Happy Motivational Monday! This has been a really rough week for me mentally, but I managed to stay on track and not eat away my anxiety. I've been feeling a little better the past day or two, and I'm very glad I've managed to get through the week without a binge.
I hope you've all had a great week! Lots of motivating stories today... :)
On Saturday night, one of Caitlin's friends posted on Facebook that she was going to be running a 5K race the following morning, and asked if anyone would like to join in. Caitlin spontaneously decided that she was going to do it--and it was her first 5K! She set a goal of sub-40:00, and she beat her goal, finishing in 39:59.
Jennifer (second from right) ran a first 10K with some college friends, and PR'd with a finish time of 1:09:11!
A couple of months ago, Julie wrote me to say that she'd been doing well with staying binge-free, but then her husband was diagnosed with cancer; she she relapsed into binge eating. She gained back the 26 pounds she'd lost while she was binge-free, and she really wanted to take care of her health despite the scary cancer diagnosis her husband received.
In her recent e-mail, Julie reported that her husband is not doing well, and has been given just weeks to live, which is very scary for her family (she and her husband have a daughter). While no one would blame her for using food to cope during this time, she is happy to say that she's been taking care of herself and has taken control of her binge eating. She read a book called Brain Over Binge, which she found very helpful. Since then, she's lost the 26 pounds that she had gained back. She says that exercise is the only way she's staying sane during her husband's illness, and she enjoys walking, spinning, elliptical, weights, and yoga.
In training for a half-marathon, Kali ran her first 10K race! She was thrilled with her finish time of 1:16:05, especially considering she was challenged with a monster hill on the course and some ankle pain. (Here is her full race report on her blog).
Kelly started to get serious with her weight and health in mid-February, and has since lost 37 pounds! She has become much more active than she used to be. She loves Zumba and using the treadmill at the gym; and on the weekends, she and her husband take the dogs for long walks or play frisbee golf with friends. Even though she still has 90 pounds to lose, she said she feels SO much better since she started her journey. (Here is Kelly's blog).
Pamela stepped way out of her comfort zone and joined a 5K training group at her local Fleet Feet. She had tried to do the Couch to 5K program on her own a few times, but the discipline she needed wasn't there. She says she used to try to blend in, or run in areas where she knew she wouldn't come across other people, because she was embarrassed of her body. She's terrified of running in public, but is proud of herself for taking this step!
She also just completed a 5K that is helping to raise money for the victims of the Boston Marathon tragedy. She wasn't sure if she'd be able to finish, considering she didn't complete the training, but she did her best, and completed the race in 48:35. After her 10-week program with Fleet Feet, she'll be doing another 5K, and hopes to leave that finish time in the dust!
Kim has been slowly but surely working her way through the Couch to 5K program. She thought she hadn't been making any progress in her weight, but when she got on the scale a couple of days ago, she saw that she'd lost nine pounds! After taking her measurements, she was also down a whopping six inches! She's very happy with her progress, and hopes to continue with the weight loss.
Kelly had some AWESOME NSV's (non-scale victories) this week! In her words:
"I am so very proud of myself for this past week. Every single day I had a big NSV which really shows me that I am committed to making small changes towards a healthier life style. I've lost 115 pounds with WW then got pregnant with my baby girl and am working on getting the baby weight off (down 30 so far!).
Some of my NSV's include:
- Having protein filled snacks before bed instead of junk food with my left over points.
- I made a dessert for company but didn't really care for it so I tossed the rest in the garbage (would have kept eating it even tho I didn't like it).
- I sent back an order of mashed potatoes that I didn't care for and ordered fries instead and only ate half. (I had slammed my hand in the car door earlier in the day spent a few hours in Emerg and could have said "I've had a rough day an deserve it" but I didn't!
- opted for a dinner at home instead of pizza since I didn't have the points for pizza.
All while doing major kitchen renos AND working through my hand injury.
I was down 2.2 pounds this week but am honestly more proud of my success making better choices."
Don't forget to check out the Motivational Monday Facebook post as well, for more stories!
