Back on track

I did my first goal, the 5 mile Atalanta Run in less then an hour. Not only did I do it, but I smashed it, doing it in less then 54 mins (but at this time I cannot think what the time actually was). In any case. After that, The kids got out of school, and finding time to do any sort of exercising. I had to drop my gym membership for the summer and I miss it terribly already, but no need spending 54 dollars to be able to go only a handful of times! Once September hits, i can get back to it... But... I can't stop my running. It's been hard, but I'm back on track. Ran 2 miles yesterday, and 2 miles today. Tomorrow I will take a break, but next week, I plan to run every day. They say that daily running isn't good for you. Well, I don't want to jinx myself, but I haven't gotten hurt yet. In fact, I seem to feel my sorest when i don't run for a day or 2 and then run. I don't think this week I'll get much over 3 miles at once. I just want to get back into the habit of running this week. My kick start. The one day I may not get to it, unless I wake up early, is Thursday. It is hard to do that plus get the kids ready to go to the camp and such. but, I will try to wake up. Actually, I would like to get myself to wake up every morning around 6:30 or 7 AM in general. So, If I do that, I'll be good to go with my running.

So, what's my next goal? Well, I would like to run a 1/2 marathon. 13.1 miles seems so long, but I can do it. I Know I can. I may be real slow, but I can do it. So, mid october is when the 1/2 marathon is... I would like to do the 1/2 marathon in October, another 1/2 marathon at some other point next year, if not 2 1/2's and then perhaps, the following year, do a full. My brother, Craig, is doing a full this year. for some reason, I just can't seem to fathom running 26.2. miles straight. I've been told that many don't run it completely, but still, that's a lot of miles! So, there you have it. :) Back on Track, and perhaps I'll be more accountable to my blog for a little while.

Your Diet

Well, I must say this has been a particularly bad weekend, eating wise for me. I had a moment of temptation, and took it... But it's a mixed blessing. Because of it, I got so sick that I don't want to even look at another piece of valentine's candy!! But, in any case, I was chatting with a family member today, and we were talking about diet. Not just the fact that people go on diets to loose weight, but diets in general, meaning "what you eat." However, in this instance, it was about diet as in loose weight. My mother was talking about her diet of lean meat and veggies, hardly any carbs! She's excited, she's lost 10 lbs in the last month. This is a very good thing for my mom, however, I can't imagine it'll last long. What happens when she gets to her goal. She'll go back to eating the way she did and gain it back. This type of diet is not meant for the long run. People cannot live off of meat and veggies alone! It is a balanced meal that makes us live longer! Whole grains, yes are part of carbs, however... they are essential for your heart health - something my mother needs to really, truly do! There are good carbs.... and the fiber in fruit is a good carb! yes, they have natural sugars, but if you are going to eat something with sugar, it better be fruit, instead of refined sugar or refined flours! The thing is, What I am trying to do is very strict, I will give you that, but I am trying to get the best nutrients in my body. Meat isn't always the best. Yes, we need protein, but time and time again, a mostly vegetarian diet has been proven to be not only healthier for you, but a good way to loose weight! Though I am being very stict about the amount of calories going into my body, I know that once i get my goal, I will be able to increase my calories little by little to be sure that I maintain my weight. and it is a diet that I can go back on any time and not sacrifice taste! I am getting plenty of my necessary vitamins and nutrients in my body! More then ever before! And veggies too!! UGH, but can't make my mother see this. I fear for her health, I really do. She's already had heart problems, and knowing that she's not eating the beast diet for her heart bothers me. But I cannot say anything. In her mind, I do not know anything. I have, for quite some time, had a high interest in nutrition, and also have been interested in getting my personal trainers license. There is a couple of great classes being offered as far as nutrition and exercise. Ah, If only I had the money, I could learn more. I don't think that even if I had the credentials, my family would listen to me. They are all pretty stuborn and pig headed... Gotta love 'em.

So, here's on to a new week. I can't let my bad eating of Saturday dictate how I go about the rest of the week. I didn't get hardly any exercise this weekend... but Tomorrow I will get back to my zumba. This will be a good week!! :)

February 9, 2011

Weighed in this AM at 169.5!! yay. Something I'm doing is right. Did 2 classes of zumba today, all that cardio feels good, though I tend to feel better from running. Tomorrow I will be doing a lot of running again! There are things I"m worried about. Basically 3+ years ago, I lost 50 lbs. Doing it very much the way i'm doing it now. The thing is... I gained at least 20 lbs back, and it's because I let myself get off the strict diet and the exercise. I'm most definitely less stressed these days, so I dont' think i'll get out of the exercise. I do enjoy it a lot, but I am worried about the diet. Yes, I want to make better decision and eat healthier, but at the same time, I don't want to be as strict as I've had to be in order to loose weight, but not gain weight as soon as I let myself be less restrictive. Is this going to happen again?? Am I going to be able to splurge once in a while and not let it get out of hand? or do I constantly have to deny myself simple pleasures? Well, for now I'm trying to be as balanced as I can, but restrictive on the calories. We'll see how long I can last. Valentine's Day is not that far away... the worst holiday for those trying to loose weight.

staying motivated

Sundays are hard to stay motivated for. But, today, while everyone else is partying, eating a lot of food that is not good for them, and drinking tons of alcohol, I decided to take my dog out for my 2 mi. loop. I wanted to see how much I could do. I made it 1 1/2 miles, pretty much no stopping (except for the turn around and one time for my dog to do his business).Thing is, I probably could have pushed on and did more then 1 1/2 miles. And once I stopped, getting back started was hard. I wish I had just pushed on and not stopped to walk at all. But, I walked, and I did that for maybe 2-3 blocks, (taking a longer way home to hopefully still get more running in) and then ran the rest all the way home. Now that I'm home, I feel GREAT. So glad I made myself do it. I'm a LONG way from doing a 4.1 mi. run plus a 2 mi. after that. Tomorrow, after zumba, my friend and I are planning on running. I have a mapped out 2 mi. there as well... hopefully running with a friend will keep me going. Actually, I think I can keep her going. But she runs way too fast for me, I have to keep it slow in order to run longer. Ultimately, that is my goal! So... I guess I'm trying to stay motivated... Keep up on my goal. I don't plan on pushing my runs past 2 mi. til the end of the month. Then we shall see. :)
Happy Superbowl all.

Wednesday

Weigh in at 172.
Exercise - 20 min jogging with Kara and a 50 min Zumba Class.

Thoughts of the day: It all takes patience.
Me, I have no patience. I l ike to think that I do, but in reality, I don't. I want to loose this weight in a snap. But, it all takes patience. Working towards the Foggy Bottoms run... it's slow going. I can run more at one time then I used to be able to. This is a good thing. I've turned someone else on to running. Working at it slow though. I wish I could just run 5 mi. without having to stop. Without my legs hurting and without loosing breath. But... it takes time. I'm working on it. Patience is a virtue...

The Goal

I am starting a new blog, I hope to give me a little extra motivation. I call it "Road to a goal" because I have a goal, and this blog will be how I get to that goal. I don't know if anyone is going to read this or not, but it's a way for me to log all this and also to stay motivated.

So to start with a goal. I have several goals. The ultimate Goal for me is to be down to 130 lbs and at least a size 8. However, in order to get to that goal, I have some smaller goals.

- Subgoal #1 - Get an exercise routine. For the Month of February, the Goal is at LEAST 1 hour a day. I would like to slowly increase this to 2 hours a day by the end of March.

- Subgoal #2 - Run a couple of races this year. First would like to run the 4.1 mi. Foggy Bottoms Race as well as the 2 mi. race with the family. This is mid March. Then would like to be sure to do the 5 mi. Atalanta Run in June and after that, a 5K (which is less then a 5 mi, so the 5K should be very do-able) in October.

- Subgoal #3 - Eat Healthier Options. That is: more fruits and veggies especially, more whole grains, less sugar and NO high fructose corn syrup. This goes for my children and the rest of my family as well.

So here's to the Goal. I'll be weighing myself tomorrow Morning to get started with it all. As Dr. Oz states, best time to weigh yourself is as soon as you wake up. I will do this once a week, as well as blogging about exercise and such that goes on each day/week.