Wii Active

I don't know what possessed my mind this morning to think about a long-ago goal I had given up on--but I'm glad it did! When I was obese, Jerry got a gift card from work that was the exact amount of a Wii--so we bought one. And in one of my many attempts to lose weight, I purchased Wii Active. The Wii Active is a type of circuit workout, with strength training and a little cardio.

It was the 30-day challenge that attracted me to it. It guides you through 20 workouts in 30 days. There is a low-impact, medium-impact, and high impact option. The first time I attempted the challenge, I chose medium. After a couple of days, I just found it was too hard, and I quit. The next time around, I chose low-impact, hoping I could do it. Again, it was hard, and I made excuses not to do it.

This morning, I happened to look at the Wii and think, "I'm going to finish that fucking challenge if it's the last thing I do."

I mean, I've run a MARATHON, so how could I possibly be intimidated by a <30 minute video game workout?! I think I just associate the game with a feeling of failure.

I want to keep up with the strength training I've been doing, because I'm sure it's helping my knee, but I don't want to get bored with what I'm doing--so I figure the Wii is a good change-up. I popped in the disc and set up a brand new profile--this time setting it to "high-impact"--go big or go home, right? ;)

I have to say, I really enjoyed it! It wasn't "too hard" this time, but I definitely broke a good sweat (the inline skating is killer on my legs).

Workout 1 of 20 is complete. I wish I had worn my Garmin as a heart rate monitor, because I'm curious how accurate that calorie burn is. Based on how I was feeling and sweating, I would guess it's pretty accurate.

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I was really craving Banana Cranberry Oat Bars for breakfast, but it never fails that I will make a batch with good intentions, only to binge on them later. I decided to make a bowl of oatmeal with the same main ingredients and hopefully get the same taste without having a whole batch to deal with. It was really good, and definitely killed that craving!

Oatmeal with maple syrup stirred in, then topped with 1/2 a sliced banana, a sprinkle of coconut and dried cranberries, and (as an afterthought) a dollop of almond butter. Normally, I'm not a banana-person. I like bananas, but I don't LOVE them. Which is why it surprises me so much that I love those bars! But it's the combination of the bananas + coconut + cranberries that keeps me coming back for more.

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One of the many books I requested at the library became available and I picked it up today. It's The Glass Castle, by Jeannette Walls. I could swear that I've read this book before! It looks so familiar and even the first chapter is very familiar. What I think probably happened is I started it once before, then lost interest and never finished it. I am setting a goal to read 20 pages per day, so I should finish it in two weeks.

I know, 20 pages is not very ambitious, but I am a super slow reader... and I don't spend much time reading at all. I'm behind on blog reading, on e-mail, and I have a few TV shows that I enjoy as well ;)

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I am the "Featured Fitterati" this week on Fitness.com. You can read the short bio here on the Featured Fitterati: Weight Loss Blog if you'd like!

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Discovery Kids' Cruise

I was awakened at around 6:00 this morning by the phone ringing--it was Noah. In Illinois, that would have been 5:00! I couldn't believe he was calling so early. And all he wanted was to ask if he could buy a game on his iPod. He's having a blast with his Aunt Jeanie--he hadn't even been in Illinois for 5 hours when I got a text saying, "Mama, this is Noah. Aunt Jeanie bought me a phone. I love it!" Hahaha, he is sooo spoiled by her.

I took Eli to Vacation Bible School at 9, and then came home to run on the treadmill. I actually could have run outside if I wanted, but I have actually been enjoying my treadmill runs lately--crazy, right?! I'm watching Season 9 of The Biggest Loser while I run now, and today was the second episode.

On my running schedule was 20 minutes easy, followed by six repeats of (2 minutes hard, 2 minutes easy), then 10 minutes easy for a cool-down. It looked like this:

I set my "easy" pace at 6.0 mph, and then did the first two hard repeats at 8.0 mph. That was HARD--8.0 felt pretty easy for a 30-second sprint, but doing 2 minutes at a time today was so much harder. So I dropped it to 7.0 for the next interval, then up to 7.5, then back down to 7.0 for the last two.

My Garmin foot pod was STILL off calibration today! I overcorrected it last time, I guess, because today it showed that I was going slower than the treadmill showed. I'm just glad that my schedule has me train by TIME instead of distance.

After that second 8.0 interval, I wanted SO badly to stop running for a minute, and just rest. I couldn't believe how exhausted it made me. I went back to 6.0 after the interval, but it was all I could do not to hop off and catch my breath. I was surprised just how fast the whole 54 minutes went by.

After my run, I showered and stopped at the grocery store before picking up Eli. I picked up the stuff to cook burgers on the grill (a veggie burger for me) tonight, because we invited my friend Adam over for dinner tonight.

Eli looking at plankton

We had just enough time to eat lunch at home before we had to leave again. I had registered us for a Kids Discovery Cruise at the Metropark--where we would go out on their boat and the kids would learn about the lake. Jerry ended up being off work today, so I registered him at the last minute as well.

The cruise was okay--I think Noah would have loved it--but definitely not Eli's thing. Eli LOVES to fish and be very active, so sitting on a boat and learning things was just not very exciting for him. They did some hands-on stuff, but he lost interest quickly. It was supposed to be 2 hours, but we didn't get back to the park until a half-hour later than scheduled.

My dad was there with his boat, waiting for us, so that he could take Eli out fishing. It was cute, because you could tell Eli was so proud that his grandpa was there in a boat waiting to take him fishing ;)  Jerry and I went home and tried to clean the house a little before Adam came over.

Adam is one of those friends that couldn't give a shit if the house is messy (thank God!) so there wasn't too much pressure ;) 

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One of the other Fitterati, The Wannabe Athlete, wrote a great post for Fitness that I wanted to share with you. She writes about being a slower runner (10+ minutes per mile) and I could relate to this so much! I thought a lot of you would enjoy it as well, if for no other reason than to know that we're not alone ;)  You can read her post called "On Behalf Of All the 10+ Minute Mile Runners" if you're interested.

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Reader Questions & Answers #21

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 have found out about all the races you've run. Is there a website somewhere where I could look them up?

A. Most of the races I've done, I heard about from friends. But there is a website called Active.com that lists tons of races, and you can search by your zip code or city. I like looking on Active.com because you can get an idea of how big the race is. The site links to the race websites, so you can check it out and look at photos from last year's races.

Whenever I go to buy new running shoes from the running store near me, I check out their "wall of races"--they have dozens of fliers for local races. Some of those interest me, so I'll grab a few fliers and look them up online when I get home.

Q. When you were losing weight did the compliments ever embarrass you? Maybe its because I still have such a long way to go, or embarrassment that I let myself get so overweight, or even that, yes I've lost weight...but I could have tried harder or skipped a dessert and lost more? But the compliments don't motivate me, they just embarrass me.

A. Definitely! I was still very overweight when people started complimenting me, and I was embarrassed about accepting a compliment. I realize now that it's because I had very low self-esteem, and I thought that as an obese person, I didn't deserve to be told that I was "pretty". Jerry even started calling me "Sticks" after I had lost 10 pounds--I was horribly embarrassed about that! hahaha

But when people give you compliments, it's not because they are forced to--accept the compliments graciously, because they really do mean what they say! You're worthy of compliments, even if you feel like you "could have lost more" or "tried harder". You're obviously making strides to improve your life, so that is definitely compliment-worthy!

Q. I saw that you wrote in an entry that you first decided you wanted to run a 5k when you were around 220 lbs, but you didn't start training until you were at 190 lbs. Is that because you were worried about the impact on your joints? I'm holding off on running until I hit around 195 for that reason, and I'm wondering if your rationale was the same.

A. Honestly, I didn't give a single thought to my joints before I started running. The reason I didn't start exercising sooner was because exercise always--and I mean always--made my weight loss slow way down. It was frustrating, so I held off as long as I could. I knew I was going to walk the half-marathon in Indy, so I had to start training for that. After that was over, I just kept going and instead of walking, I added running. You can read my whole running story here on my running page.

That said, I didn't have joint problems when I was overweight, so that's why it wasn't a factor for me. But if you have issues with your joints, I would definitely get your doctor's advice regardless. If your doctor gives you the okay, then it should be just fine to start now. Make sure you check out Carly's story--she started running at 350 pounds! She has now lost over 100 pounds and has run a half-marathon. Amazing, right?!

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Bowling party

First thing's first--the winner of the Sinless Margarita Mix is:

Nicole, please contact me with your shipping info (name, address, phone number) at SlimKatie (at) runsforcookies (dot) com within 24 hours, or I will pick a new winner. Congrats, and I hope you enjoy it as much as I have!

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As I wrote yesterday, I was really nervous that nobody was going to show up for Noah's party. We were having it at a bowling alley, and I originally planned on about 8 kids--we invited at least 12, and I only got two "yes" RSVP's. I just didn't want Noah to feel bad!

Thankfully, he had a decent turnout! Three of his friends, plus Noah and Eli, of course... and one boy showed up long enough to give Noah a gift, but he couldn't stay (it was so nice of them to show up, even for only a minute). Most importantly, Noah had a blast and said it was the best birthday party he's ever had--success!

Noah had requested a cookie cake--and not just any cookie cake, but one that was decorated like a blue/yellow marbled bowling ball. I was thinking I would just order it from Mrs. Fields, but I knew I would pay an arm and a leg for it, so I decided to try and make it myself.

If you remember the last time I made a birthday cake, you'll know why I wasn't too confident in making Noah's cake! I didn't make the dough, because I always tend to screw something up while baking (see link above), so I just bought a large tube of dough at the store. Baked it in a tart pan, and then colored some store-bought frosting. It turned out to be pretty hideous, but Noah loved it, so that is all that is important ;)

That would be my attempt at a blue/yellow marbled bowling ball. One kid commented, "I don't want the piece with the nose."  LOL, yes, this bowling ball has a nose, apparently.

The cake tasted delicious, despite how ugly it was. I gave the last piece to the guy who was working at the bowling alley, so that I wouldn't be tempted to eat it myself (I did have a piece of it, but I knew I would eat another if I brought it home). 

When we got home, I had to quickly pack Noah enough clothes for the next 7 days--because he's going to be visiting my sister in Illinois! He's super excited about it. When I broke my jaw, my sister came to Michigan right away and took Eli to her house for a week while I was in the hospital (and Noah stayed with my parents). Since Eli had his week with Aunt Jeanie, Noah wanted his turn. I know he's going to have a blast, so I am happy for him. It's going to be a tough week with just Eli--I am going to have to try and keep him entertained.

It really feels like a Sunday to me, for some reason. I'm so glad that it's not, because I feel like I need more weekend. I'm kind of dreading Eli's "I'm bored!" that I'm sure to hear 1,000 times tomorrow when he realizes that he misses his brother ;) It's going to be hard this week not to use food as entertainment! I can imagine taking him out for lunch, for ice cream, etc... but I have to be VERY careful. I'm not doing great at losing weight, but I AM maintaining right now, so I am happy just for that!

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Noah's birthday

I had another very humid long run today, but thankfully I learned some lessons from last time that were helpful.

Surprisingly, I didn't wake up at ALL during the night--which is so strange! I almost always wake up about every hour or two, because I'm such a light sleeper. But at 5:55, I looked at the clock and thought, "Shit! I better get ready to go!" I wanted to beat the heat and get out early for my 11-miler.

My schedule said "7 miles easy + 4 miles at marathon pace". I'm choosing a goal for the marathon that should be pretty easy--I really want this to be my last full marathon, and my only real goal is to have a time that starts with a 4 instead of a 5. Yes, that was my goal for the last marathon, but I wasn't factoring in my knee injury + the heat index of 95 degrees that day. So to finish sub-5 hours in the fall, I will need to run an 11:24/mi pace. Very do-able. I'm going to be training faster than that by about a full minute per mile on my long runs to ensure that I will be able to do it.

I drove about 20 minutes and parked at a community center to use the same trail that I always use. This way, I would be running into the sun for the first half of the run, and away from the sun for the second half--the opposite of what I did last time (Lesson #1 that I had learned). I also brought Powerade in my hydration belt (Lesson #2).

I felt much less pressure this time, because I had decided that my pace didn't matter. I wanted to run by feel alone, and forget about what my Garmin said. I had to go pee almost immediately, but I figured I could hold it until the turn-around point at mile 5.3 ish. It was hot running with the sun beating down on me, but I was really glad that it was the beginning of my run instead of later at the end, when I was tired.

I must have seen at least 1,000 rabbits. They were everywhere! A couple of miles into the run, I kept hearing a clicking noise coming from my shoe. I looked down and noticed that my foot pod was still on my shoe. I stopped for a second to mess with it and get it to stop clicking. Ran a few steps and it happened again. Then I realized it wasn't the foot pod, but the plastic part of my shoelace hitting the top of the foot pod--so I tucked the shoe lace under, and was good to go again.

I stopped at the bathrooms at mile 5.3 for a minute, then kept running. At mile 6.5, I stopped at a water fountain to refill my water bottle. Then I didn't stop again until I was back at my car. I didn't have to take a single walk break! It's been a long time since I've been able to do that--either the heat or my knee made me walk a little here and there, but today I did fine with the whole 11 miles. And I was very happy with my consistent splits.

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Today is Noah's 8th birthday! Jerry is off today, and Noah requested to go to Chuck E Cheese's--so the four of us went there before lunchtime. There were only about three kids total in the place, so it was nice and quiet! :) After the kids spent their tokens, we went to a bakery called "Just Baked" for cupcakes. I'd never been there before, so I was excited to go.

However, when I saw the cupcakes were $3 each, I changed my mind about getting one for myself (so did Jerry). It actually wasn't very hard to turn them down, because with the exception of the bumpy cupcake, they didn't have a lot of frosting--and you know that the frosting is my favorite part! Each of the boys picked one out and Noah asked if we could have lunch at Red Robin. I was a little worried about leaving the cupcakes in the car, but Jerry said, "Oh, they'll be fine--they might get a little soft, but we'll stick them in the fridge when we get home."

I was really excited to see that Red Robin will substitute a veggie burger on any of their burgers for no extra charge--so I chose to get a cheeseburger (Gardenburger) with the works. It was delicious!

 After lunch, we headed out to the car, and I discovered (what was left of) Noah's bumpy cupcake:

That is NOT what it looked like when we bought it. All of the ganache had melted away as well as the buttercream frosting inside. Noah was bummed, and because it was his birthday, I said we would go get him a new one. We went back to Just Baked, and I was kind of hoping the girl who was working would take pity on Noah and give him a free one, but no such luck. We paid $3 for another cupcake:

On the way home,the peanut butter frosting on Eli's was starting to fall off, so I pushed it back on--making a mess in the process:

At that point, I held the cupcakes up to the air conditioning, hoping to keep them in one piece until we got home. What a disappointment! I have no idea why these were so melty. I've never had a problem with my cupcakes from Whole Foods melting on the way home.

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Despite the cupcake issues, it was a fun family day and I think Noah was pleased with his birthday :) Tomorrow is his birthday party--and I'm a nervous wreck that nobody will show up. We sent out the invitations and almost everyone said they couldn't make it. I got two "yesses", so I am praying that those two boys actually show up. I didn't hear back from 2-3 more people, so who knows!

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Sinless Margarita Review & Giveaway!

Oh, boy, I can't even describe how excited I was to do this review! When a company called Sinless Cocktails contacted me to ask if I'd like to try their Sinless Margarita mix, I think I replied in no longer than five seconds. Heck yes, I will try your margarita mix! (Just FYI, this post is not sponsored, and Sinless Cocktails didn't even require me to write a review).

Before I lost the weight, my very favorite drink to order at a restaurant was a margarita on the rocks (with a salted rim, of course). I was hugely disappointed when I discovered that the typical margarita has 360 calories for 8 ounces, and I always ordered the huge "fishbowl" size ;) I don't think I drank a single margarita the whole time I was losing weight, because I just couldn't justify that many calories on a single drink.

I've heard of lower calorie mixed drinks (Skinnygirl Margarita is one), but they use sweeteners I am not a fan of. I am very picky when it comes to sugar substitutes--I don't like the taste of any artificial sweeteners, and I don't like agave syrup (which is what the Skinnygirl Margarita uses). I was excited to see that the Sinless Margarita mix uses all natural ingredients, and is sweetened with Stevia.

The mixes are liquid, and because they are natural ingredients, must be refrigerated. I am the first to admit that I know NOTHING about mixing cocktails--which is why I stick with wine and beer at home. So the fact that you only have to mix this with tequila (no triple sec!) was a huge bonus for me. I don't like to buy a ton of ingredients for a drink.

The directions say to mix 1 part tequila with 2-3 parts margarita mix (depending how strong you like it). I rimmed a glass with salt (just dip the edges of the glass in water, then dip into margarita salt). Then I filled the glass with ice and poured 1.5 ounces of tequila with 4 ounces of margarita mix. I like my margaritas on the rocks, rather than frozen, but I imagine they would work just fine if you blended it with ice).

I have to admit, I was skeptical that I was going to love it. But all it took was one little sip to make my eyes grow wide and announce to Jerry, "This is AWESOME!" He took a sip of mine and liked it so much that he wanted me to make one for him too, right away.

Yes, I like a lot of salt... don't judge! ;)

We both just kept sipping and saying, "Wow, this is good!" The total calories were only 111 per drink. They didn't taste watered down at all (which I can't stand!) and I didn't taste a single hint of bitterness that Stevia sometimes has. In fact, I never would have guessed that it was made with Stevia.

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The next morning, I was still thinking about the tart sweetness of the margarita, so I decided to make a shake with the same kind of taste I was looking for: Key Lime Pie Protein Shake! I used some of the Sinless Margarita mix in it, and it was heavenly.

Key Lime Pie Protein Shake

1/2 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
1/4 cup Sinless Margarita mix
1 serving vanilla protein powder mix
1 Tbsp. lime jello mix
1 Tbsp. cheesecake pudding mix
1 tsp. lime juice (not necessary, but I wanted mine extra limey)
8-10 ice cubes
1/4 tsp each xanthan gum and guar gum (optional, for a thicker, creamier texture)

Put everything in a blender and blend until smooth. (With my protein powder, the shake's totals came out to--223 calories, 2.6 grams of fat, 24.3 grams of carbs, 25.8 grams of protein)

This tasted exactly like key lime pie--so good!

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After absolutely loving the original margarita mix, I wasn't quite as excited to try the Strawberry Margarita Mix. I've never been a fan of strawberry margaritas. I made the strawberry margaritas the same as the original. I took a sip and wasn't too thrilled with it. I thought it was decent, but like I said, I'm just not a big strawberry margarita fan.

Notice the tequila bottle is now half-empty... ;)

Jerry, however, LOVED the strawberry one. He said he liked that one better than the original. So it's just a matter of personal preference!

Overall, I absolutely loved the original Sinless Margarita mix, and would definitely buy it to have on hand (it keeps for 6 months unopened in the fridge). The ONLY drawback for me is that it's a little pricey--$8.49 per bottle plus shipping.

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Sinless Cocktails has very generously offered to give away a bottle of mix to one Runs for Cookies reader! To enter the random drawing, check out the Sinless mixes on their website and leave a comment here letting me know which one sounds the best to you. I will leave this contest open until Saturday (7/14) at 10:00 a.m. EST.  CONTEST HAS NOW ENDED.

(In full disclosure, I was given two bottles of Sinless Margarita Mix to try; I wasn't required to do a review, and all opinions are truthful).

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More cookies!

My kids actually slept in today! I was up at 6:00 this morning, ready to get my run over and done with, but I didn't want the treadmill to wake them up--so I had to kill some time. Finally, at 7:30, they woke up.

My schedule called for a 15 minutes easy, followed by two repeats of (10 minutes tempo pace + 3 minutes easy), finishing with 10 minutes easy. I planned on doing the easy pace at 6.0 mph (10:00/mi pace) and the tempo pace at 7.0 mph (8:34/mi pace). Those are the speeds I've been doing, although the Garmin foot pod is telling me I'm going a little faster than that.

Today, I decided to fudge the calibration of the Garmin foot pod to be a little closer to the pace of the treadmill. The calibration factor was set at 974 (no idea what that number means, but the factor setting was 1000, and after calibrating on a track, it came up with 974). So before I ran this morning, I changed it to 995--a number I just pulled out of nowhere to see how it would work.

Turns out I went the wrong direction with the number, because with the 995 factor, it showed I was going even faster than before! I wish I was running an 8:30/mi pace for 6 miles, but it's very unlikely ;) I should have brought the number down from 974 instead of up. 

I turned The Biggest Loser on Netflix, and started watching Season 9. What a tear jerker! I forgot just how heartbreaking that first episode is, especially the first hour of it. I hate that The Biggest Loser sends people home on the first day, before they even get a chance to lose weight. In fact, I would love it if they never sent anyone home and made the show more about weight loss and changing lives than "game-playing" and drama. I know they do the drama to make it interesting, but I would enjoy the show if it was all feel-good emotions of watching everyone change their lives!

8:29/mi? I wish! ;)

Anyway, the 6.0 and 7.0 speeds were right on for what I was doing. The 7.0 was "comfortably hard", where I wanted to slow down, but I knew that I could keep going and finish strong. The 3-minute break between the two 10-minute intervals was not very long! Just long enough to catch my breath and take a drink of water. My knee is absolutely getting better, because I haven't even felt a tiny twinge of pain the last few runs. That gives me so much hope for my marathon!

Toward the end of the run, I decided to bump up the incline and see if it would affect my pace. And after some playing around with the incline, I noticed that it DID make my pace faster/slower on my Garmin. Gah! Since I always run with at least a 1% incline, I would have to recalibrate my Garmin to reflect that. After my run, I decided to recalibrate using the treadmill.

And of course, recalibrating involves running a half-mile, which I really didn't want to do after I just ran for 51 minutes, but I did it anyway. So after calibrating on the treadmill, the factor was 885 (rather than the 995 I'd just used). That sounds like a big difference to me! But at least now, my Garmin pace will reflect the same as the treadmill--so I will probably be going a little faster than it shows, but that will be better than vice versa. I wish there was a way to calibrate the treadmill--I'd be very curious as to how accurate (inaccurate?) it is.

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Check out the shirt that Jerry bought me!

I wanted to post that about a week ago, when he actually bought it, but I had to exchange it--twice. He originally bought a size 3/5 from the junior's section. I've never had a problem with that size before (it's just from Wal-Mart), but when I tried it on, you could see all of my "lumps and bumps" that I hate. So I decided to exchange it for a size 7/9, to be more comfortable. I should have tried it on, but I thought for SURE the 7/9 would fit, since I normally would have worn the 3/5.

Came home, tried it on, and it fit pretty much the same as the 3/5. I could have worn it, but I didn't want to be tugging at it and worried about every little lump being visible, so I went back (again) and exchanged it (again). This time, I skipped right over the 11/13 and bought a 15/17. So the shirt you see above is a size 15/17! Hahaha. The width of all the shirts was pretty much the same; it was just the length that got bigger with each size. But I really loved the shirt, and that Jerry thought of me when he saw it, so I wanted to keep it. I just find it funny that in that photo, I'm wearing size 4 jeans and a 15/17 shirt!

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Weight Loss Success: The Biggest Loser's Ada Wong Shares Her Story!

I would like to introduce you to the final member of my Florida Keys Ragnar Relay team--Ada. Many of you probably feel like you already know Ada from watching her on Season 10 of The Biggest Loser. Out of all of the seasons of The Biggest Loser, I can honestly say that Ada was my favorite contestant. Not only was her whole story really touching, but I remember one episode in particular that spoke volumes of her character...

The members of TBL had to do a challenge where they went up and down these flights of stairs over and over again to reach a certain number of points. The winner of the challenge would win a brand new car! Ada was killing it, and only had one flight left--she was in the lead and easily could have won it. She stopped at the top and stood there, waiting... in order to let Patrick, another contestant who had two kids and was really in need of a car, finish first and WIN. I don't think I've ever seen someone as genuine as Ada on that show. So I was thrilled when she agreed to join our Ragnar team.

Ada didn't write about The Biggest Loser here, because many of you have seen the show and already know that part of her story. However, I know a lot of you may be curious about what life was like on the show, so Ada said she'd be happy to do a Q&A post with your questions. If you have a question for her, just leave it in the comments on this post, and I'll post the Q&A in the future.

But for now, please enjoy Ada's story...

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No surprise! I’ve struggled with my weight my entire life. In fact, I can’t remember I time I wasn’t on some unsuccessful fad diet or another…Atkins, Lemonade Diet, acupuncture, weird herbs my mom found on a recent trip to her motherland. I grew up surrounded by thin people and stuck out like a sore thumb- which made it THAT much worse.

It was clear I wasn’t blessed with a tiny Asian frame or a fast metabolism.  Ever notice who wins on those hot dog eating contests? It’s always some rail thin Asian person…not really sure how that works…But needless to say, I was always unsuccessful at losing weight and every time I did lose 20-30 pounds, I would end up gaining 60 back! When I lost weight, I thought I was done and went back to old habits. Here’s the cycle: Lose the weight, gain the weight, depression, numb depression with food, gain more weight, find the newest quick fix fad diet, AND repeat! I’ve since learned that it is in fact, a lifestyle change.

I often get asked, “What made you decide to apply for the show? Did you have an a-ha moment?” Not really. I was just unhappy; and in my 20s when I should be having the time of my life, I wasn’t. My weight held me back in every way and my lack of confidence was directly tied to my weight. I wanted desperately to finally be successful at what I felt was my biggest struggle and challenge in life. I knew that being on the Biggest Loser was my best chance at success.

But even then, I thought it was a long shot and put off applying. I think I was mostly ashamed of myself and what I had become. I was also unwilling (at the time) to put myself out there for my friends and family to see my big, fat tire hang out between my sports bra and spandex shorts! For those who have seen the show, you know what I’m talking about; it’s a Biggest Loser wardrobe staple.

A couple years went by and I was still in the same place and I thought, why not give it a shot and apply- not thinking anything would come of it. I figured if the trade off for being thin was to let America see every unflattering angle of me- tears and all, then that’s what I’m going to do. Obviously, what I was doing wasn’t working so maybe it was time to be honest with myself.

And for the first time, I let my guard down because I had to enlist the help of my friends to film an audition video. In the video I admitted to being embarrassed and unhappy. The hardest part was watching and re-watching clips of myself- over and over again as I was piecing together the video. That forced me to face the root of the issue.

At that moment, I made a promise to myself that no matter what happens, I’m going to take the necessary steps to create a better life. And fortunately, those steps included the Biggest Loser.

Losing the weight was awesome but finally finding that inner confidence was incredible. I found this determination in myself that I didn’t know existed, and I now it make it a point to always push myself beyond what I think my limits are. I go for things that scare me because when I do, I find that great things can come of it. And I believe the best is yet to come!

But for now, my love for marathons has expanded to triathlons. These days my workout schedule is filled with high intensity interval classes and Ironman trainings!

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You can read more about Ada on her website, which she says will soon be more of a blog-type format. You can also check her out on Facebook and Twitter.

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A run comparison

After a (too) restful weekend, I woke up back to reality in that I had a 50-minute run to do today. Jerry was off work, so we laid in bed for a few minutes while I procrastinated running. I looked at the weather on my phone and it said it was only 68 degrees (this was 7:00 a.m.), so I decided to run outside instead of on the treadmill.

I was scheduled to do a 50 minute run with 8 pick-ups (30-sec sprints). I set my Garmin for intervals--5 minutes easy, then 30 seconds fast. I've only done this particular workout on the treadmill, so I was curious to see how my pace would compare--because I know that I run slower outside than I do on the treadmill.

It wasn't TOO hot (much cooler than Friday's run!) and the time was going by faster than it does on the treadmill, which is a bonus. It was actually pretty uneventful. I have to say, I love the 30-second sprints. It's so short that you can go all-out and not have to worry about holding anything back for later.

As expected my pace outside was slower than the treadmill. But my heart rate shows that I was working just as hard (actually even harder!) outside.

Today's splits

Now, this is about to get really nerdy, so skip ahead if you don't like nerdy math stuff.

Since I wanted to compare the treadmill vs. outdoor running, I set them up side by side:

The one on the left is today's outdoor run, on the right is the treadmill run from last week. Same amount of time. So I was slower by 40 seconds per mile, but it certainly didn't feel like it. I'm actually pretty happy with this. I think I might actually calibrate my Garmin foot pod to the treadmill, instead of how I had it calibrated with a track. Then I will see slower paces, but it will be more likely to match up with the outdoor runs.

Anyway, none of this really means anything! It's just fun for me to analyze ;)

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After I ran, showered, and had breakfast (a Key Lime Pie Protein Shake--Yum! I will post the recipe on Thursday), Jerry and I (and the kids) went to the running store so that Jerry could get fitted for some shoes. I really didn't think he'd stick with running this long, but he's been doing it three times a week. Since the store was having a sale on ALL of their shoes today, it was the perfect time to go get some good ones.

I was kind of jealous! I wanted to get new shoes, too. But my Mizuno's only have about 100 miles on them, so I'm good for a while. Jerry tried on a bunch and ended up picking Asics GT-2170. I told him he should get some running shorts and a shirt, while we were at it. I told him that he should wear what the elite runners wear:

I think he decided that he didn't want to be an "elite" runner after all. ;)

Oh, and speaking of shoes, I decided to wear my Brooks Adrenaline's on my long run last Friday--just for the hell of it to see how they felt after wearing the Mizuno's for a while. I actually think I am liking the Mizuno's more now! The Adrenaline's felt kind of heavy and stiff, something I was so used to. I think I'll probably get the Mizuno's again when it's my turn to get new shoes.

Because I had such a lazy relaxing weekend, my house is pretty trashed right now. I better get cleaning.

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Reader Questions & Answers #20

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'm looking into getting a treadmill.  Can you recommend a specific make/model or just features that it should have?

A. I am certainly no treadmill expert, but I can tell you from my experience what features I like, as well as features I don't find to be necessary. When I was looking for a treadmill, a huge factor for me was the cost. I couldn't afford to spend a small fortune on a machine that I was hoping I wouldn't have to use all that much (I much prefer running outside to the treadmill). I also knew that I didn't need all the bells and whistles--I just wanted a reliable machine I could run on.

The features that I really like (or features I wish I had) are:

• The one-touch speed and incline control buttons. See the gray numbered strips on each side? You just have to push the button and it will change your speed or incline. You don't have to hold down an up or down arrow button to change the speed/incline. This makes it easy to go from a walk to a run almost instantly, and makes my running intervals much more efficient.

Front face of my treadmill

•  The speed goes up to 12 mph and the incline up to 12%. A lot of lower-cost treadmills only go up to 10 on each. Now, I'm certainly not going to be running at 12 mph ;) But, I hope to use that for sprints one day. The highest button I've pushed is 10 so far. On the incline, however, I have used the 12%--it makes a GREAT workout. Some treadmills go up to 15%, which would be nice, but those treadmills usually cost a lot more.
• This treadmill has iFit technology, which is something I've never used and probably never will. This wasn't a selling point for me at all.
• I like that the console is very simple. There aren't a million different buttons to try and press while I'm running.
• I don't remember the length or width of the stepping part of the belt, but when choosing a treadmill, it's important to get one that isn't so small that you're practically falling off the back of it with each step. Also, you want it to be wide enough for comfort.
• My treadmill folds in half, but that doesn't make it take up much less space. From what I've read, the treadmills that fold up smaller tend to have more problems with the hardware, so I didn't care about finding a treadmill that folded up.

• I wish that mine had a spot to put a magazine for reading. You can see from the first picture that there isn't a spot to put a magazine. I can't read while I run, but while walking, it would be nice. 
• I have found (with all treadmills I've tried, even at gyms) that the heart rate grip monitors are extremely inaccurate; so that wasn't a selling point for me either.
• My treadmill has built-in running/walking programs. I've used them and liked them, but I mostly just use the manual setting.
• Options that you can get on certain treadmills, but will most certainly pay extra for: a built in TV, a color touch-screen panel, downhill incline, etc. But keep in mind that the more features you have, the higher the risk of something breaking.

Overall, I would just suggest thinking about what YOU plan on using it for, and then find the simplest version you can find that meets your needs. 

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Q. I was just wondering if you ever had a hard time sleeping when you were losing weight?  I'm a good sleeper till I start to count my WW points again.  If you did, do you have any tricks for a better nights sleep?

A. It is definitely harder to sleep on an empty stomach (for me, at least)! But from the very beginning of my weight loss, I would always have a bedtime snack. I usually saved that time for dessert--a brownie, a cookie and tea, wine and a piece of chocolate, etc. I know a lot of people think that you shouldn't eat right before bed, and maybe that's true, but I always have (and probably always will). Maybe give it a try and see if it helps :)

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Q. Did your bra sizes drop quickly during weight loss, and did you have to keep buying new ones? I'm wondering how much mine will shrink as I lose weight. 

A. I've actually never been very large-busted... at my heaviest, I was a C cup. I can't remember exactly what my band size was, but I want to say it was 42 or 44? Anyway, my band size went down, but I resisted buying new bras until I couldn't stand it anymore--because bras are expensive, and I knew I would have to get another new one soon anyway. So I think my bras went from 44C, to 40C, then 38B, then 36B (which is what I wear now--although I'm probably closer to an A cup!).

I didn't really notice the decrease in breast SIZE as much as the perkiness--they are not at all perky anymore :(  But it surprisingly doesn't bother me--I'm fine with having small boobs ;)

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And now a question for all of you...
How have you been staying cool in this heat wave? Has it changed your summer plans at all?

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