And so it begins (again)

This morning, I had a choice: wake up and run outside at 4:00 a.m., or run later in the day on the dreadmill. Jerry is back to working days, and with the kids home from school, I have to run outside before he goes to work or I can do it on the dreadmill whenever I feel like.

It was a tough choice! Neither option was appealing, but I ultimately decided on the dreadmill. There was no way I wanted to crawl out of bed at 4:00 this morning. Instead, I slept until 7:00, and then set up my computer to watch The Bachelorette while I was running.

Since today is officially Day One of marathon training, I actually have a schedule. The run today was: 50 minutes easy running with six pick-ups (30 seconds fast running). I did 8 minutes of easy running, followed by 30 seconds of fast running for a total of six times. My splits:

The 30-second sprints went by so quickly it was like they didn't even happen. Of course, running on the dreadmill is boring, but watching all the drama unfold on The Bachelorette helped pass the time.

When I was done running, I made a fruit salad. It's funny, my kids always complain about eating fruit--unless it's all mixed together and called "fruit salad". Then they LOVE it, hahaha. Hey, whatever works.

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So Saturday night was fun hanging out with my brother Nathan, even if all we did was sit on the back deck and talk over a couple of beers. His girlfriend Jen was really nice, and they seem to be hitting it off well (they haven't been together very long). We grilled steaks (a portobello mushroom cap for me) and corn on the cob, and I made some cheesy potatoes--I have no idea what they are actually called, but they are good! I also made apple crisp for dessert, topped with vanilla ice cream. It was great being able to make dessert and not worry about eating it all myself ;)

We had a little bit of the dessert left over, and I managed to keep it in the house without eating it. That's huge progress! It is extremely hard for me to keep ice cream in the house overnight. I didn't even eat it yesterday--the kids and I ate the rest today after lunch, and now it's gone.

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I feel bad that I didn't do anything for Jerry for Father's Day yesterday. I didn't buy a gift! I planned on it, but it just came up so fast and I've been pretty busy since school got out, so I didn't get him anything. I made him eggs for breakfast, and then I took the boys to church. After church, Jerry took the boys for a walk in the woods and I did my strength training (The Swing workout).

The workout gets progressively harder, which is good--after the first couple of workouts, I thought maybe it was too easy. I didn't break a sweat at all. But the sets get closer together (less rest time) and there are more reps in each set. I was pretty sore when I woke up today.

In the afternoon, my parents wanted us to go to a campground to go fishing. My dad has a little row boat that the kids can go in by themselves, and they think they are really cool. Eli spent most of the time working on catching a turtle on his fishing pole... and he did!

I love his face!

Jerry and I stayed for a couple of hours and by then, I was starving for dinner. The kids still wanted to fish, so my parents stayed with them while Jerry and I went to Panera for dinner. I got a cup of black bean soup and half of a tomato and mozzarella panini. It was on ciabatta with fresh basil--sooo good that I actually took a picture after taking a bite.

I'm definitely going to recreate this at home. I haven't mentioned this, because I'm not sure how it will play through... but I've been toying with the idea of becoming vegetarian. I've never been a huge fan of meat (I actually was a vegetarian for a year or so in college), and I've always said that if it weren't for my family, I would certainly be vegetarian. My boys love meat, so I've always cooked with it. Anyway, I'm not declaring anything for a while, but it's just something that's been on my mind lately.

I recently did an interview for SkinnyMom.com if you'd like to check it out. You can find it here.

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Reader Questions & Answers #17

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. When I exercise, I usually wear my polar heart rate monitor and track my distance with an app on my smart phone (either my Couch25K app or MapMyRide, etc). My heart rate monitor often tells me that I burned up to twice as many calories as the apps suggest. Which do you think is more accurate?

A. Using a heart rate monitor is more accurate than the apps that just take into account your weight, distance, etc. But if your heart rate monitor is giving you some crazy high number, than it may not be working correctly. In general, the more you weigh, and/or the more effort you put into an activity, the more calories you burn.

Your heart rate is a way to judge how hard you are working, so that will change your calorie burn. The apps use a simple formula that doesn't take your effort into account, so therefore, it is just a generalization and not specific to YOU. So to answer your question, I wouldn't be surprised it that is an accurate number if you are very heavy, or you get your heart rate up very high.

Q. I've been reading your blog for a while and really enjoy it! My question is this; What did you wear to exercise in when you first started? I have a hard time finding workout clothes in plus sizes... large ladies like to exercise too! :) 

A. I actually had three people ask this question recently... so here goes. When I first started exercising, I knew nothing about proper clothing. I assumed that the whole "moisture wicking" ability was just a way for companies to sucker money out of people. I bought some $7 cotton capris from Wal-Mart and used some old cotton t-shirts. Those worked just fine, because I didn't know any better. I also was a size XL when I started exercising, so I didn't feel like I had many options. This was a typical running outfit:

Cotton shirt (see the sweat?!) cotton capris

However, when I was looking for a new outfit for a race that I was doing, I decided to buy some Under Armour stuff. This was the outfit I bought...

The only reason I chose those capris was because they went up high enough in the waist to hide my belly (this was long before my skin removal surgery). I liked that they were tight (they are compression capris) and they held everything (read: all my loose skin) in place while I ran. They are Heat Gear items, so I wasn't hot, and they were super comfortable. Ever since I bought those, I couldn't go back to running in the cotton stuff.

The moisture-wicking fabric makes you feel dry even when you're sweating heavily. When you wear cotton, the cotton absorbs all that moisture, making your clothes wet and very heavy. There are cheaper options than the Under Armour--I know that Target has a line of workout clothes (I don't know much about them, so I can't tell you how I like them). I bought a couple of items from Wal-Mart that are moisture wicking. They work, but I can tell the quality isn't nearly as good as the UA stuff. I'll wear them when my UA stuff is dirty ;)

But regardless of what brand you buy, you won't be sorry for getting the moisture-wicking clothing! It makes a world of difference. I don't buy shirts anymore, because I use my race shirts to run in. Almost all races give out technical (moisture-wicking) shirts now, so those are perfect to run in.

I know that Wal-Mart has a lot of plus-sized workout clothes (because I bought them), but even the sports brands like Under Armour have larger sizes. If you can't find your size in the store, you could always order some online.

Q. Does your weight fluctuate wildly?  This is my problem.  I can be +/- 4 lbs in one day (and this has no relation to my menstrual cycle).  I don't eat a lot of salt/processed food.  I get really frustrated...I know I'm supposed to look at the "trend," but when I'm up 4 pounds for no apparent reason, I get upset, start eating, and the cycle goes on.  Do you have any advice for fluctuating weight or continuing to plow ahead with good eating habits even when the scale doesn't seem to be responding immediately?

A. My weight fluctuates like crazy!! In fact, when I go away for a weekend, I will usually come home about 10 pounds heavier. But if I go right back to into my routine, the weight drops off within a few days. There are many different reasons for weight fluctuations, and you really shouldn't get upset about being up a few pounds--especially if you know that you're not eating so much as to gain that much (to gain 4 pounds of fat in a day, you would have to consume 14,000 extra calories!)

The #1 thing that makes my weight go up is eating restaurant food. It doesn't even matter what I order, I ALWAYS gain up to 5 pounds in a day from a restaurant meal. Which is one of the reasons I avoid eating out most of the time ;) 

Another is sodium, but you said you don't eat a lot of processed food, so that may not be a factor for you. But even foods that are "healthy" may have more sodium than you think--cottage cheese, or any type of cheese really; breads; soup, etc). The third thing that makes my weight increase is actually when I do a long run. After a 10+ mile run, I will put on a couple of pounds of water weight that hangs around for a couple of days.

I know it's hard not to get discouraged when you see a gain like that, but keep in mind that if you're doing everything right, it's only going to be temporary. Water weight falls off just as quickly as it comes on (for me it does, anyway). So don't give up when you see that gain!

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Sunrise run

When I woke up at 5:00 this morning, I really wished that I hadn't made plans to meet Jessica and Stephanie at the State Park. I just wanted to go back to sleep! But that's the beauty of having a running partner that you've agreed to meet--they were counting on me being there, so I had to go.

I didn't want to eat breakfast before running, so I just had a cup of tea. Grabbed my hydration belt and headed to the park to meet them at 6:00. Stephanie was already taking a couple of sunrise photos when we got there. Despite being a humid 70 degrees that early in the morning, it was gorgeous!

Stephanie is a fairly new runner. Remember when I ran the half-marathon in April, and Stephanie walked the 5K at an insane speed? She walked and finished in 40 minutes!! Anyway, after that race, she decided to take up running. She completed Hal Higdon's 5K training and ran her first 5K race. Now she is doing a 10K training plan, and today was her long run--4.5 miles.

Jessica and I were going to run that with her, and then continue on to do 10 miles total (we have a 10-mile race next weekend). The bugs were out in full-force this morning. Good thing I didn't eat breakfast, because I probably ate my weight in bugs. Yum.

I'm a very sweaty beast in that photo

I was literally dripping with sweat just a couple of miles in, because it was really humid--and warm for being so early!  Just as I expected, my knee started to hurt at mile 2.25 ish. It wasn't horrible, just noticeable. I'm really wanting it to heal, so I planned to walk if it got bad. But it never really got to that point!

After Stephanie finished her 4.5 miles, we did about a half-mile walk to the car, and then Jessica and I headed back out. That short walk was great for my knee, and I was able to do the rest of the run without a walk break! I was SO happy about that. We finished just short of 10-miles (9.6 total, not including the walk), and I only had to do the one break. Maybe all this strength training, foam rolling, and stretching is starting to pay off. I certainly hope so! I wasn't even limping when I was done :)

I had no idea that Stephanie was taking pics of us!

On the way home, I stopped at a new bakery that just opened by our house. There is one about 20 minutes away, and Jerry is obsessed with their donuts. So I bought three donuts--one for Jerry, and one for each of the kids. I was tempted, but decided to save those calories for tonight when we cook on the grill.

I came home and made an unusual-for-me smoothie. It consisted of:
3/4 cup water
1/2 an avocado
1/2 scoop vanilla protein powder
handful of blueberries
1 Tbsp. almond butter
8 ice cubes

Sounds very strange having the avocado in there, but it was actually pretty good! The avocado gave it a very smooth, creamy texture, and the prominent flavor was the blueberries. It kept me full for a really long time, too, even after the 10 mile run I did beforehand. 

Okay, I need to figure out what dessert to make tonight. Something fun to spend my 917 burned calories on! ;)

*Thank you, Steph, for the pictures!!*

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So many walnuts!

I had planned on running 10 miles today, but changed that to tomorrow morning instead. I saw Jessica at one of the boys' baseball games, and she said she and Stephanie were going to run 4.5 on Saturday morning. I said I would run with them, and then finish out the 10 if she wanted to join me. So that is the plan for the morning--run 4.5 with Stephanie, then Jessica and I will run 5.5 more.

I feel like I'm hardly running at all anymore! I know it's only because I'm used to running an insane number of miles from marathon training, and now 16 miles a week seems like nothing. I did two 3-mile runs this week, and I'll finish it off with 10. But "official" marathon training for my fall marathon starts on Monday! I'm actually looking forward to having a schedule again, so I have some sort of direction.

I've been doing other exercise, though. I do The Swing workout twice a week, and I really like it. I can watch TV while I do it, and I don't have to focus too much. And I definitely feel like I'm getting a good workout after it's over.

I've also been doing that "couch potato workout" that Chris Powell mentioned just before a commercial break. He said that while watching TV, during the commercial break, do 15 sit-ups, 15 push-ups, and 15 squats. At first, I just did it spontaneously immediately after he suggested it. But each day after that, I've been doing it once a day while I watch TV at night.

My diet has been pretty decent lately. I had gotten out of the habit of cooking dinner every night, and instead we were just eating cereal and random stuff like that. And of course I never eat just ONE bowl of cereal! So for the past week or so, I've been cooking again, and I feel good about that.

My weight is still hanging out at 142. I was holding very steady in the mid-130's before I started marathon training. During training, I ate a ton of crap--remember all the trips to Whole Foods for dessert? ;)  And now it seems like I'm battling to get back down to where I was before training. I'm determined not to gain weight during my fall marathon training; but since I'm going at it alone, it shouldn't be too bad. When Jessica and I trained together, it was much more fun to go get dessert than it would be to go alone!

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Today Jerry was off work, and we were thinking of going to Sam's Club, I wanted to get some walnuts and some granola bars. Our membership needs to be renewed, and I was debating whether I wanted to renew it--it's $40 a year. I realized I could just buy the walnuts and granola bars from GFS instead, which was much closer to home and you don't need a membership.

The walnuts were super expensive--$20. But I knew if I bought a small bag at the grocery store, it would be $5-7, so I decided to get them. We bought some other stuff as well, and then when I got home, I discovered that I already had a HUGE bag of walnuts in the fridge--doh! I forgot that I put them in there so that they would keep longer, and I just haven't used them lately, so I forgot.

So now I have two ginormous bags of walnuts. I'm going to have to come up with some creative ways to use them! Any ideas?

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My little brother (well, I say "little" but he's 28, about 6 inches taller and 50 pounds heavier than me) is coming over for dinner tomorrow, and I'm really excited! I don't see him very often, even though we live 20 minutes from each other. He's bringing a girl that he is dating, so I'll get to meet her. We're going to cook out on the grill.

I bought steaks for everyone, but I'm not huge fan of eating meat by itself like that, so I got a huge portobello mushroom cap to marinate and grill for me instead of steak. I've never tried that before, but the recipe sounds good. I also got corn on the cob and the stuff to make cheesy potatoes.

I know I'm going to have a few beers, so I ended up buying some Bud Select 55. I have no idea why I buy that stuff! My older brother says it's "beer for people who like to pee a lot and not get a buzz"... hahaha, so true. I just didn't want to drink a ton of calories.

Well, today is a date night for Jerry and I, and we still have to figure out what we're going to do. The kids are staying the night at my parents' house. I'm not sure if we'll actually go out or just stay home and do something, but I want to at least take advantage of it!

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Guest Post: The Unmentionables of Running

As I've pointed out more than a few times, after running my first marathon, I discovered that one of my toenails was turning black. I never thought it would happen to me! I've heard of runners losing nails, but I just thought I wouldn't have that problem, because I'd never had the problem before. But it sparked a conversation about the "unmentionables" of running.

And who better to ask about those topics than The Boring Runner? One of the things I enjoy most about Adam's blog is his bluntness. He is not ashamed to talk about things that would make other runners blush, or admit when runner's trots got the best of him. "The Boring Runner" is not at all what I would call 'boring', because it's extremely entertaining--Adam has a way of talking about boring stuff and making it interesting!

I asked Adam to write this guest post about the grosser parts of running, and I think you will find it entertaining and even informative. Also, and I didn't know this until I read his guest post, Adam is a fellow weight-loser--he's lost 50 pounds! I hope you enjoy his post, and make sure you check out his blog as well. I look forward to his Funny Foto Friday posts all week ;)

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Six days a week, my routine is very similar.  I wake up, stumble around a bit, put in my contacts, fill my water bottles, and wait.  Oh, I might read a blog or two, check up on twitter, but mostly – I wait. You see, after 6 years of running I’ve learned many interesting and amazing things about my body.  The most important? Waiting 10 minutes before a run to go poop is oh so much better than duck walking half a mile to the local convenience store at mile 4 of a 10 mile run. Quite simply, I’ve learned that, while my body propels me to speeds I only dreamt of, on occasion it reminds me just who is in control.

First things first, I suppose that I should introduce myself.  As you might expect, this is not Slim Katie.  My name is Adam and I blog over at The Boring Runner, where I have a reputation for saying all of the things that everyone is thinking but doesn’t quite feel comfortable saying. Poop? Yep.  Frost bite on my pointy bits? Yep. Talking about how I met a nice homeless person while peeing behind McDonalds? Yep.   My blog follows my journey of completing 15 marathons and counting, losing 50 pounds, taking a full hour off of my marathon time, and becoming a running coach.....all while trying to balance work, fatherhood, and my horrible reality TV obsession.  

Katie recently reached out after her marathon (likely after a post wherein I spoke of corns on my feet or snot on my shoulder) asking if I would write a quick blurb about some of the not so glamorous things that happen to our bodies as a result of running. Just like a runner to a bowl of free breadsticks at Olive Garden, I dove in head first.  What follows are a few of the not so pleasant tidbits about what happens to our bodies while running (and what to do about them!) that I’ve picked up along the way.

Runners Trots: Isn’t it funny how marketing companies have a way with making anything about poop seem cute and cuddly? Example: Those cartoon bears in the toilet paper commercials. What do THEY have to do with toilet paper? I think if I saw a bear using toilet paper I’d ship him off to the circus faster than you could say “hey Yogi, ride this tricycle”.  Same goes for runners trots.  Cute name, not so cute bodily function. Quite simply, this is the urge to “go” (poop) while you are running. We’ve all been there – a sweaty in a gas station bathroom we wouldn’t normally set foot in.

There are two main reasons that “cause” the often VERY sudden urge: First, blood is diverted away from your GI tract into your legs and lungs (stopping digestion) and second, the sloshing of everything frankly helps it break free. Lovely.  There are lots of things that you can do to try to prevent them (other than making sure you’ve “went” before).  Caffeine is the biggest culprit, but also avoiding greasy or fatty foods the night before, avoiding dairy, and of course the day before is NOT the time to start an all fiber cleanse. Making sure you are well hydrated will help with the aforementioned “going” beforehand... and well, toilet paper in a ziplock is never weight wasted.

Sweat / Chaffing: Other than to clear bowels, most people run to burn calories.  The problem? Burning calories creates heat. (In fact, a calorie isn’t a unit of ice cream, it is officially a unit of heat!) When it gets hot, bodies sweat. A lot. It can turn those cute white Nike shorts into a bit of a peep show - fast. Sweating has its purpose. In fact, the more you sweat (or rather, the more your sweat evaporates) the cooler you’ll be. But sweat has a nasty side....Chaffing.

Whenever you mix fabric with moisture and two pieces of skin rubbing together (insert inappropriate joke here) the skin revolts into a red, sometimes bloody, always painful rash.  The solution is either a product like body glide / Vaseline (that stains clothes) or tighter fitting clothing.  Put it wherever skin meets skin or where seams touch your skin (waist, bra line, crotch, under arms...pretty much everywhere).

Calluses/Corns/Black Toenails: Running can help you lose weight to become a slimmer, sexier you....but running is hell on your feet.  Each time we take a step while running our feet absorb 2.5x our own body weight.  Oh our poor feet. They callus, get dry, corns may develop, and you might even lose a toenail – all in the name of running! (I’m really selling running right now, huh?) Being a guy, I haven’t found a solution to this that doesn’t question my manhood.  I assume that you could probably get weekly pedicures to shave off the calluses.  Black Toenails are usually a sign of shoes that do not fit quite rite (or a 2nd toe that is much longer than the first).  Feet swell up to a full size bigger when running long distances, so your little tootsies need room to grow!

Snot: Honestly? I have no idea why running causes so much snot. But it does. Blow away! Just practice your aim.  Trust me.

Those are the high (low brow?) points.  There are lots of other examples of unmentionables that go along with running (farting anyone?) but the four above are certainly a great start.  I mean, once you have those figured out, running is actually pretty fun!

50 pounds down!

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Running vs. Jogging

I just realized I never formally announced the winner of the Special K granola bars giveaway. Sorry! The winner was Cristy R., and I'd already notified her by e-mail. In my final Under Armour post yesterday, there is another $500 gift card giveaway, so make sure you check that out.

A couple of people were curious about what a sponsored post is... it really just means that you are paid (or compensated) for writing the post. Please know that I will never do a sponsored post for something that I don't already like/use/believe in/etc. The Under Armour posts were right up my alley, because I LOVE UA, and I write that all the time without getting paid for it. So if you see a sponsored post that I've written, please know that everything I write is true, and the posts will ALWAYS state that they are sponsored.

The difference between the UA posts and say, the Special K granola bar review, is that Special K sent me the granola bars to try and write my thoughts about them--good or bad, they had no idea what I was going to write, and I told them before they shipped the bars to me that I was going to be completely honest on the blog. I was not paid to write that review, and the only thing I got out of it was a couple of free boxes of granola bars.

So, that is how the reviews/sponsored posts work. It is all pretty new to me, as well. I had no idea that sponsored posts and reviews and all that stuff even existed until a few months ago! I wish I had started a "real" blog years ago instead of my private little Open Diary ;)

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When I took the boys to their baseball games yesterday, I was talking to my friend Amber, and she asked me if Noah was doing the football camp at the rec center. I said I signed him up for it, and paid the $30 registration fee, but hadn't heard anything back from them. Well, apparently it started yesterday morning, so Noah missed the first class. I was bummed, because it was only 3 classes total, and he'll only be doing two of them. Oh, well.

The second class was at 9:00 this morning. I actually slept in until 7:15 (that never happens! I'm usually up by 6:00). I decided to hold off on my run until after I took Noah to class. I dropped Noah off, and then took Eli to the library to pick out some books. Since Jerry was sleeping, and I didn't want to leave Eli, I decided to do my run on the dreadmill. I only planned on doing three miles, to hopefully not irritate my knee.

Running on the treadmill is so boring that I always tend to go faster than is comfortable, but there's nothing wrong with that ;) My Garmin battery was dead (having issues charging it, which is making me wonder if I made the wrong decision on trading in my 305!) so I just ran until the treadmill read 3 miles.

My knee started hurting right on cue at 2.25 miles in. I don't think the foam rolling, stretching, and strengthening is helping, but maybe I just need to give it more time. Speaking of strength training, I'm actually liking the swing workouts. It's just so SIMPLE, but I definitely feel that I've worked out my muscles.

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Yesterday, Jerry told me about this ignorant guy that he works with, and the things the guy said about running made my blood boil. Jerry told the guy that he had started running, because his wife runs, and it keeps her (me) in shape. The guy said something like, "Well, you guys aren't RUNNING, you're JOGGERS. It's only 'running' when you go as fast as you can, and you don't run fast."

Jerry told him that his pace was about a 9:15 mile (doesn't that make you sick, by the way? He's only run a handful of times in his life, and he's already running the same pace as me. But anyway...) and the guy said something like, "OH, that's definitely jogging."

The only time I use the word "jog" is when I refer to a recovery period after running sprints or intervals. For example, "I ran a quarter mile hard, then jogged a quarter mile"--because I'm referring to the amount of effort I put into it. I despise being called a "jogger", because I'm always working to improve my times and distances. I am a RUNNER. I don't think it matters if my "hard" pace is an 7-minute mile or an 11-minute mile, I'm still a runner when I put forth effort.

A Google search showed that there is a ton of controversy among athletes as to differentiating running vs. jogging. The dictionary defines "jog" in this condition as: to run at a leisurely, slow pace, especially as an outdoor exercise (source). The keyword here is "leisurely"--where you aren't running with much effort. While walking, you always have one foot in contact with the ground [fact]. So technically, you are no longer walking when, for a split second, BOTH of your feet lose contact with the ground; you are running.

That's MY take on the whole issue, anyway :)

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Just keep on moving forward

Why, oh why, did I pick the mother of all goals for my "What's Beautiful?" challenge goal? ;) Reaching my super-duper goal weight of 133? I haven't seen that number since my jaw was broken.

I was afraid to choose a running-based goal, because I knew my marathon would fall right smack in the middle of the challenge, and I had no clue how that was going to play out.

I didn't want to do anything out of the ordinary as far as fitness goes, for fear of sabotaging my marathon goal. So I chose the route of reaching my goal weight. I wish I could say that I am there--that I killed those 5 pounds and I am weighing in at goal of 133 right now.

But the truth is, I started this UA challenge at 138, and today, I am at 142 pounds. Not even close to my goal.

Out for a walk with Jessica in my "Perfect Pants"

I had a hard time getting used to the minimal running I did after the marathon. I was still eating the amount of food I was eating during my 35-40 mile weeks. And it was such a relief to be done training that I just celebrated a little too much.

So now my five pounds have actually turned to nine pounds. I know that doesn't sound like much of a difference, but I had that same thought when I made the goal to lose five; I thought, "Oh, it's just five pounds...that will come off in no time!"

I do want to point out a few things that have been going well, however. Because of this challenge, I've been going for a walk in the afternoons to prevent binge eating. I'm not going to lie and say it has always worked, but it has definitely saved me more than once from sabotaging my efforts.

By the way, I am in LOVE with my new Under Armour Perfect Pants. It is no lie when I say these pants are the most comfortable article of clothing I own--including my pajamas! I may or may not have worn them at least three times before washing.

I've also been doing good about keeping my night time snack to under 300 calories. I think I'm over the cereal mix now, and lately I've been having pretzels (110 calories) and wine (120 calories).

Something else I've managed to do so far is to avoid going to the local ice cream shop. Last summer, I gained 15 pounds (and held onto them all summer long!) because I was eating way too many Reese's Cup flurries. I was getting probably four or five of them per week!

I made it a goal to get through the entire season the ice cream shop is open (they close for the winter) without getting anything there. If I want ice cream, it has to be from somewhere else, where it is much less convenient. So far, so good :)

Just because this is my last sponsored UA post does not mean I am giving up on this challenge. I'm going to continue to work on changing small habits throughout the summer in order to get to my goal weight.

As you know, I am registered for another marathon. Part of my training for that involves cross-training and strength training. Hopefully, the extra activity will help me along. And my diet? That's always a challenge!

So anyway, I certainly hope that some of you are doing better than I am at this What's Beautiful? challenge. If you haven't yet signed up, I encourage you to do so. With the right determination, you could win $1000 worth of UA gear!

Regardless, Under Armour is giving away yet ANOTHER $500 gift card. All you have to do to be entered for a chance to win is answer the question "How do you keep motivated to achieve your personal fitness goals?"

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 the form below telling me how you keep motivated to reach your personal fitness goals. 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.
Entries from all participating blogs will be pooled for winner selection; only two entries per household. 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 6/12-6/30.
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Computer frustration

What a tiring weekend! I didn't even really do much over the weekend, but I was SO TIRED. On Saturday morning, I went for a short bike ride with the kids--and by short, I mean distance. We were going so slow that I could have walked faster than we were riding! When we got home, Eli asked if his friend Everett could come over, so I said sure. Sometimes having extra kids over actually makes it easier on me--because my kids aren't wining about being "soooo bored" all the time.

Noah went to a birthday party in the afternoon, and when I went to pick him up, I realized just how tired I was. I normally don't have thoughts of napping during the day, but I couldn't wait to go to bed. Luckily, my parents decided to keep the kids overnight. So I dropped them off, then went home and I went to bed super early. I had been planning to go to my friend Alicia's house for a get-together, but I was just too tired.

Sunday, I didn't do much of anything either. Last night, I was watching Extreme Makeover: Weight Loss Edition, and Chris Powell (love him, by the way!!) suggested doing a "couch potato workout" during commercial breaks--15 sit-ups, 15 push-ups, and 15 squats. I hadn't done ANY ab work since having my lower body lift, so when he said that, I just decided to do it. I started with the sit-ups, and cranked out 15 Army-style sit-ups pretty easily. I surprised myself! What was even more surprising, was that I didn't have any abdominal pain or pinching or anything like that. I'm not sure why, but I really expected it to hurt.

Then I did push-ups. I started with Army-style, but could only do ONE, lol. So I switched to doing them on my knees, and I barely was able to finish 15. Then the squats were easy. I actually really like squats. This morning, the only part of me that was slightly sore from that quick little workout were my armpits... haha!

Since I don't really have a run schedule right now, I want to take it easy this week because of my knee. My knee usually starts to hurt between miles two and three, so I decided to run three miles this morning. I went slow and easy. Right on cue, my knee started to hurt shortly after 2 miles in. If it got bad, I was planning to stop and walk, but it didn't get to that point.

I made an usual breakfast (for me, anyway). It reminded me of Camp Shane, a weight loss camp that I was a counselor at in 2002. They used to give us English muffins topped with jam and cottage cheese for breakfast. So I made an English muffin and topped it with cottage cheese and Trader Joe's Fig Butter...

With black tea (I'm quitting coffee again). It was really good! I love the TJ's Fig Butter--it tastes just like the inside of a Fig Newton.

Yesterday, I had an issue with my computer that turned me into a madwoman. For some reason, all of my USB ports on my Dell laptop stopped working. I didn't realize how often I used those ports until they stopped working! I need them to upload my Garmin Forerunner info, pictures from my iPhone, to charge my iPod, to save pictures to my external hard drive, and a whole lot more.

Nothing would fix it! I tried restarting, reinstalling drivers, uninstalling and reinstalling iTunes... I Googled my problem and tried all of the fixes, and NOTHING was working. That's why my post yesterday didn't have any photos--I was too pissed off. I took pictures of my pantry and fridge for the post (on my iPhone) but couldn't get those pictures to my computer.

This morning after my run, I sprawled out on the floor with my laptop, determined to figure it out. I was about to reset everything to the factory settings (and losing a whole shit-ton of stuff in the process) when I tried one last thing--unplugging everything and taking the battery out of my computer. I waited about 15 minutes, put the battery back in, and it worked! I was totally relieved. But for those few hours, I really thought I was going to lose it. I wanted to tear my hair out and throw my fucking Dell out the window. I will never buy another Dell! Mine is on borrowed time as it is, but I cannot afford a new computer for a while, so this one really needs to last.

Oh, I almost forgot... I took a new picture of my toe. Some of you have asked how my toe was doing now, and it looks so gross!!

I don't know if I'm going to lose the nail or not, but it certainly doesn't look promising. I popped the blood blister under my nail shortly after the marathon, and that definitely helped with the pain. Now it doesn't hurt, but it feels very weird. And it's definitely not pretty.

Since I don't want to leave you with that ugly picture of my foot in your head, I'll leave you with a picture of Estelle sleeping on Jerry's lunchbox...

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Reader Questions & Answers #16

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. I was wondering how you budget your calories throughout the day. Do you try to stay within a certain range per meal? I am having a hard time figuring out how to space my calories during the day.

Another question: What does your shopping cart/pantry look like? What do you consider “must haves”?

A. One of the biggest differences from "this time around" losing weight (vs. the previous hundreds of attempts) actually lies in the fact that I budgeted my calories differently. In the past, I always used to "hoard" calories for later in the day. I would eat a miniscule breakfast (or skip it altogether), then a tiny lunch, a large dinner, and I would use all the rest of my calories for pre-bed snacking. But usually, what ended up happening, was that I would be starving by mid-afternoon and I would binge--then say, "Eff it, I might as well start over tomorrow and eat whatever I want for the rest of the day."

Obviously, that was not helpful! This time around, I did things differently. I spread my calories out and I wasn't afraid to use up all my calories too early. I found that by doing so, the urge to binge practically disappeared, because I was always physically satisfied.

To be more specific, I would generally eat about 350 calories for breakfast, 350-400 calories for lunch, 400-450 calories for dinner... plus an afternoon snack of about 200 calories and and evening "treat" of about 300 calories. I didn't adhere to this every single day, but this is a GENERAL idea of how I liked to spread out the calories. Doing it this way kept my hunger satisfied throughout the day, and I still had my special treat to look forward to before bed. 

As far as my shopping cart/pantry... my "must haves" are: oats, Smart Taste pasta, brown rice, canned beans of all kinds, canned tuna, pretzels, popcorn, peanut butter, almond butter, wine, Ezekiel bread, 1% milk, cheddar cheese, mozzarella cheese, parmesan cheese, eggs, lean ground turkey, fruits and veggies (whatever is cheap or on sale--usually cabbage, apples, bananas, bell peppers, potatoes, onions). I'm probably forgetting some stuff, but those are things that I always have on hand.

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Q. My questions is during your weight loss did you ever take weight loss aids, fat burners, etc? The crap that advertises that it can make you look like a swimsuit model? If no, did you ever consider taking any?

A. To answer both questions, no--I never took any weight loss aids, and I never considered taking any. I've never been a fan of weight loss pills, because I don't think it's reasonable to take them forever. One thing that I was adamant about from day one was that I wasn't going to make any changes that I wasn't willing to make forever. I knew I didn't want to take weight loss pills forever, so I never even considered taking them from the start. 

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Q. I have a pretty simple question-  Why is your goal weight, your goal weight?  I forget the exact number you said it was, but it was only like 5 pounds from what you are now- why have you picked that particular number?  Won't your pants still fit the same and you'll look the same?  I'm working on losing weight myself and I haven't picked an exact number yet I guess because I don't know how to pick a number that far away. The difference between 132 and 138 seems so minimal. Did you have this number in your head when you started or did you zero in on it as you got closer?

A. This is a great question! This is definitely something I would have wondered before I lost the weight. When I was 253 pounds, I could gain or lose 20 pounds before I would notice it in my clothes. A couple of pounds made no difference at all. 

When I first started losing weight, I chose 126 as my goal weight--because it would be half of my starting weight, and I had this big dream of being in People magazine's Half Their Size issue. I got down to 128 pounds in 16 months--(the last 10 came off when my jaw was broken and I was on a liquid diet). Once I was able to eat solid food again, my weight jumped up to 137 ish, and I've had one hell of a time getting it back down. I remember feeling like 133 was my "cut-off" weight, where I felt good and all my clothes felt good. And once I was on The Dr. Oz Show, I no longer would qualify to be in People magazine whether I reached 126 or not, so I changed my goal weight to 133.

My body really likes the high 130's/low 140's. I can maintain this weight without counting every calorie, and still eating my daily treat. But my clothes don't fit how I would like them to. I don't feel as good as I did at 133. I know that five pounds seems like nothing, but at this size, five measly pounds makes a world of difference in my clothes. I have a pair of jeans that fit like a glove at 137, but if I get up to 139, I can barely get them buttoned. I have a dress that looks amazing when I'm 136, but at 138, it's a struggle to zip. 

At this size, EVERY POUND MATTERS. I'm sure that I'm probably the only one who notices, and it's truly no big deal if I weigh 138 forever instead of 133. But I think that by striving for 133, I'm at least not gaining back every pound I've lost. I'm always working at getting to goal, so maybe that is the reason I've successfully kept off 100+ pounds for almost two years now. 

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And now a question for all of you...

Do you tend to spread your calories out throughout the day, or do you prefer to eat the majority of your calories at one meal?

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Allison's story

I'd like to introduce you to Allison, runner #10 on our Ragnar Relay Florida Keys team. Allison was actually a mystery to me when Rik and I first started this whole project. Rik said she would be great for the team, and I trusted his judgement. He couldn't have been more right! 

At first, Allison wasn't sure if she belonged on our team--because she is still in the middle of her weight loss journey. But I think that makes her very relatable to so many people who are where she is at this point. She is definitely a success story already--as you'll see below--but you'll get to see her change even more as this project continues. 

The whole team has welcomed her with open arms, and we are very happy to have her as part of our team. And I've discovered that, out of everybody on the team, Allison is the one who I probably have the most in common with--she reminds me so much of ME! ;)  Anyway, enjoy her story--she doesn't have a blog, so it's a little long, but she definitely has a knack for writing...

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My entire life, I’ve thought of myself as fat. Fifteen years ago, when I graduated high school, I was 160 pounds and borrowing my boyfriend’s size 36 jeans because I liked how they sat low on my hips. Ironic, now, since my goal weight is 160. Yes, goal weight. I’ve dubbed myself the team WIP (work-in-progress) because, though I’m currently down 40 pounds, I’ve not yet lost all of my weight.

Growing up, my family’s (tongue-in-cheek) motto was “Butter and/or bacon makes everything better.” Dad was (and still is) an amazing cook, and was heavy-handed on portions, but since the food was so good, no one minded, and we all went back for seconds. I don’t, for a second, blame his cooking AT ALL for my weight; I didn’t start chubbing up until I lived on my own. 

My hearty appetite was always a terrible mismatch for my sedentary lifestyle. In school, I was into theatre, yearbook, school newspaper, math team, chess team…notice the lack of anything athletic? As a kid (okay, as an adult, too), I was happiest curled up with a book, and my parents would force me outside…where I’d promptly sit down and continue reading.

After high school, I was on my own, working, going to college, and not eating anything that didn’t come from a box or a bag. Well, there WERE those canned stews… And take-out. Lots of take-out. “Fresh” described my attitude, not anything I ate. Too bad there aren’t salad delivery services. Six years after high school, I hit my (then) top weight of 248 pounds. I joined Weight Watchers at work and lost 50 pounds in 13 months! Then my company was sold, I got a new job, and I stopped WW because I was “sick of counting Points” and could “do this on my own now.” Guess how that turned out?

Yup, though I had learned about portion control from WW, the weight crept back on until I was 220, where I leveled for the next couple of years. In 2006, I started dating Jason (now hubby) and gained a lot of “happy” fat. I was happy about the new relationship, not about the weight! By the time we were married in October 2008, I was back in the 240s and 6 months later, hit my all-time high of 262.

I was furious with myself. What bride GAINS weight for her wedding?! I was supposed to have LOST weight for my wedding…for my college graduation…when I turned 25…24… 21…every year was always THE YEAR I’d lose weight. Every winter, I’d pack my sweaters away saying, “They won’t fit next year,” and every fall, I’d unpack the exact same sweaters and wear them through the next winter. 

Shortly after getting married

I’ve always wanted a nice coat and never bought one because it was “silly to spend the money when it won’t fit me next year because I’ll have lost so much weight.” I realized I could have owned the nice coat for the past 10 years…and it would have fit fine every winter. I was sick of only being able to shop at plus-sized stores. I was sick of spending summers planning what to wear that wouldn’t show sweat lines from my back fat or wondering if I should wear shorts instead of a dress so my thighs wouldn’t chafe.

I knew someone who’d had gastric bypass surgery, and, though I knew I didn’t want surgery, loved the nutritional counseling she’d had, so I looked into how to get the nutritional help without the surgery. Ridiculously, my insurance would pay for the counseling associated with surgery, but not for the counseling itself. 

Honeymoon in Hawaii

I looked for local nutritionists and found a (reasonably priced!) one who designed a balanced plan for me of 1400-1500 calories per day, with foods I loved (Cheese?! Pasta?!?). I followed the plan for 3 months and lost 35 pounds! Then…I stopped. I thought I “deserved a break,” but I never came back from break. How do you spell self-defeating? M-E. A year later, in 2010, I was back up to 240.

Around this time, Jason and I were planning our second trip to Hawai’i. Right after our wedding, we had honeymooned there, touring the islands. I’d been most looking forward to taking a helicopter tour of the Na Pali coast on Kauai, but we found out I was so heavy I’d have to pay for a second seat, so we didn’t do it, settling for a boat cruise instead. 

We loved Hawai’i and I said that if we were ever able to come back, I wouldn’t be so fat and we’d go on the helicopter. In planning our trip to celebrate our second anniversary, I realized that I was the exact same weight I was on our honeymoon, which meant, once again, there’d be no helicopter tour. I was angry and disappointed with myself because I had PROMISED myself I’d lose weight, and, even worse, I HAD lost some…and gained it all back.

 I hadn’t realized it until I was writing my story, but the Hawai’i trip was when I snapped. Through all of my weight up and down over the years, I’d taken boot camp classes on and off and had run laps for warm-ups. At 240 pounds, I decided to start running and registered for a 5K (to my family’s total bewilderment). I found the Couch-to-5K plan online and started week 1, day 1 on June 1, 2010.
 

Finishing the first 5K!

Two days later, I was rear-ended by a drunk driver on my way to work, screwing up my knee and sending me to physical therapy for the next 2 months. Frustrated, but strangely undeterred, I started C25K again on August 2, and ran my 1st 5K on October 23 with my whole family there to cheer me on. My parents, sister, brother, and husband were standing at the finish line cheering for me; the announcer asked them my name and I crossed the finish line of my first race to the sound of my name being screamed by my family over the loudspeaker!

When I ran that first day of C25K (1 minute jog alternated with 90 seconds of walking, repeated for 20 minutes), I thought I was going to die. By the time I got to the third repeat of jogging, I was gasping for air, my legs hurt, I was sweating, and I couldn’t figure out why I was doing this to myself. The second day was a little bit better, and I started to be proud of what I was doing. A couple of times, I had to repeat a week of the plan because I wasn’t ready to move on and increase my running time. I finished my first 5K in just under 40 minutes and had never been more proud of myself.

I ran three more 5Ks over the winter and was then laid off in March 2011. While nervous about being out of work, I embraced the free time and started boot camp again, increased my running, and ran four more 5Ks until, in mid-June 2011, I fell during a boot camp class, and shattered my wrist. The funny thing is that I’ve fallen harder at home tripping over one of my cats; this time, I landed JUST the right way, or rather wrong way! 

I had to have surgery, had a titanium plate and a whole bunch of screws put in, went through loads of physical and occupational therapy, and 2 months to the day after I fell, got the doctor’s OK to run again and had my “come-back” race 2 weeks later. I did walk a 5K the week after my surgery; I’d been registered for months and was SO frustrated I couldn’t run it, so my husband offered to walk it with me!   I’m glad we did it because being surrounded by the runners and the crowd reminded me how much I enjoyed running and made me antsy to get back to it!

I’ve run more than a dozen 5Ks since that 1st one, have a bunch more scheduled for this summer, and am training for my first half-marathon this October! I love getting outside to run, and am thrilled every time I run a route a little bit faster, or run a little further. Compared to most runners, I’m not fast: I run an 11:30 – 12:00 minute pace. Compared to my 15:00 minute pace when I first started, I’m a speed demon!

I count calories, staying between 1200-1400 each day, and am averaging a loss of about 1 pound per week. Keeping with this plan, I’ll be out of the 200s by Ragnar…well into the 100s, actually! I felt funny joining such an amazing group of people who’ve all lost such significant weight since I’m not “there” yet. Funny, that is, until my wonderful and inspiring teammates reminded me that they’d all been where I am, and they all welcomed me whole-heartedly; now, I’m okay with being the team WIP and I am thrilled to be part of this incredible experience with these fantastic people!

40 pounds down

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