Masochistic Mondays: Reboot

Seven weeks postpartum. Determined to get moving again.

My whole pregnancy I said it was my goal to participate in the Women's Biathlon come September like I did last year.

I even had Mike on board with the idea. Plotting ways to get me away from the baby long enough to train. And promising to buy me a road bike as a post-pregnancy, "way-to-go!" gift.

Little did I know how much birth hurt.

So here I am 7 weeks postpartum and just getting the doctor's OK to resume "normal activity" – just in time for me to return to work full-time and a mere 7 weeks out from the planned 20k (10.4 miles) bike and 5k (3.1 miles) run.

That's 7 weeks to go from 5 months of completely sedentary pregnant lifestyle to biking and running several miles in the span of about 2 hours – with an additional 30 lbs on my frame from where I was last year for the event.

But still I haven't given up on the thought of participating in this event. It's non-competitive, so I have that going for me. And I figure if I can stand to be on a bike for 20k, then I'm good to go because if worse comes to worse, I can walk the 5k with many of the other participants.

So Friday Mike, Colbie and I headed out to Scheels, the new mega sporting goods store in town, to hook me up with some appropriate cycling gear to go with the new bike Mike found me on Craigslist – padded butt shorts, cycling jersey & a more aerodynamic helmet than my Target special.

Turns out the new mega store didn't have what we were looking for or if they did it was out of my price point, so we ended up at the local bike shop, Biketek.

Local business pulled through again, folks. Everything I wanted (for the price I wanted, which was an added bonus).

Newly outfitted, I headed out to one of the local trails Saturday evening to test out the bike for the first time. I'm happy to report I made it over 9.5 miles with only sporadic discomfort. I was slow as molasses, but relatively pain-free, so I think the biathlon will be in my near future as things can only get better.

Now to get my running act in gear…

Masochistic Mondays (on a Sunday): One Year Later

A comparison: July 26, 2009 vs August 14, 2010

I finally got around to taking some "one year later" shots in my exercise clothes and I thought I'd share the progress I've made. It's been slow progress, but progress none the less.

Here I am just over a year later from starting my healthiness journey. I've dropped almost 20 pounds. I had to adjust my starting weight because I use the Wii Fit and in the beginning I was convinced my clothes were adding 2lbs - so I used the -2 setting. I did an experiment immediately after being weighed at the doctor, turns out they didn't. So I bit the bullet and have now officially recognized that I weighed 190lbs! Yikes!

Though I would have loved to be one of those glory cases, you know the ones where the person is able to lose like 100lbs in a year and keep it off, I'm not. I still have a ways to go before I reach my goal weight, but really I've only made a few lifestyles changes, none of which involved drastically changing my diet or going on one of those crazy fad diets.

Besides the number on the scale, I have been working on just becoming healthier in general as well. I'm now more conscious of the food I eat, and in the last couple months even more so. Soda is almost completely gone from my diet. I can count the number of times on one hand I've had one since mid-December. Processed foods rarely make an appearance in our meals (though I must say I will never give up the recently discovered MorningStar Veggie Burgers, yum, yum). I'm consuming fruits at a record rate thanks to the addition of a fruit bowl on our dining room table filled with apples, peaches & oranges. My water consumption is most likely up to recommended levels again, though I'm not 100% sure because I just drink out of a big cup at work and don't track the ounces via a Nalgene anymore, all I do know is I pee A LOT these days.

But perhaps the biggest accomplishment is…

I now run.

Shocking, I know, but I run at least 3 days a week and on average 3 miles at a time. I can run 4 miles without walking, though it's tough. I've participated in a 5k and a 2-mile event (yes I finished both), and actually am getting ready to run a 10k next weekend! Isn't that crazy?! Only a month and a half after running in my first 5k, I will be running in a 10k. My goals are a bit more lax, but I know I can run the majority of the race and finish in a reasonable time. Besides running, I also bike a couple times a week (though according to Mike, I really need to work on getting my speed up there) and am signed up to participate (note how I don't say compete…I'm not delusional, I know I have NO CHANCE of ever placing in these events) in the local Women's Biathlon in mid-September – 20k bike & 5k run.

All these things are shocking to me. Had you asked me at the beginning of last July if I had ever thought I'd be able to run 3.1 miles straight, I would have said "Hell No! Are you crazy!" If you had even mentioned a 10k or a biathlon, I probably would have rolled my eyes and not even answered you.

I'm not the fastest runner, or the strongest cyclist, but you know what…I'm out there doing it. I'm making an effort. I'm making progress nearly every time I go out there. I'm not giving up. And more importantly, I'm making becoming healthy a priority. I wake up at ungodly hours to get in a 4 mile run with a friend before work (I used to be the one to roll out of bed 30 minutes before I had to leave for work). I squeeze in a bike ride in the time I have between getting home from work and going to my weekly craft group meeting. I ride my bike to work carrying a laptop across my back (though I must admit the riding to work thing has died out as of late with the extremely hot weather we've been having). Yes, the dishes may be stacking up in our sink to comically large proportions and the house might need a good vacuuming, but for now that's ok.

And I did it!

After a few years of "talking" about it (ok, not really talking but it did appear on my 101 in 1001 list and subsuquent New Year's resolution lists), and almost a year of running, I finally took the plunge and ran my FIRST EVER 5k event on the Fourth of July - the Firecracker 5000 in Peoria.

Exciting, I know! Nerve-wrecking as well (see my apprehension here). But I did it, which is awesome.

Now I know I'm not the fastest, actually let me rephrase that… I know I'm really slow, but I accomplished all my goals and Mike's as well in this race.

Goal #1: Finish race by running the entire 5k course - Check!
Goal #2: Don't come in last - Check!
Goal #3 (aka Mike's goal): Finish in under 40 min - Check!

Though I started running at the end of last July (and it lasted until the beginning of November), I only started to get pretty serious about it this spring after I tried to start the Couch to 5k program again in February. I've been running the 5k distance pretty regularly since mid-May, so really this wasn't a giant physical breakthrough, it was more of a mental one. Showing myself that I really can do it. And though my 39 minute 5k was my personal best (PR came earlier in the week before the race when I clocked in at 38:05 one morning with Mike - after choking a couple days earlier during his attempt to get me in at 40min), I was so happy with the result.

When the race started (and I took off like a jack rabbit - unintentionally - according to Mike), I was totally overwhelmed. I wanted to step onto the sidewalk, sit down and start bawling. And though my breathing was nearing hyperventilation, I took to heart what Coach (aka Mike) told me and really focused on taking deep even breaths. Before the first mile was even complete, I had calmed down and spent a lot of time trying to not to focus on ALL the people flooding past me.

Seriously I felt like I was running at least a 15 minute mile and I was convinced that if I turned around, I would see that I was quickly becoming one of the last runners on the road. I was shocked when I came to the first mile clock and realized I was running an 11 minute mile (I NEVER run an 11 minute first mile, I'm usually lucky if I can hit 12:30). That worried me a bit, and I knew if I tried to continue at that pace, though the prospect of a 33 min time was tempting, I would end up needing to walk and for my first 5k that was not something I wanted to do. I wanted to prove that I could run the entire thing, gosh darn it!

So I tried to slow myself down, though I wasn't really successful until after my second mile (I hit mile 2 at around 24 minutes) - around the time I finally saw Mike on the course. Silly him, was panicking because he thought he was at the 1.5 mile mark and was freaking out that I hadn't passed him yet, little did he know (until he started jogging next to me and I told him) I was at the 2.5 mile mark. By this time I was really dragging and even though I knew the finish was so close and that I should push it, I wasn't really successful in doing so - though it sure felt like it while I was running. Looking at the photos from the last quarter mile or so are kind of embarrassing because it seriously looks like I'm walking. I swear I wasn't - I'm just not a very good runner, haha!

According to Mike, I was neck & neck with another girl coming up on the finish line and she kept trying to edge me out, but I'm pretty sure I succeeded in beating her (I can't ask Mike for sure because he's at a work thing, doh). I have no recollection of this at all. All I know is I was singing along to my ipod trying to get myself to just forget how hard I was having to work and to just push myself to cross the finish line.

Thanks to my trusty Garmin Forerunner, I was able to know my real time for the race (39 minutes) because though I was wearing a chip so therefore have an official time (39:26, I believe), the race coordinators didn't have us cross the chip pads to start the race, only to finish.

After getting my chip clipped, I grabbed some Gatorade and water and sat down to wait for the official times to be posted. As you can see by my last photo, I was really, really sweaty after running. Though the morning seemed like it was going to be awesomely pleasant (then again it was 5am when we left), it was actually pretty warm out that morning on the river and it didn't help one bit that we were on pavement and in the sun the entire time.

For some reason, earlier in the week, I got it in my head that I absolutely needed to have a Dunkin Donut pink frosted donut after the race, so Mike indulged me - though it wasn't nearly as yummy as I remembered (I swear, they had changed the recipe since I was a little kid!). Then we headed to Mike's parents' to have a lunch BBQ and wash up, and then headed to my college roommate's to visit and continue our 4th of July tradition of getting together (this year with a baby added to the mix!).

Oh! How could I forget, of course my first race couldn't go off without a hitch. As I stood in line for the port-a-potty shortly before race time, I hear my name (and ONLY my name) being called over the PA. Luckily the nice women behind me let Mike hold my place (because I REALLY had to go), as I ran to the PA person. Turns out the registration lady forgot to mark my bib number on my registration form - the form I forced her to take because though I paid online, I was emailed and told I needed a paper form for legal reasons, but she didn't think that was necessary - so it was nothing I did wrong, but it was still embarrassing. Thankfully it was also quick, so I was able to get back to my spot in the port-a-potty line before my turn was up because as I mentioned earlier, I REALLY had to go.

If you want to see a little video Mike put together to commemorate my first 5k, click here to watch it on YouTube. If you couldn't tell, we just got a video camera and Mike is obsessed (which has compounded in the past few days since we also got a new MacBook Pro that can handle the video editing way better than the netbook could).

Masochistic Mondays: Week 41

The Stats (as of May 10, 2010)

Starting Weight: 188 lbs

Current Weight: 176.6 lbs

So much for "A Post A Day In May," huh? I had a good streak going. Even thought about how I still needed to blog when we got back from a friend's house for dinner last night, then got engrossed in a documentary right before bedtime.

As I sit here munching on a small bowl of popcorn for breakfast (it's pretty much cereal, right? Minus the sugar), I thought I'd post early today and tell you all about my super active weekend. It was the most active weekend I have had in almost forever and it was great. Though vegging out on the couch with knitting and movies can be relaxing and mostly what I crave on weekends, I have now seen that doing fun, exercise-type stuff can be just as relaxing.

The weekend started Friday evening with an invitation to enjoy Fajita Night at a friend's house. This time of year, Mike is super busy at work and not home very much so I planned on going stag but I felt kind of guilty leaving Nibbler all night after she had been home alone all day, so instead of heading out on my scheduled run, I decided my time would better be spent taking Nibs on a nice long walk at the park. Despite being dog owners for two years now, we are very dependent on our backyard, so Nibbler doesn't get walked nearly as often as she deserves (I've decided to change that because it's not right, she needs more exercise). After an hour walk around the empty park, smelling all the smells and meeting a couple of new dogs and their talkative owner, we headed home and Nibbler got her dinner and conked out on her side exhausted. I then rushed off to dinner for some yummy fajitas. Yum, yum. I brought some Dulce de Leche Sandwich cookies for dessert to kind of stay in theme. Also delicious, but neither are really diet friendly. Though I didn't really limit myself on the fajitas, I did watch the cookie consumption, so at least I put in some effort.

Saturday, I started the morning off by taking Nibbler on the long route around the park. When we came back from the 2.75 mile walk, we found Nibbler fast asleep (he never naps!), so we snuggled on the couch, tired from our walk until he woke because we had some plans with friends to go on the interurban trail. The guys were going to ride 30 miles and the girls were going to do the 17 mile route, and then we were going to end at Sonic (which is right by where the trial starts) to satisfy my weeklong Sonic burger craving. Well, nature didn't really want to cooperate. It was chilly and W-I-N-D-Y! Everyone else bailed out, but Mike and I still headed out. We ended up riding only 10 miles because someone didn't dress appropriately (and he scoffed at me when I put on a stocking cap, ha!). But I still deemed the ride worthy of Sonic. I must say I would totally ride 10 miles for a Sonic cheeseburger, fries and a strawberry shake any day. Actually I would ride 17 miles for it! According to my Garmin, I burned 464 calories during the ride. (I wear the heart rate monitor in conjunction with it, so I can pretty much trust that right? Or is it only using time/distance averages based on my height & weight?) And according to my calculation from the Sonic website, my dinner was 1460 calories. So I probably should be eating Sonic every time I ride, but it's way better than eating it having not taken a long ride, right?

I must say, even with the extreme wind, the ride wasn't bad, so much so that we even went again on Sunday with the group. After starting the morning again with a walk in the park with Nibbler, I rode with my friend, mrsshoo, at a nice pace (nice pace = we can talk, prob around 10mph average) the whole 17 mile round trip. We actually almost made it to the halfway point before the guys caught up from their extended route, so we weren't going too slow. It was a beautiful day, so I'm so glad I decided to go along and not head to the Y for weight training and my weekly timed mile. It would have been ashame to waste the day inside. As per the original plan, we ended this ride at Sonic as well - but only for ice cream.

I am really pleasantly surprised how much I enjoyed the group bike outing. Despite not vegging on the couch all weekend, I had a fabulous weekend and look forward to having more active weekends like this.

Masochistic Mondays: Week 40

The Stats (as of May 3, 2010)

Starting Weight: 188 lbs

Current Weight: 176.8 lbs

You may have noticed I was MIA last week during my regularly scheduled check-in time. Well...I was feeling ashamed. After finally breaking through my plateau two weeks ago (and maintaining for a week), I rebounded back to the dreaded plateau after an indulgent date night. It took some serious awareness to get back out of the plateau (every time I type that I hear that dun dun dunnnn in my head), but I'm hoping to keep the awareness heightened.

Mike has started coming on a run with me during the week, kind of like a coach. He was a runner (having finished 2 marathons), so he gives me tips. Things like relax. Keep your head up. Set goals. Stop worrying about how far you have left to go, etc. Though I complain and struggle more when I run with him, he is helping. Each time we run a slightly longer route, I struggle, I say I can't, we end up walking some of it, but then you know what? The next run I end up being able to run the entire route. My latest accomplishment being running 2.5 miles straight. That's right...without stopping to walk! Sure, I am not the fastest, but I ran the whole thing. At this rate, I might actually be up to a 5k in a few weeks.

According to Mike, once I start being able to run farther at a time, it will be easier to drop some pounds with the running. So I probably won't turn to improving my speed right after reaching the 5k length. I'd like to know I can run further than 5k before I sign up for a 5k race. I guess I should start looking into one to sign up for this summer. As motivation, you know.

I'll sign off for now, I've got a run to get in before making dinner and I'd like to watch How I Met Your Mother as well, so if I don't hurry up making dinner could cut into the show for yet another week.

Masochistic Mondays: Week 38

The Stats (as of April 19, 2010)

Starting Weight: 188 lbs

Current Weight: 176.1 lbs

Sorry, blogosphere, I've been gone a long time, huh?

Work kinda consumed me for a few weeks, then we went on a mini-vacation and then it took some time just to get back in the swing of things. Though our house is a disaster still, it is slowly regaining semblance of a house of order. And as I've kicked myself into gear the last week, getting back on track with eating right and exercising.

You may have noticed that there's been a down shift in weight from the last time. This is a relatively new development, with the downward trend starting last week after a rather gluttonous 4 day weekend in NYC.

I'm very happy to finally be out of the 178-180 swing I was in for MONTHS. I just hope I can continue to make progress.

In other exciting news, tomorrow I will be the owner of a Garmin Forerunner 305. I (guiltily) skipped my run today, but I plan to make it up tomorrow by taking the new Garmin out for a spin before craft group. I find the gadgets very motivating - currently I'm using a Nike+ with my ipod, but after nearly 9 months, I'm starting to get frustrated with the sketchiness. I'll have a really good streak of using it and then always, ALWAYS, the day that I really feel like I made progress and I want to compare, it decides not to track my mileage. Frustrating. But hopefully the new Garmin will clear that for me.

Masochistic Mondays: Week 33

The Stats (as of March 15, 2010)

Starting Weight: 188 lbs

Current Weight: 179.9 lbs

Though it looks like a gain, I'm totally counting this as a loss. After last week's craft night (full of taco dip, buffalo chicken dip and brownies), I definitely went up a pound or so after weigh in. Then I spent the rest of the week working on getting back to where I started the week at.

I didn't quite get there, but it's gosh darn close.

This weekend also brought a revelation.

Despite being at the Y 6 days a week for about a month, doing cardio and weight training and seeing NO results, I realized the difference between this round of Couch to 5King and the last this fall is I was tracking what I was eating. And though I thought I was doing a pretty good job watching what I've been eating, I obviously have not. Too much snacking at the new job with the delicious popcorn shop just around the corner and way too many lunches out now that I can't go home for the hour.

I've made some excuses in the past couple months that I couldn't track what I was eating because I wasn't privvy to the office wifi, allowing me to access my SparkPeople app on my ipod. I've finally owned up to it and have made the SparkPeople website one of my home pages at work. Now it's always up and when I eat lunch at work or have a snack, it's right there for me to add the food. At home, I'll continue to use my ipod app. Granted, I've only been back to seriously tracking for two days now, but I'm determined to make this work. I want all that effort I'm putting in at the Y to actually pay off in more ways than just fitness.

Yes, I'm shallow. But I need that number on the scale to go down, down, down.

I do have happy news regarding my running. During Sunday's timed mile run, I ran a personal best mile (well at least since I've been using the Nike+). Woot woot! And ran the entire mile already in my training schedule. And shaved 30 seconds off the last timed mile. Progress, awesome!

Masochistic Mondays: Week 32

The Stats (as of March 8, 2010)

Starting Weight: 188 lbs

Current Weight: 179.7 lbs

After going to the gym 11 days in a row, I had to finally put an end to that streak. I had plans on making a visit both days this weekend, but spring cleaning was a bit more intense than I even though. I mean, it took me ALL day Saturday to clean the kitchen! And I didn't even finish everything I wanted to, underneath the stove top still needs scrubbing and the pantry could use organizing. I just couldn't spend another day in the kitchen yesterday, plus we ended up needing to go up to Mike's parents' house for several hours to spend some time with his visiting uncle (so no gym visit yesterday either, we had to leave right when the Y opened at noon).

I very much look forward to the day when 4-6 days a week at the gym starts to pay off.

Hopefully soon.

But I'm pretty sure the ice cream cake (oreo crumbs, ice cream, hot fudge, cool whip and caramel topping) I had 2 servings of last night at dinner won't help that day come any sooner.

Since I didn't get to the gym this weekend, I also didn't get a timed mile run in, which is a bit of a bummer, but I guess it also help me avoid some disappointment.

Masochistic Mondays: Week 31

The Stats (as of March 1, 2010)

Starting Weight: 188 lbs

Current Weight: 179.5 lbs

Still going strong on the Couch to 5K bandwagon. Two weeks completed. I start week three tonight. Yesterday I did my timed mile run of the week and was pleasantly surprised. First, out of the 21 laps that makes a mile I was able to run 19 of them (a one lap improvement from last week). Second, I clocked in at a 12:02 mile. I know, you're probably saying, Sarah that's not too great. But it's improvement. Even in my time of peak physical activity, playing multiple sports throughout the year, I only averaged probably 10:30 mile. So the fact that I'm getting close to that again even when I work at a computer 8.5 hours a day and rarely get my butt moving is awesome. Especially since my C25K days are giving me 16-17 minute mile averages - I just have to keep telling myself that the 5 minute warm up & cool down really drags the average. It's hard to not let that get discouraging though, which is why I've started doing the timed mile runs. Even though that means I'm running 4 days a week, it's acting as a motivator to get me through the 3 days of program training each week.

Yesterday's mile was about a minute and a half quicker than the Sunday before's. I was pushing myself to keep a steady pace, and it showed. Mike said if I keep shaving off a minute each week, I'll be the fastest on the track in no time. My response was, I will be happy if I can maintain the 12 min mile for a few weeks and then start shaving time off. I just don't want to regress. I do enough of that on the scale, I don't need the additional blow.

In addition to C25K and the timed mile, I've also added a couple days of weight training into my schedule. That means I'm at the Y six days a week, though, but I figure if I keep up the momentum while it's fresh and exciting, I'll have a better chance of making it a habit. Thursday (which is an off day from C25K) was my first day adding weights into the routine. I thought I'd do some cardio on the elliptical and then use the weight machines a bit. Ugh, what a mistake. I forgot how difficult the elliptical can be! It was like it was my first day ever doing exercise. Needless to say, I didn't stick it out very long (more like I couldn't stick it out), but I'm proud of myself for not giving up on being at the gym all together that night and used a few of the weight machines just to try and get myself reacquainted with them. Saturday was my first REAL day of weight training. I did the entire circuit of 13 machines (3 reps of 10 on each), working both my upper & lower body as well as my core, in about an hour. I was worried I hadn't pushed myself hard enough, even though I was have difficulty at times, but come yesterday morning I knew I had not gone easy on myself - which I guess isn't too hard when you have next to no muscles to begin with. But OMG, it took me an hour (combined with the extreme coziness) to get out of bed. Though my butt was slightly sore, my arms were killing me. Mike was loving it, because I couldn't stop laughing from the pain. And he had to help me get dressed for our breakfast "date" with friends because I didn't have full mobility of my arms. Yes, I'm pathetic. And yes, it was hilarious. My abs got an additional workout from all the laughing I did.

Now that I seem to the this exercise thing under control, I really need to figure out this food and water thing. I'm not drinking nearly enough water, I know that. But I'm not sure how to get myself back in the habit - there was a time in my life where I was drinking several 32oz bottles of water a day, no problem. Now I struggle to finish 16oz. Sigh. I know, it's not good. And don't get me started about eating. I horrible. I know I should be watching my portions. I know I should be learning to listen to my body as it will tell me when it's hungry and when it's full, but I have this Berlin Wall in my brain that is just not coming down. Take Thursday for instance. After work I went to the Y and then grocery shopping, I came home with so much crap, the worst offender being the OREO Cakester snacks. Ugh. Two tiny, slightly bigger than a real Oreo, sandwich cakes = 250 calories. I had 2 that first night, but was very strict the rest of the week and only allowed myself one a day (which is still too many, I know). And then came yesterday. We went out with friends for breakfast, had a delicious and filling plate of stuffed french toast with sausage links. Wasn't completely stuffed, but was definitely full. Went to the Y to do my mile run and ride the exercise bike while Mike played racketball, came home, showered and then ate a leftover sloppy joe because it was after lunchtime. That was the only reason. I was definitely not hungry. Actually I was still full from breakfast several hours earlier, and yet I still ate the sandwich which proceed to make me feel ill later in the night and not want to make the yummy dinner I had planned (scallops with back & brussel sprouts) & had me contemplating breaking my streak of 81 days soda-free to get a 7up to make my tummy feel better. (wow, long run-on. sorry.)

So that's where I stand. Making progress in some areas. Not making progress in others. Like a teeter totter.

Oh! Saturday night we had another set of friends over to enjoy the massive chili dinner Mike prepared, and my friend mentioned to me that our town has a 5k that she heard of and thought of me - the Fat Ass 5k. Instead of water tents, there are beer, ice cream, donut & corn dog tents along the 5k route. I was seriously considering making this my first 5k (um, unlimited ice cream & donuts will get me almost every time), until I hunted down the price...$50! That includes race entry, tee shirt & entrance into the street party. Now I love ice cream, but I'm not sure I can justify that. Plus being my first 5k, I'll probably want to die after finishing & ice cream will be the last thing on my mind.

Masochistic Mondays: Week 30

The Stats (as on February 22, 2010)

Starting Weight: 188 lbs

Current Weight: 179.5 lbs

I have come to the conclusion that I am the world's slowest runner.

After restarting Couch to 5K last Monday, I've been sticking with it and even threw in an additional run on Sunday (a timed mile run). My previous 4 days on the indoor mini track at the Y have been relatively non-congested. Sure, a couple days there was another runner or two using the track (except for Thursday when a running group met there for training forcing me to run a treadmill for the first time ever) or a Zumba class going on in the center of the track, but today the track was a-hoppin'. As it wasn't super crowded, I decided to stick it out (I enjoy watching the Zumba class while I run, it's entertaining) and do week 2, day 1 on the track. And well, I learned that I am slow. Very very slow. People passing me left & right, it's almost embarrassing, but then I tell myself at least I'm making an effort and someone has to be the slowest. Right? Granted, it would be nice if the slowest one on the track was 80 years old or extremely obese, but it's not - it's me (though I must note, neither of those options were using the track, so I wasn't getting passed by a 90 year old or anything).

Despite starting to exercise again, you'll note that my weight has fluctuated again. This month has been so out of the ordinary for us, as we have been eating out a lot. Whether it's getting together with friends, going out for a special dinner or being on the road, we've just ended up not eating dinner at home very much. And since starting my new job, I've been eating lunch out much more often as well. It's a habit I need to break pronto. And hopefully with this past weekend out of the way (and a trip to see my ill grandfather 6 hours north - there & back in about 28hrs total), we can get back to our norm and hopefully being able to monitor what goes in, in addition to the exercise, I'll begin to push through this plateau.

Masochistic Mondays: Week 29

The Stats (as of February 15, 2009)

Starting Weight: 188 lbs

Current Weight: 178.4 lbs

So though the Whittle Your Middle isn't going that great, I find it incredibly discouraging that I have zero core muscles. I know, if I kept with it, I'd start to gain those muscles, but it just stinks that I can't hold a plank position for more than 30 seconds.

I do have progress to report, though.

In the middle of last week, Mike and I designed to renew our membership to the YMCA so we can both work on getting active and fit. After a busy Valentine's Day weekend, I made my first return trip to the Y this morning on my day off. Talk about major victory, right? I started Couch to 5K again. Day 1, week 1 under my belt. Despite not running for over 3 months, I didn't die!

Masochistic Mondays: Week 28

The Stats (as of February 8, 2010)

Starting Weight: 188 lbs

Current Weight: 180.4 lbs

Slowly creeping back. Not a good thing. Perhaps I should start modifying the Buffalo Chicken Dip recipe to be less caloric, that way next time I lure people to one of my parties with it and have plenty of it leftover, I don't gain quite as much weight from feasting on it for a couple days.

So we're getting to that part of winter where cabin fever sets in. Where both Mike and I long to escape the windy, cold, sleety, dark days of the Midwest. And where we realize that we've taken the hibernation thing a little too seriously and don't need to pack on any more extra pounds. For the past few weeks there's been talk of joining a gym, and though we've looked into the other options, I think we're set on going back to the YMCA. It's only about a mile from our house, so a nice bike ride when the weather nicens up and it's on our way home from work. All the other options would have us driving past our house after work when we're already tired to get to the gym. Sounds like a recipe for disaster. Add to that that one option was basically just treadmills & bikes and the other option would cost nearly $100 a month for both of us, the Y became a clear choice. Sure, it's not as fancy as the other places, but for the amount of money it's got some pretty good equipment & facility options - not to mention classes included. And now that I've dug out my membership card from a nearly two year hibernation, I think the plan is for us to re-sign up tomorrow after work.

That means I better get a new padlock, as I can't for the life of me remember the combination of my original.

In addition to the prospect of having a gym membership again, I've decided to try my hand (or shall I say abs) at Oh She Glows' Whittle My Middle challenge. My motivation match-up partner (via Priorfat Girl) brought it to my attention, um, in December, and here I am finally starting. I know, queen of procrastination here. Anyways, I gave day one a shot tonight and all I can say is, I'm pretty sure I have no core muscles. Out of an approximately 6 minute long workout, I'd be stretching it if I said I made it a minute and a half. It was frustrating and nearly impossible, but I'm going to try and stick with it. Though instead of some of the stability ball exercises listed, I think I'm going to see what the DVD that came with my ball has to offer. Not because I'm hoping they're easier, but because I have a little core strengthen ball and not a big ball necessary to do the things shown on the video.

And though I can't commit to full disclosure (maybe when I make some physical progress I'll show you the before picture of me in little running shorts and a sports bra, but not today, no siree, not today), I will share my rather rough estimate of measurements (someone stole my measuring tape! so I went old school with ribbon, a marker and a 30" ruler, not the most precise method, but will have to do). Perhaps if I find my tape soon, I will rerecord the measurements and edit these.

Smallest Part of Waist: 33.5"

Widest Part of Waist: 38.75"

Hips (largest part of bottom half): 42.25"

Masochistic Mondays: Week 27

The Stats (as of February 1, 2010)

Starting Weight: 188 lbs

Current Weight: 178.4 lbs

Masochistic Mondays: Week 26

The Stats (as of January 25, 2010)

Starting Weight: 188 lbs

Current Weight: 177.0 lbs

Masochistic Mondays: Week 25

The Stats (as of January 18, 2009)

Starting Weight: 188 lbs

Current Weight: 179.0 lbs

Mike's insurance plan through work changed for the new year, so we now have a bit more hoops to jump through. You know, the typical stuff, like doctor changes (and let me tell you, boy, has the selection of doctors gone down), but then also financial hoops as well. We now have to participate in a fitness incentive program where we have to do a number of things during the year lest we be penalized monetarily. But if we do complete the tasks, we get monetary rewards each quarter.

The first task for the year was to have biometric testing done and find out our glucose & cholesterol levels, so while at my annual exam a couple Thursdays ago, I talked the doctor into the ordering the lab work so I wouldn't have to schedule yet another doctor's visit in January while still very new at my place of employment (in addition to the annual exam, I also had my first dentist appointment in longer than I'd like to share - happy to report, cavity-free for almost 28 years). So the next morning after fasting for 12 hours and while the majority of my office was home-bound because of snow (a definite advantage/disadvantage to living a mile & a half from work) I made a stop back at the doctor's office before heading in to have the blood drawn for my testing.

I was happy to find out nearly immediately that my BP is normal (though not the lows I was clocking in during college) and my glucose as well was normal. I had always wondered if I suffered from some sort of glycemic disorder as I'm often fatigued and I had that spell in college where I dropped a lot of weight very quickly and without effort, but I think the concern was basically a case of "web-md"-itis as none of the "symptoms" were ever prevalent enough for me to drawn them to a doctor's attention.

It did take about a week to find out the results of the cholesterol testing, and they for the most part came back in the "normal" range...that is all except for my bad cholesterol level, which is high, but not high enough to cause concern yet. Just a doctor's recommendation to watch what I eat and work on losing weight.

So now I perhaps have the kick start I needed to get back on track with my work to becoming healthier. It would be nice to be able to go back to the doctor in a year and have them note a difference.

On a different note, I'm officially 40 days without soda. And though there have been a couple times where I was like, "wow, a root beer would be really great right now," it hasn't been that tough. Granted I wasn't a big soda drinker to begin with, but every small step counts towards the overall goal, right?

Masochistic Mondays: Week 23

The Stats (as of January 4, 2010)

Starting Weight: 188 lbs

Current Weight: 179.2 lbs

I definitely ate more during my week off for New Year's than for Christmas. A little strange, but true. I found myself feeling slightly sick from eating too much on multiple occasions. Not a great feeling.

Masochistic Mondays: Week 22

The Stats (as of December 28, 2009)

Starting Weight: 188 lbs

Current Weight: 177.9 lbs

Now that's surprising. I've felt like I've been hungry constantly and therefore eating all the time. I need to work on hydrating better when I'm at home.

Masochistic Mondays: Week 21

The Stats (as of December 21, 2009)

Starting Weight: 188 lbs

Current Weight: 179.0 lbs

We've hit that time of year where there are not enough hours in a day.

Though the past couple weeks have not been productive in the fitness & healthiness arena, and I've contemplated not even posting an update on Mondays, I've decided that although things aren't progressing NOW, the sure way to make sure things digress would be to stop posting. Though I don't have any real updates the last few weeks, I will have updates again, but only if I'm held accountable.

So though things may be pretty sparse around these parts on Mondays for the next week or so (and several weeks prior), I'll still be posting - if only The Stats. Because once I don't post, the whole thing will surely fly out the window.

And we don't want that, do we?

Masochistic Mondays: Week 20

The Stats (as of December 14, 2009)

Starting Weight: 188 lbs

Current Weight: 179.0 lbs

So more backslide. But more resolve as well.

I've decided to go off the soda (hopefully it will go as well as it did when I was soda-free for 2+ years). Doing well on that, nearly a week now.

And the big news...we now own an exercise bike! Last week Mike found one listed on Craigslist for $30 and since he saw it minutes after it was listed, he was the first to contact the seller. This weekend we finally got the mess in the basement cleared enough that we could place it in front of the tv. Last night, I actually rode it for 54 minutes while watching Julie & Julia. It was chilly, and my legs were jello-y when I decided to get out of the basement.

So though it's not an optimum level of physical exertion, I'll continue moving this winter - yay! I'm actually kinda excited to designate some tv shows to watch while using the bike.

Masochistic Mondays: Week 19

The Stats (as of December 7, 2009)

Starting Weight: 188 lbs

Current Weight: 178.8 lbs

A slight set back. I know.

Despite talking about how I needed to get back on track last Monday, I did nothing about it. Granted, I started a new job last week, so my routine is a bit out of whack but I really shouldn't be making excuses.

I do know two things I should be doing that would put me right back on track: exercise and stop drinking soda. Now let's see if I have the gumption to actually do it.