A 10pm wake up call!

Last Friday night, I wallowed in self-petty because I over ate and was bored out of my mind. Why? My boss is a hypochondriac and because Shayne was sick, I was not allowed to go to work. Sounds nice right? No, I don't do well not working when there is nothing to do. Anyways, back to the wake up call. I have befriended a lady who is also in the Ultimate Loser competition with me and we were planning on going to a movie. On her way to pick me up, she called and said everything was sold out but she had pre bought her ticket. Not a big deal, it was late and I'll just go to bed. Then she mentioned a 5k race she was participating in the next day and invited me to join her. At this point in my "training" stage, I have already accomplished the 3 mile run but wasn't planning on running a 5k until the Lewis and Clark Marathon in June. I figured it would give me enough time to be secure in my running abilities. Then all of a sudden I found myself saying "Yes, I'd love to come! What time does it start and where is it?" Oh the horror! I hung up and was baffled by the words that came out of my mouth. Straight to bed only to experience nightmares about running and random cramping in my legs. I woke up early to make sure my body was functioning and did some major stretching to insure my calves would cramp up. I arrived, paid my fees and signed my name on the dotted line. No turning back now and for goodness sakes, it's only 3.1 miles! I strapped on my iPod, tuned into Justin Bieber and was set to take off! "Ready set go!" I remember the kind words from my father "Slow and steady wins the race." Not in my case, slow and steady, yes, winning the race, no. Within the first mile I was passed by the man who was speed walking. May I mention he looked like a duck and it made me laugh. Mile two was difficult because of my side ache but I really wanted to push it through mile three. Ultimately my goal was to finish in less that 45 minutes. Seems slow I know, but the key word is FINISH. I wonder if everyone gets that burst of energy when they see the finish line? I sure did so I sprinted right on through and looked at my watch 40 minutes! Heck yes! I didn't hear my official time because Justin was singing so loud, but I just looked it up online and (drum roll please) 33 minutes and 41 seconds! YAHOO! I ranked 16th out of 39 women in my age group. Not to shabby for my first run and after I felt like a million bucks. Just kidding, but I did feel accomplished. Goal for the Lewis and Clark: less than 30 minutes!

Progression or regression?

This journey of weight loss/self-awareness has been interesting to say the least. I never thought I'd be one who counted calories and made sure I have a specific calorie burn each day. People could call this a success story because I have accomplished so much in the past 5 months. Overall, the hardest thing I am still trying to conquer is running. My best friend is leaving in September to teach in Saudi Arabia for 20 months, and it was her idea to participate in a half marathon on July 11th. I have had months to train and each week I tell her I quit and I'm not going to run. I haven't quit yet, but after this past Sunday, I'm ready to put this off until next year. Who would have thought that running 7 miles would seem like an eternity? I gave myself two hours to run it because I'm so slow, but I was able to finish it in an hour and a half. Don't be fooled though because there is no chance that I could run the entire time. I believe at mile 1 I texted Shayne telling him it wasn't going well and my legs and butt hurt really bad. No response...thanks boyfriend! I am just going to tell myself that's his support towards me to push through the pain and get the job done. Seven miles down, next week 8! Lord give me strength!
Now comes my slap in the face...I complain and complain about how terrible it was to "run" for 1.5 hours, yet there are other things that would be worse. The "run" is over, I'm alive, time to get over it!

Other great news, today is my 6th week of Ultimate Loser and I officially have 3 more pounds to shed before hitting the big 30 pound mark!!! YAHOO! I have not lost that much during Ultimate Loser, but it has given me the push I need to hit my mark. How amazing that I have been able to stay motivated and keep up this great pace. I have 30 more pounds to lose to be my goal weight and it actually seems possible now. As always, I'll keep everyone posted!

Picture time!

I promised you a picture of myself a few months after I started this fitness makeover. Just a heads up, I'm with my friends and that's a singer named Josh Thompson if you must know.
Thanks!

9 Servings!

Last night was week three for Ultimate Loser and it was the dreaded weekly weigh in. After an adventurous weekend in Montana, I had only hoped to maintain my weight and not gain. I arrived and apologized to my team and bracing them for the harsh reality that drinking beer will cause you to gain weight. Well...I didn't gain any weight! In fact I ended up losing 2 pounds! That brings the total to 10 pounds in three weeks. I'm so proud of myself because it's hard to eat healthy along with training myself how to cook meals and not just grab something to go. I would have to say the one thing I struggle with the most is eating enough fruits and veggies. I feel like I need to be a rabbit to hit the 9 suggested servings a day. As I type this I'm looking at the bag of carrots on my desk that I will have to conquer later this afternoon. This next week I'm trying to lose 4 pounds but I'm going back up to Montana and my dad makes amazing birthday cakes (because my birthday is next week). Let's keep our fingers crossed that I am able to stay on track. Until next time...

Starving myself?

Last night was my first weigh in for the Ultimate Loser. After one week of counting and sweating I managed to have a 10,000 calorie loss! As I stepped on the scale, I held my breath hoping that would take a pound or two off, but alas it didn't. However, my hard work paid off! I weighed in three pounds lighter than last week!!! YAHOO! If I'm able to maintain this rate, then I should lose 30 pounds by the end of UL. That would be within jumping range of my goal weight! How exciting!

Another positive note, when I first started working out back in December, I was unable to run for longer than 30 seconds and last night I ran for 30 minutes without stopping! I could have run longer but I wanted to go home and have dinner and go to bed. I was so proud of myself but my goal is to keep running and try to pick up my pace.

I'll try to take a picture next week with my progress!

Ultimate Loser

I have been on this quest to get back to a normal size for the past five months and like all "diets" I've had my ups and downs. I joined this amazing gym that offers great group classes that have ultimately kicked my butt. If it wasn't for my friend Deana, I'm sure I wouldn't be as motivated. She is my gym buddy and we have committed to run a half marathon in July with my best friend Eva as a going away present. Who runs for a going away present? I guess I am...gulp
Here is a picture of me this past Thanksgiving...
It's scary because I never thought I would get this big. Please don't mind the beautiful face, it was during a family outing and there were some unhappy campers.

In January Deana and I decided to try out Boot Camp at the gym. We were told, even if we didn't change our eating habits we would see results. PERFECT! I don't have to change what I eat and I'll still lose weight. Here's a brief overview of what boot camp is like. Have you seen The Biggest Loser? Yep, we have our very own Bob and Jillian but it's really Stacey and Tammy. We meet twice a week to take part in a variety of "push-you-to-almost-dying" workouts for one month at a time. Thus far I have been impressed with how much this class has helped me on my journey. By the end of February I had lost over 11 inches total and 10 pounds. Boy was I convinced that this was the class for me. Unfortunately, I was unable to attend the class in March causing me to lose motivation. I kept telling myself that I need this, I can't do this on my own!

I have now decided to take the next step...I've enrolled in the Ultimate Loser program at my gym. It's a 10 week session that provides bi-weekly meetings with a trainer along with tips, tools and tricks to personal success with weight loss. We weighed in on Tuesday and I'm happy to report I've lost 15 pounds so far. That's just on my own and it's not very much because I haven't been eating correctly. My goal this week is to lose three pounds by next Tuesday. I'm trying really hard and I just want to be successful!

I'm so grateful to all my friends and family who have supported me thus far and I can't wait to keep you all posted on the progress I'm making!

Wish me luck!

Gosh, I really suck at this!

My deepest apologies about not posting a "blog" in the past 28,000,000 years! I really have no excuses to why I haven't shared my life with you all. Mostly I fear my life slightly on the boring side and I need to provide you with some exciting news if I'm going to post a new blog. My goal is to think of one amazing summary of what has happened in the past few months before the end of next week! Good thing the weekend will be here soon!

P.S. This is what happened the last time I made a vast amount of cupcakes....I don't have the passion that my parents have. I wish I did!