Anyway, I am back sort of. My life is consumed with teaching right now but I will be checking in as much as I can. I will try to get a handle on my eating issues. I believe admitting there is a problem is the first step. With that aside, I think I can get my fat butt back on track. SO here it goes....

Hi, My name is Heather and I am a food-a-holic. I eat when I am stressed. I eat when I am mad. I eat when I am sad. I eat... to eat.

Whew. Glad that is out and in the open. Tonight, I shall jog!

Thanks for staying around and big props to Pat for sticking with it and making me realize what I walked away from.

Week 7/90 Day Challenge- but not really

The last 7 weeks have been really rough on me. I truly thought I had found something that was going to work for me. Why not - it works for so many other people. My body, however, is a medical mystery. I can eat no more than 1200 calories daily, work out no less than 3 days weekly, and make healthy life choices and my body has other ideas.

Diet
I am still drinking the body by vi shakes. I will admit that I do not do 2 a day every day as 5 weeks of following that idealogy did not reap the rewards I had hoped for. I am, instead, alternating between 2 a day and 1 a day as I see fits in my daily schedule as well as along with my workout regimen. I am continuing to eat just 1200 calories a day with a little slide here in there within my alloted net calories and as dictated by calories burned.

Exercise
This last week I walk/jogged 6 miles last Saturday, walk/jogged 3 on Tuesday, walk/jogged 5.41 on Thursday, and walked 11 yesterday. I plan to begin incorporating strength training this coming week.

Results
I am using my weight from Thursday morning as I am currently retaining A LOT of water and do not think todays number is a fair representation of the truth.

So here are the Results..

                 6-17       6-24       7/2       7/8       7/16       7/22               7/29        8/6       
weight     198       191.5       192.4    190.3    189.3    191 (wth?)    188.5     187.5 ( i think)
chest          45           44          44         43         42         42                42            42
waist          42           41         39.25     39         38        38                 38            37
hips           44 1/4     43 1/4     43         42         42        42                 42           41
Bicep        12            12           12.5     12.5      12.5      12.5             12.5        12
Leg            22 1/4     21            21       22         22         22                22           21

Total pounds lost are 10.5 * i forgot if I weighed 187.5 or 187.8 on Thursday.
Inches from waist 5
Inches from bust 3
Inches from hips 3.25
Bicep and Arms- fluctuate
                

Week 6: 90 Day Challenge

Some of you may have noticed I did not post last week. I didn't do so because I was very let down by what changes my body is and is not making. I was UP 2 pounds last week with NO change in my measurments. Now I understand that most of you will say " Shut up- you lost 9 pounds in 5 weeks" Yeah, yeah I get that. However, 6.5 of those were in the first week. You tell me that would not erk some of you!

So this week I decided to stop stressing so much. I tried to do two shakes a day but some I just ate a protein bar for lunch instead. I also changed from jogging at night to doing so early in the morning. I attempted to work out every other day as opposed to being the wild woman that was working out daily as well. Lastly, I visited an endicronologist to talk about my body issues and see if something medical was at play. Let's be honest folks.... being as active as I have been and eating as incredibly holy as I have been should be yielding some much different results- jus sayin. ( Yes I just through in "jus sayin" in my blog)

So here are the Results..

                   6-17           6-24              7/2       7/8       7/16          7/22           7/29        
weight        198            191.5           192.4      190.3    189.3    191 (wth?)    188.5
chest          45               44                44           43         42          42                 42
waist          42               41                39.25      39         38          38                 38
hips           44 1/4         43 1/4           43          42          42          42                 42
Bicep       12                12                 12.5       12.5       12.5       12.5              12.5
Leg           22 1/4          21                 21         22           22         22                  22

So I am back to what I was 2 weeks ago minus .5

Week 4/90 Day Challenge

After a lot of input from the people in my life, I decided to attempt to follow a healthier version of my diet than I had been the last two weeks. I assumed, and was right, that it would probably create a feeling of my body wanted to retain more of what I ate as it might have be in starvation mode before so I did not dilute myself into thinking I would see major improvements this week. 

Diet
I was a good girl this week and made sure to eat atleast 1200 calories daily. I switched from using SparkPeople to MyFitnessPal on my phone and I loved seeing my Net Calories as well as being told how much weight I would weight in 5 weeks according to that days intake. It was very informative.

Workout Results
The beginning of this week was ROUGH! I was suffering from some issues that made it hard for me to get up or out to exercise. Wednesday I did, however, make it to the gym for an elliptical visit. Thursday, I pushed myself 3.6 miles in under an hour. Friday, I wanted to die as a result of Thursday but I did push through 2.5 miles.

Understanding what I changed this past week, I knew the numbers would be low. I do anticipate having a better week next week now that my body is expecting more calories.

Starting weight was 198... today's weight 189.3

                    6-17           6-24              7/2       7/8       7/16        
weight        198            191.5           192.4      190.3    189.3
chest          45               44                44           43         42
waist          42               41                39.25      39         38
hips           44 1/4         43 1/4           43          42          42
Bicep       12                12                 12.5       12.5       12.5  
Leg           22 1/4          21                 21         22           22