How Jen Lost 120 Pounds (A guest post)

I'd like to introduce you to Runner #9  on our Ragnar team, Jen. I actually didn't know Jen when Rik and I started this whole project; but Jennifer, one of the other runners on the team, knew Jen via her blog, and invited her to join the team. I am SO glad that she did--because Jen is perfect for this team! She went from one extreme lifestyle to the other, as you'll read in her story below.

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In 2007, I was extremely overweight (well over 250 pounds at last scale check-I avoided those at all costs) and extremely miserable. I was depressed, lost and miserable with the life I was living. I wanted more for myself, so I sat down and took a long, hard, honest look at the where I was heading. I did not like what I saw and decided that I needed to make some changes. I knew I needed to get healthy, and once I was healthy, I could be a much better person and eventually be a great mother.

In September of 2007, I made a plan and a list of goals. I quit drinking, I quit smoking, and I started exercising. The day I quit smoking was my first time in the gym. I could not walk more than 15 minutes on the treadmill but I kept at it. I went back the next day and walked 16 minutes. I kept going back and doing more. I would see these "fit girls" out running on the roads and I wanted to be that "fit girl" out running! I started losing weight slowly. I was feeling good and starting to enjoy life again. The dark clouds were starting to lift!

Then after a few months, my husband and I discovered we were pregnant. I stayed active through my entire pregnancy and learned about nutrition and clean foods. I wanted to be as healthy as I could for my baby. In October of 2008, after 42 long weeks of pregnancy, I finally had my baby girl via unscheduled c-section. I heard horror stories about post c-section recovery but I felt good and I had new goals to achieve! One week after having Lola, I was out walking every day in the warm fall sunshine with my baby and renewed vigor and motivation to reach my goal of being healthy and being a positive role model for my daughter.

I now had new goals to reach and new motivation. I wanted to be a woman my daughter could always look up to. I wanted to live a life that was healthy and positive. I wanted to be strong-for her and for myself. I did not want to be the "fat mom" and I did not want my daughter growing up unhealthy or to struggle with body image issues. I made a promise to her and to myself that I would do anything and everything I needed to do to achieve a healthy weight and do it in a healthy way!

After fourteen months of hard work (meaning working out consistently and eating real food), I reached my first goal of 100 pounds lost! I learned how to juggle motherhood, how to exercise, to continually make new goals, and live the life I had dreamed about for so long.

I fell in love with my new healthy and active life. I connected with other moms in an online group for new moms to get support, learn about nutrition, share workout tips and get support from one another. I started participating in local road races and enjoyed this tremendously! Running became something I loved to do instead of a means to an end (to burn calories to lose fat).

My husband and parents gave me a great BOB Revolution jogging stroller so I could run any time with the baby. I was learning more and more about myself and found that I was capable of more than I ever gave myself credit for. I placed at several small 5k's and it just pushed me harder to get better. My family would come to each race and it became tradition for me to get a high five from my little girl just after the starting line. I continued setting bigger and better goals and reaching each one of them.

In 2010, I was ready to challenge myself with something new, and I did my first sprint triathlon. It was love at first swim/bike/run. I smiled the entire time and could not believe how much fun I was having. I ended up placing second in my age group at that first race and could not wait to do more! I vowed to learn as much as I could about the sport and immersed myself in the triathlon lifestyle.

I have since competed in many triathlons from sprint distance to half-ironman distance, which is a 1.2 mile swim followed by a 56 mile bike ride and wraps up with a 13.1 mile run. Next year, I will complete my first Ironman distance triathlon with Revolution 3 in Ohio!

The journey I have been on the last several years has not only changed me physically (now ~120lbs gone!) but mentally as well. If only there were a way to show the INSIDE changes that occur... I am strong, determined and have found true joy and passion in my life. Each day is an opportunity to be amazing-in big and small ways. I have become the woman I envisioned just four short years ago-and then some! I am someone that makes my family proud and I am a role model for my daughter.

I live to inspire and want everyone to know that no matter what your goals are, you CAN achieve them. I am now a sponsored triathlete with Revolution 3 triathlon--literally, a dream come true! It is about finding that passion inside of you and chasing those dreams with wild abandon. Once you find that inner fire, that inner drive--there is nothing that can stop you but you!

I am a positive person that is full of energy--every day I have a smile plastered across my face because I cannot believe I am living my dreams...

...and it all started with just one step in the right direction and not stopping. Don't be afraid to take that step.

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Make sure you check out Jen's blog at Miles, Muscles, & Mommyhood!

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The missing journal

Last night, I was trying to plan out my food for today, and I was having a really hard time coming up with lunch ideas. Lunch is a really difficult meal for me, because I can never come up with something I get excited about eating (like I do with breakfast and dinner). I told Jerry that I wished I could find my stupid food journal from when I was tracking my food just before I broke my jaw.

This may seem crazy, but I still have every food log from when I was losing weight (and even food logs from many years ago!). I just can't bring myself to get rid of them.

However, I was midway through a food journal in November 2010 when I broke my jaw--which resulted in not counting calories or logging my food for the next year or more. Somehow, that journal went missing while I was in the hospital. I searched my house more than a few times, and couldn't find it.

I wanted it so that I could see what/how I had been eating prior to fainting. I had turned my house upside down on at least two occasions looking for it, until I was finally convinced that it was accidentally thrown away. Then last night, when I mentioned it to Jerry, he decided to start looking (again). I think he was sick of my bitching about it ;) He was really determined to find it, despite the fact that we had already looked EVERYWHERE on more than one occasion.

Jerry has a calming effect on me, and I like to give some problems to him to solve, because it makes me less stressed--which is what I did with this journal. Sometimes if I can't find something, I'll ask him to look and then I'll leave the house for a couple of hours, and when I return, it's there for me. So last night, I wanted him to find the journal so badly that I told him I would have sex with him for 30 days in a row if he could find it (lol, I knew he wouldn't find it, but I was trying to give him a big motivation, hoping that he would!) I laid on the bed while he searched. He couldn't understand how it was missing and why it wasn't with the rest of them (which I keep in a shoe box. So I showed him the shoe box, which I had gone through at least three dozen times looking for the journal.

He pulled one out and flipped it open, while I was telling him it wasn't there--and then he said, "Isn't this it? This was right before you broke your jaw". I snatched it out of his hands, and sure enough--it was the missing journal! I swear on my life I looked there, went through each and every book over and over, and it wasn't there. Yet, somehow, it was. I was thrilled that it was found--and so was Jerry ;)

The book didn't offer much insight to anything, but I got an idea for lunch today--polenta with an egg on top. Other than that, it was pretty much useless.

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Today was my last long run before the marathon--and it was only 8 miles. Jessica did her run yesterday, so I went solo today. First, I took the kids to Tim Horton's before school for a doughnut. It was "Daddy Doughnut Day" at school, and Jerry had to work. I felt sorry for the kids having to go to school and seeing all the other dads, so I took them to Tim's and then dropped them off at school a few minutes late.

I drove to the Metropark and did the same 8-mile out-and-back route that Jessica and I did last week. The park was nice, but it felt strange running by myself. I didn't do any walk breaks, and I kept a sub-10:00/mi pace. I just wanted to hurry and get done. I brought my waist hydration pack and put my iPod in there in case I wanted it, but I never did dig it out.

Speaking of water, I was going to bring the new Nathan hand-held bottle I bought yesterday, but as soon as I put water in it this morning, it leaked like crazy! I thought the valve was opened, but it wasn't. So I will have to return it. I don't think I'll buy another; I'll just stick with the waist pack.

It was a hot run today, which made me dread the marathon even more. The weather is finally on the 10-day forecast... and it doesn't look good.

A high of 75, and low of 59. I'm going to have a heat stroke! I hope that this changes before the race.

Next week is my final week before the race, and the mileage is minimal--3 miles Monday, 4 miles Tuesday, and then 2 miles on Thursday. I think Jessica and I are going to celebrate with lunch on Thursday after our 2-miler! ;)

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Stupid bush

Today was a rest day, and for that I am thankful. Not that I felt like I needed it, but I just didn't feel like getting ready and going out to run this morning. Instead, Jerry and I tried (another) Dick's for a marathon outfit. I really shouldn't have waited so long to buy something!

As you saw on the previous post, I was looking for this UA line of "slash" capris. I had seen them at Dunham's a couple of months ago, but held off on buying them... and now I regret it, because I can't find them in stores. I ended up ordering some from their website, but they didn't have a size small in green or blue. So I wound up with yellow (my third choice), but now that I look at them again, I think the yellow is pretty badass. Jerry said he liked them, too.

(By the way, I never thought I would do sponsored posts like that, but when I saw it was from Under Armour, I couldn't help myself--Under Armour is my very favorite brand of running clothes! So I am doing two more sponsored posts in the future with UA, but please know that I wouldn't have done it if it were a brand I didn't TRULY love and use anyway.)

Trying to find my marathon outfit has been challenging, and I realized the irony of weight loss and shopping. When I was obese, I could never find my size. I would immediately look at the back of the rack, and it was rare that I found something I liked and it happened to be my size.

And now that I am a size small, all the workout clothes in size small are always sold out! I found quite a few cute things today while browsing around, but it was mostly sizes L and XL. And even shopping online, my first choices were sold out in size small. But anyway, I ended up ordering a cute outfit online, and I hope 1) that it gets here before the marathon, and 2) that it fits.

I did end up buying something useful, however--a Nathan handheld water bottle. I like my waist pack for long runs, but I think this will come in handy during the summer months when it's a thousand degrees outside and I'm trying to run shorter distances, like 5 or 6 miles. It's comfy in my hand; I just hope that the water doesn't slosh around so much that I would rather not use it.

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We've had a bush in front of our house for about five years, and it got much bigger than I ever expected it to get. Last year, I noticed a million or so ants crawling around on it, so I sprayed for the ants (they were also crawling on the screen to our bedroom window). And then this year, every time I walked by, tons of black flies started to swarm around me. I got fed up with it yesterday, and told my dad that I wanted to get rid of it.

Ten minutes later, my dad showed up with his truck and a chain. I doubted we'd need to use a chain to pull it out, but I figured he knew what he was doing better than me. The kids were super excited to watch, and "help" him wrap the base of the bush with the chain.

 

My dad warned my kids that they need to stand back SUPER far if they are ever around anyone pulling something out like that. He told us about a guy he knew that was killed while he was driving the truck--the chain snapped, and the end of it flew right through the back window and killed him. My kids were impressed with that story... I was a little nervous to watch after that!

When it came out, and Noah saw it, he said, "Oh, THAT'S where sand comes from!" Hahaha. Nope, our builder was just an ass who decided to fill our yard with sand instead of dirt.

I am so happy that stupid bush is gone now. Aren't the tulips pretty? Jerry and the boys planted those the day I came home from my surgery. I had no idea that they did that, until the flowers popped up this spring! I am the WORST gardener, and I hate to garden, so our landscaping is pathetic. But I like having the tulips there--maybe I'll put the kids to work more often ;)

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What's next?

Well, marathon training is quickly coming to a close. Can you believe it?! Jessica and I have been training for nearly 17 weeks for ONE race! I keep asking myself, "What next?" Because really, how do you follow a frickin' marathon?

I need something to focus on during the summer, and I've decided to put a long-term goal back in the front of my mind: Get to my "official" goal weight of 133. I know I'm always working on this, but when I think about it, I'm not really trying my best. There are things that I know I could improve on, and it's time I actually do it. So my new goal to focus on is to lose the last five pounds!

In addition to what I'm already doing (tracking my food, running 3-4 times per week), I'm going to try and do the following to kill these last five:

1) Go for a two-mile walk in the afternoon each day. The afternoon is when I tend to binge eat, and I really need to replace that habit. Getting out of the house will be the best thing I can do at that time.
2) Limit my night time snack to 300 calories or less. Sometimes I will eat as much as 500-600 calories at night, and I really should use those calories earlier in the day--a bigger breakfast or lunch.
3) Begin strength training after the marathon.

I think that with the right focus and determination I can reach my goal weight. I've signed up on Under Armour's website called "What's Beautiful: A competition to redefine the female athlete", and I'm going to track my progress there.

It's actually a really great website, combining two of my favorite running things: Under Armour and goal setting! You all know how much I love my Under Armour gear for running. The "What's Beautiful" site is actually a competition to reach goals that you set. I'm not in it for the competition with others but more to keep myself accountable.

If you strive for competition and have the right determination, you might want to think about doing it to win--they're going to pick ten people who will each receive $1000 in gear (you can check out the Under Armour site to see what interests you--I'm loving the "slash capris" in green--maybe for the marathon?? I couldn't find them in stores yesterday, but I think I will buy them online), and a couple of uber lucky winners will get to be the new "faces" for UA, with a ton of prizes to go along with the title.

Since Under Armour is sponsoring this post, you can have a chance to win a $500 UA gift card! This is a sweepstakes and the rules can be found below. You can enter for a chance to win by leaving a comment in the form below after checking out the Under Armour site and telling me which UA item you'd like to try. See sweepstakes rules (and other ways to enter) below.

SWEEPSTAKES/GIVEAWAY RULES

Rules:

No duplicate comments.

You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry methods:

a) Leave a comment in response to the sweepstakes prompt on this post

b) Tweet (public message) about this promotion, including exactly the following unique terms in your tweet message: “#whatsbeautiful” “#sweepstakes”; and leave the URL to that tweet in a comment on this post

c) Blog about this promotion and leave the URL to that post in a comment on this post. To comply with FTC Guidelines (see http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2009/10/endortest.shtm), entrants’ blog posts must disclose that they are receiving a sweepstakes entry in exchange for writing the blog post.

d) For those with no Twitter or blog, read the official rules to learn about an alternate form of entry.

This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older. Winners will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail. You have 72 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be selected.

The Official Rules are available here.

This sweepstakes runs from 5/10-5/21

Be sure to visit the Under Armour page on BlogHer.com where you can read other bloggers’ posts!

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Key storage

I had to reschedule my appointment this morning for the colposcopy. My new appointment is scheduled for Monday, so I will patiently procrastinate wait a little longer.

This is random, but cute enough that I have to share: Eli decided that he wanted to eat his cereal out of a bowl that he made in art class. I had no idea how well it would hold up, but it seemed to do okay ;)

It kind of makes me want a whole collection of dishes made by my children...

I only had three miles on the schedule today, and I felt like going to the rec center to run on the indoor track. Not sure why, but it sounded like a good idea. I enjoy running there when there are a few other people around, because it keeps me motivated. Today, however, there was only one woman walking the track.

I was happy to have my foot pod (correctly) calibrated, and as I ran, the pace that the Garmin showed felt 100% right to me. I went faster than I probably should have for an "easy" run, but I tend to do that when I run by myself. It was so quiet in there, and since it was only three miles, I didn't bring my iPod.

After I finished with my run, I showered and decided to head out to Dick's to possibly buy an outfit for the marathon. And yes, I know that it's not a good idea to run a race in new clothes, but I've never had a problem with my running clothes making me chafe. I can't wear shorts, because the loose skin on my thighs would flap in the breeze and hurt like hell--nice visual, huh? And I almost never wear tank tops because of the skin on my upper arms (it also "flaps"). The only chafing problem I've had is from the seam of my sports bra, which I remedied by wearing my bra inside-out. It works!

Oh, and speaking of sports bras, I have to share a little tip that I learned from Jessica. Since we've been driving to different places to run, we've had the problem of having nowhere to store our car key. Jessica solved that with an elastic hair tie, and I think it's brilliant!

First, you loop the hair tie through the key (or key ring)

Then do the same thing around your bra strap

Then you just tuck the key into your bra (or not) and there is no worry of losing it.

Anyway, when I got to Dick's, I was disappointed with the selection of Under Armour stuff. They didn't have any capris (or even pants)--they only had shorts, which I can't wear. I tried Dunham's after that, and they didn't have much either. So I think I will shop on Amazon tonight!

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I recently gave an interview to Healthy Page about my weight loss. I hadn't seen the site before, but when I checked it out, I was impressed! Lots of great info and they feature different health, fitness, and wellness sites--and I was honored when they asked to include Runs for Cookies. You can read the interview about my weight loss here.

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A goose attack

I was kind of dreading my run today, but when I thought about the fact that it was "only" six miles on the schedule, I couldn't complain--or procrastinate. Tapering means I have more time free during the day to do things other than run!

I met Jessica at the State Park after the kids went to school. We started running, and I realized that it wasn't the greatest time to run at the State Park--it rained yesterday, so there were parts of the path that were completely covered with water. We had to run in the grass a few times to avoid going right through the deep puddles.

It's also Mayfly season. Remember those nasty bugs I wrote about last year? They are just starting to hatch, and they're disgusting. They are all over the State Park! The whole time we were running, I was swatting them out of my face. I probably swallowed one or two of them also.

Mayflies on the street

As if that wasn't enough, we were running next to the water at one point and we saw two "families" of geese. Four adults and like 20 little goslings. The goslings were adorable, but as soon as the adult geese spotted us, they shooed the goslings toward the water and then started hissing at us and coming closer like they were going to attack us. Jessica and I were both scared enough to stop running. We just stood there, completely frozen, waiting for them to go away. Finally, we did a 3-2-1-SPRINT! deal, and we started running for our lives. Why are geese so evil?!

Today's run felt hard. I think that was because I ran kind of hard on the dreadmill yesterday. But I was happy to see 528 calories burned!

The marathon is in 12 days... can you believe it?! I'm praying for a cold and overcast day.

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My mom went to Eastern Market in Detroit on Saturday, and she bought me a couple of things. One was butterscotch extract--I'm going to have to come up with a way to use that. Maybe in my oatmeal? The other thing she brought me was SkinnyPop Popcorn...

I had seen this before at Whole Foods, but it's expensive! Popcorn isn't very hard to make, so I couldn't justify the cost. It would be a good thing to buy if you're on the road, though, and don't have access to a stove or microwave. I wonder if it comes in single serve bags? I would like that to bring to the movies! Anyway, this popcorn is "special" because it's made with just three ingredients: popcorn, oil, and salt. Last night, I decided to have it with my usual "carb bowl" snack of mixed dry cereal...

Popcorn, PB Cap'n Crunch, Cinnabon cereal, and Cocoa Puffs... yum!

Adding the popcorn in there bulked up the bowl of cereal to HUGE size (about 4 cups total). And I really did like the popcorn.

As I predicted, the water weight I packed on over the weekend is dropping quickly. Today I was 143, which is down 4 pounds from yesterday. I drank a ton of green tea and water yesterday, and counted my calories. Hopefully it will continue to go down until I'm back to Friday morning's weight of 138.

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I'm still a little nervous for my colposcopy tomorrow, but I feel much better after reading all of your comments about it yesterday. I don't know why I'm so nervous--I had dealt with a broken jaw and with voluntary skin removal surgery! The cervical biopsy is nothing compared to those things. It's just the anticipation.

After my appointment, I'm going to go to Dick's Sporting Goods to maybe find an outfit for the marathon. Since it's my first (and ONLY) marathon, I want to at least wear a cute outfit ;)

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Fun news! (Best Weight Loss Blog)

I've had a secret I've been sitting on for a couple of weeks, and I'm finally able to share it. Remember when Fitness magazine was doing the Fitterati blog contest, and I was nominated for best weight loss blog? Well, I've never been good at popularity contests, so I did not win the most number of votes ;) However, I was notified that I was selected for "Editor's Pick" for the Best Weight Loss Blog category!

I feel honored and humbled that Runs for Cookies was selected. This opens a great opportunity for me--this summer, I will be able to contribute to FitnessMagazine.com, have "exclusive fitness and health opportunities" (not sure what this means yet!), and I will appear in an upcoming Fitness magazine. That is the reason I had Stephanie take some good "after" photos of me (she wrote a very detailed blog about the photo shoot here, if you're interested). Thank you so much for your votes and support.

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Today I had four miles on the schedule, and I woke up to thunder and rain outside. I debated whether I wanted to run outside or on the dreadmill. I actually really enjoy running in the rain--once I get out the door. It's just hard to get motivated to go outside!

I decided to mess around with the calibration of my Garmin foot pod. Since I got the Forerunner 910xt, I haven't calibrated the foot pod. I went to the high school track to calibrate it. The inner edge of the inner lane of the track measures exactly 400 meters, so to calibrate the foot pod by distance, you just run 800 meters. The Forerunner 910 allows you to calibrate by satellites OR by measured distance (like a track). The manual said that the MOST accurate way to calibrate is by using an outdoor track.

This is where I talk about numbers for a while... if you don't like to read nerdy stuff, you can skip it ;)

Since I love numbers, I chose to do both, and see what the difference was. First, I ran 800 meters--I ran fast, I ran slow, I sprinted, and I walked during that 800 meters. I wanted to simulate actual running conditions, and I rarely run at one particular pace the entire time. After the 800 meters, the calibration factor was 974--which was really surprising to me! The factory setting is 1000. So this means that the foot pod was telling me I was going much faster than I actually was (before I calibrated it).

Next, I decided to try calibrating by satellites (not as accurate, because the satellites can't be 100% accurate all the time). This time, the Garmin told me to just run until it beeped (I don't know what the set distance was supposed to be in meters). Turned out to be 3/4 of a mile. I ran the whole thing at one pace, since it was being calibrated by satellite--steps and strides had nothing to do with it. The calibration factor when I did it by satellite was 996.

After that, I decided to go home and see how the calibration compared to the dreadmill. Since the calibration from the 800 meters on the track was supposed to be the most accurate, I chose to use 974 for the calibration factor. I started running, and it was MUCH closer to what the treadmill read than last time I ran on the treadmill. I changed up the speed a lot during the 3 miles on the dreadmill this time--everything from 4.4 mph (walking) to 8.0 mph (running faaaast).

The Garmin still showed I was a little faster than what the dreadmill read, but I believe it was very accurate this time. So I will leave the calibration at 974 from now on. Here are the differences in a 3-mile run:

I am finally confident that I have the right calibration factor. I realize this probably sounds like a bunch of mumbo jumbo!

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So Jerry and I had a great weekend! We went to the museum and the Titanic exhibit; to lunch at Pizza Papalis; Whole Foods for a brownie; to the movies to see "Five Year Engagement"; to home depot for a new faucet that we desperately needed; to another movie, "The Lucky One"; to the mall for my free Victoria's Secret panties and for ice cream; to Chili's for dinner; and then yesterday, we went to my parents' house for dinner.

Because we had gift cards, we spent much less than we would have in Indy. And we had a lot of fun! The movies we saw were pretty good. "Five Year Engagement" was funny (especially because they crack a lot of Michigan jokes, and I totally "got" them!) but it felt like a five hour movie. "The Lucky One" was okay in the typical romance kind of way. I enjoyed both movies.

I somehow managed to gain 9 pounds over the weekend--hahaha! (I'm only laughing because I know it's temporary--if it was "real" weight, I would be crying). We ate out a few times, and we had popcorn at the movies, and we had a few too many desserts. I know the weight is mostly a lot of water--this happens to me EVERY TIME I eat like I did this weekend. In Indy last year, I gained 11 pounds! My weight will probably be back to 138 by Friday or so. The only reason I'm writing about it is so that you can see that eating like I did this weekend definitely affects my weight; but as long as I get right back on track, I'll drop the weight very quickly.

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I also got some not-so-fun news today. My gynecologist called about my test results from my recent appointment. My thyroid tests were normal (thank goodness) but my pap smear came back abnormal (despite the negative HPV test). I have to go in on Wednesday for a colposcopy (where they will take tissue from my cervix for biopsy). I'm terrified--I know it's a common procedure, but I imagine it will hurt like hell. And because of some other symptoms I'm having, my doctor is recommending a D&C. That won't be on Wednesday--I will have to schedule that after the colposcopy. Someone please tell me the colposcopy isn't so bad...?

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Reader Questions & Answers #12

On Sundays, I will answer some readers' questions in a post. If you have a question that you would like me to answer here on the blog, just send me an e-mail with the subject "Q&A", and I may include them in a future Q&A post. They don't have to be about weight loss or running--anything is game!  (Remember, I'm not a doctor or dietician, or any sort of medical professional--I can only answer questions from my own experience).

Q. How do you battle temptations at the grocery store? I love that you don't keep binge food in the house, but I can't seem to stop buying the junk!

A. I wouldn't say that I don't keep binge foods in the house, because sometimes I will buy them with good intentions--and I try to refrain from binge eating. But for the most part, I do know what foods are nearly impossible for me to eat just one portion at a time, and I very rarely buy them. A short list of those foods: graham crackers, ice cream, regular sized chocolate chips (mini ones are okay), Reese's PB Puff's cereal, candy or cookies of almost any kind... there are more, but these are big ones that come to mind right away.

Reese's PB Puffs are like crack to me!

I know that some people have no problem eating junk food in moderation. I can do it with SOME foods, but the foods I listed above are the ones I really have a hard time with. So how do I battle the temptation of buying them at the grocery store? I actually don't have a very hard time with this. Once the food is home, it's VERY hard not to eat it. But at the grocery store, I just completely avoid the foods that I know will be a temptation to me. 

A lot of the foods actually have bad memories attached to them--which probably sounds ridiculous, I know. But I can remember eating entire packages of Oreos in the past, and the thought of buying a package of Oreos now fills me with dread--it makes me feel depressed because it reminds me of when I was fat. There are certain flavors and brands of ice cream I can't eat for the same reason. Fast food does the same thing--I can't eat at McDonald's or Wendy's, regardless of what I order, because it gives me a bad feeling inside. I wish I could somehow create that bad feeling for all of my problem foods! ;)

If you have a hard time with buying binge foods, maybe you could send your spouse or friend to the store with a list? When I wasn't able to drive after my surgery, I ate like an angel, because I had to rely on other people to do the shopping for me ;) Of course, that only works if your spouse doesn't buy the junk as well!

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Q. Did you have difficulty getting pregnant when you were overweight?

A. Not at all! I know that this is actually a really common issue for obese women to have, but fortunately, I didn't have any trouble getting pregnant. I got pregnant on the first try with both of my boys!

Funny story: When I was working at Curves and Noah was about 9 months old, I told my boss (and friend) Del that I was thinking about getting pregnant again when Noah was about a year old. She told me that I should start trying right away, because it would probably take a few months. She had three kids and said that it took a little longer to get pregnant between each of them. So, because she was older and wiser, I decided to listen to her ;) Three weeks later, she got an earful on the phone when I had a positive pregnancy test!

Two days before I delivered Noah
(who was 8 lbs, 8 oz)

While I had no trouble getting pregnant, I had VERY difficult pregnancies. With Noah, I had a condition called Intrahepatic Cholestasis of Pregnancy (ICP). ICP is a condition during pregnancy that affects your liver; and the main symptom is severe itching. It basically makes your BLOOD itch, so everywhere that your blood flows itches like crazy.

I would spend hours in a bathtub filled with cold water to try and numb my skin and lessen the severity of the itching. I was extremely sleep deprived because I was itching so badly, and I remember hallucinating one night--I kept begging Jerry to cut off my feet, and I was completely serious! It was awful. My doctor induced labor 14 days early because of the condition, and the symptoms went away within two days.

I was terrified of getting pregnant again, for fear of having the ICP. Thankfully, I didn't have ICP with Eli; but early in the pregnancy, my pubic bone became dislocated. I had such severe pain (right where you can feel your pubic bone in front) that I had a hard time walking. Again, my labor was induced early--10 days early this time, because Eli was huge.

Even being 10 days early, he was 9 lbs. 10 oz. After Eli's birth, it became much worse. I was so uncomfortable at the hospital that I checked out at 1:00 in the morning to go home. I had to use a walker for a few weeks in order to move around. The only way I could sleep or lie down was with my legs completely straight and closed tightly together. I couldn't lift my legs to even put my pants on. I needed help to do everything. The pain eventually went away, but it took a long time. 

After that experience with the pubic bone, I decided that I just couldn't go through that again--and Jerry and I decided that he would get a vasectomy, just in case I ever forgot about the pain and decided I wanted another baby! ;)

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This e-mail wasn't a question, but I thought it was something I should post:

I have been reading about your breakfast of oatmeal for a while and that you use milk when cooking your oats. I tried it today for the first time. (The thought of hot milk just didn't sound great to me). Needless to say I have REALLY  been missing out. Keep telling everyone about oats and milk because it really made all the difference. Yum!!!

I absolutely agree! Oatmeal is completely different when you cook it in milk rather than water. The flavor and texture are great! I like cow's milk best, but almond milk works too.

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And now a question for all of you...

Do you have any foods that you associate with bad memories, for some reason or another? I know my dad won't eat onion soup because he had the flu one time when he ate it (and subsequently threw it up). I can't eat Turkey Hill Chocolate Peanut Butter ice cream, because that is what I ate before I fainted and broke my jaw.

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"How I Lost 130 Pounds" (A guest post by Lealah)

I would like to introduce you to another teammate from my Ragnar Relay team. Lealah (pronounced LAY-luh) was very close to having lap band surgery, but discovered she could lose the weight on her own--and she did. Check out her super inspiring story!

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Hi! My name is Lealah. I've been privileged to be included in an amazing group of people with which to run the Florida Keys Ragnar Relay in 2013, and here is my story:

I've spent my entire life overweight, if not obese.  In 2010, I realized I was incredibly unhappy with the way my life was and with how I felt.  I tried anti-depressants from my doctor and that actually made things worse for me.  I was in a spiral of being depressed and angry, and many times I would direct my anger at the people around me.

I reached a high of 260 lbs, and I felt miserable with nothing to look forward to. I saw a picture of myself and realized exactly how much weight I had gained and why it was so tedious climbing up and down stairs. Everything felt overwhelming.  I felt like there was no escape and the more I thought about trying to change, the more difficult it became to even conceive the idea of a better life with better health.  I felt trapped.

In January of 2010, I had a friend whom was planning getting lap band surgery and I thought "Hey that sounds like something that could work for me!" So I went to several seminars, got really excited, pumped myself up, dreamed of not being fat anymore. Then I got to the financing.

This part made me nervous, but I had found a weight loss surgeon whom I particularly liked that reassured me we'd find a way to make my insurance cover part of it. He said that with a recommendation, his documentation, and reports of prior weight loss attempts, we could make a case for it.  The first step was to lose 10% of my body weight.

On February 15, 2010 I started eating better and I started walking. One month later, I had lost 20 pounds.  I kept going until suddenly I'd lost more than the 10% required to begin the process of weight loss surgery.  I had somewhat forgotten the lap band surgery and every time I thought of it, I remembered the repercussions that came with the surgery.  I LOVE to eat. I knew I did not want to give up so many of my favorite foods and I started thinking to myself, "If I can lose this much with diet and exercise, then maybe I can go all the way."

I found an awesome website called Sparkpeople.com where I tracked my food and exercise.  I got a membership at the YMCA for myself and the kids, and started trying new exercises.  I started using the elliptical, and the first time I got on one, I only lasted about 8 minutes. The next time, I made it 55 minutes.  I tried Yoga, even started trying the Couch to 5k program.

By May, I had started going to Zumba and loved it! The amount of courage it took me to enter that first Zumba class is immeasurable. Being overweight came a huge sense of insecurity and fear of crowds, but I overcame it. I was on a roll, and all the paperwork I had from the different weight loss surgery seminars had been shoved into a drawer somewhere. I no longer even considered that an option.

The summer of 2010, I entered a Subway Weight Loss Challenge to which the winners would be announced at the Midnight Streak 5k. Since I was attempting (struggling horribly through) the Couch to 5k program, I considered signing up for this as my first 5k.  Regrettably, I chickened out, because the running was not going as well I would have liked. I started doubting whether I wanted to pursue running at all or not.  I did, however, win third place for body fat percentage loss.

I continued on my journey and the weight loss started slowing down.  At the beginning of June 2011, I decided to try running again.  This time all the hard work on the elliptical paid off and I started running short distances immediately.  It was tough, but I knew I could do it.  I decided to sign up for my first 5k, and what better way to mark an anniversary than to sign up for the Midnight Streak?

Since then, I have run a total of three 5K's, one Warrior Dash, a 25k, and a half-marathon. I plan on doing the Midnight Streak again and hopefully another mud run this year. Maybe, just maybe, I will run a full marathon in November.  It's hard to believe that only a little over two years ago I was twice my size and could hardly manage getting up the stairs.

Now running is just a part of who I am. But don't misunderstand me; many days I still have to force myself out the door before I realize that yes, I did really want to go for a run.  I just have to remind myself of why I run and why I enjoy it so much. I run for freedom, peace of mind, size 2 jeans, cheat days, and to control my depression and anxiety issues.  I run to breathe.  I truly run for life.  I can't imagine not being a runner now.

I still receive mail from the different weight loss surgery offices I had visited.  It always makes me smile to see because I am instantly reminded of how far I have come. It's been two years and two months since I started this journey and I have traveled a great distance.  I have lost more than half my body weight.  I have become an athlete.  I instruct Zumba twice a week.  I have deemed myself worthy.  I've regained my pride.

Now I'm focusing on bettering myself in all aspects of my life.  Now when I see something in my life that I'm not happy with, instead of wallowing in despair, I look at how to fix it.  How am I going to make my life better?  It takes work and dedication, but it is by no means impossible.  In fact, it's quite possible:

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Henry Ford Museum

For the first day of our little "staycation" break, we were gone ALL day. And I only have a few moments to write this post before we head out again (to a movie). We woke up and got the kids ready for school. I actually would have liked to keep Noah home today (he still wasn't feeling great), but he begged to go to school because he had a field trip at the recycling center today.

After the boys got on the bus, Jerry and I ate a quick breakfast and then headed out for the Henry Ford museum in Dearborn. We looked around the museum a little before checking out the Titanic exhibit. There were some fun things to look at!

This was just begging for a photo

This was a cool kitchen from the 1950's

TV's have come a long way!

This is an old-fashioned baby swing/jumper. Pretty cool!

Stuff from MY generation... or maybe slightly later ;)

Remember Simon??

A school desk from the 1950's

Remember: Duck and cover.

  

Because "duck and cover" will protect you from a nuclear blast...

These were some old car seats. They looked more dangerous than the seat of the car!

The museum was really fun. Then we "boarded" the Titanic. I was given a ticket with the name of a woman, and her story. Then at the end, I could see whether I survived the sinking of the ship.

My ticket

Jerry's ticket

 My person was named Elizabeth, and she was 29-years old. She was a widow, traveling alone. We walked through the Titanic exhibit, and it was REALLY neat to see all the artifacts that were collected from the ship. But I liked reading the personal stories on the wall the best. It was so sad to read about the real stories of real people that were traveling on the Titanic.

The exhibit had a huge block of ice that we could touch to see how the temperature of the water felt to the people that were exposed to it that day. I had tears in my eyes more than a few times as we walked through. We weren't allowed to take pictures in there, otherwise I would have. They had a replica of the famous staircase (seen in the movie) and it was AMAZING.

At the end, there was a wall listing the "saved" and the "lost" of the Titanic. Elizabeth's name was with the saved. Benjamin Hart (Jerry's man) was lost. Seeing the numbers of people under the "lost" sections was heartbreaking--and it was even sadder that as the class went up, so did the number of survivors. The crew lost the most, then the third class, then the second class, and the first class lost the fewest people.

We looked around the museum a bit more before heading to lunch.

We went to a pizza place called Pizza Papalis in Dearborn. We ordered a deep dish Chicago-style pizza with green peppers and feta cheese. It was AMAZING. And of course I had a beer with it...

I had two pieces, but I wish I'd only had one--because after we left Pizza Papalis, we went to Whole Foods for dessert. I got a turtle brownie, of course! But I brought it home with me to eat at the movies. I think I might just call that dinner, because I'm really not that hungry after such a filling lunch.

Sorry this is so hastily written, but we have to head out to the movie now! Not sure what we're seeing yet.

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