Thursday, April 21, 2011

Staying Healthy at Home

So I am at home again.  It's Easter week and I had planned on being at home anyways, but I had to make the journey a little earlier than expected because my sister got ill.  Monday early morning her boyfriend took her to the hospital because she was having really bad pain in her lower chest/upper abdomen.  After being admitted to the hospital because of how many health conditions she has, they discovered that she had gallstones and her gallbladder needed to be removed.  So yesterday it came out!  Today she was released from the hospital and is now at home resting.

Sunday, April 17, 2011

Achieving a Goal!!! Day 44

Two weeks ago I didn't see any change on the scale.  So I challenged myself, and set a goal of losing 7 pounds before today...I lost 8!  I not only reached my goal, I exceeded it!  I really needed this!  With so much happening in my life right now to be able to say I exceeded a goal, and know that I have done this well, is really a good push for me to continue.  Not to mention that this weight loss has moved me from the "morbidly obese" category to just the "obese" category.  Although still not great, much better!

Weight lost between 4/3-4/17 - 8 pounds
Total weight lost since 3/5/11 - 13 pounds

I'm still looking at 5K races and trying to decide which one I want to participate in.  I would love to do one in May, and another one before the summer is over.  My goal is to finish them in 40 minutes or under.  Although I've had really good times recently on the elliptical, it's not like running on ground.  So even though I can do a 5K on the elliptical in 45 minutes, that time will be longer when I run on the ground.  My biggest problem is that I don't have a good place to run outside where I am.  None of the parks have tracks, or paved trails, and there really isn't anywhere around my apartment really either.  Now that the weather is getting a little nicer I'd love to train outside, but I just don't know where to go.  When I go and visit my parents for Easter I think I'll do a lot of running at their place.  Since they live in a subdivision there are plenty of sidewalks that I can be on.

So today I cross one goal off of my list, and add another.  All in all, it's a good day!  =)

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Getting Stronger...In More Ways Than One!

Today...5K in 45 minutes!  Okay I know it's not the fastest 3.11 miles in history, but I'm proud of myself.  Last time I did a 5K, March 30, it took me 59 minutes!  I cut 14 minutes off my time!!!!  I can physically feel myself getting stronger, I'm not getting winded walking around a store, I don't ache all the time, and most importantly I enjoy exercising once I get over to the gym or out for a walk.  I'm almost afraid to say it because I don't want to jinx it, but I think I'm changing for the good!  Yay!!!

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

It's Not a Race

I go to the gym at my apartment complex everyday around noon.  I'm a slow starter in the morning so by noon I've had enough caffeine that I think I won't fall asleep on the machines.  Around the same time a male resident who is a little younger than me comes in and runs on the treadmill.  We exchange pleasantries, claim our machines, which thanks to the layout of the gym are right next to each other, put in our iPod earbuds, and begin our workouts.  I slowly begin my 30 to 50 minutes pushing myself on the elliptical at a 3-5mph rate, while he begins running at what I can best tell is a 7mph rate for around the same amount of time.  With the machines being right next to each other it is kind of hard not to look over and see how far he has gone.  When he finished his workout before me yesterday I couldn't help but look over at his workout summary when he went to get a rag to clean the machine off...8 miles in 45 minutes...a 6 minute mile!  Now most people who know me know that I am not a competitive person, but looking down at my own machine and my 3 miles in 40 minutes I felt defeated.  Granted he is about the size of a twig, and I'm about the size of the trees trunk, and he looks as though he's been running his whole life, and I only began a few weeks ago...but still.  After I finished my own workout I walked back to my apartment and wrote an imaginary letter to him on my Facebook status..."one of us needs to change our schedules.  I think it should be you. K thanks.  =)"

Sunday, April 10, 2011

Body, Mind, and Spirit...Day 37

To be honest I'm a little surprised that I have lasted this long.  With the exception of one night of bad eating habits, and one week of bad exercise habits I really have stayed true to this.  This is so amazing to be, because to be honest I didn't have much faith in myself to do this.  I'm beginning to believe that even though it might take some time, my weight loss goals are attainable.  =)

Anyways, after Thursday night's long night, and bad habits I got back on the horse Friday.  I did a 5K on the elliptical and pushed myself.  I had to remind myself that this wasn't punishment for my behavior the night before though, this was getting back in my routine.  The second I start thinking about exercise as a punishment, I shoot myself in the foot.  It will make exercise seem like a negative thing, and it isn't, it's very much a positive thing!  (Psychologist coming out, sorry!)  So getting in the gym was a good thing, not a punishment.  I accomplished the 5K in 55 minutes and burned 618 calories according to the elliptical!  Not a bad days work!  I seem to really enjoy the elliptical, with my sketchy knees there is little impact, so I can go faster longer, and I feel like I am in more control then when I'm on a treadmill.  I mean on a treadmill if I need to slow down a little to catch my breath it's not that easy to slow it down without feeling like I'm going to go falling off the back.  We've all seen the videos of people falling and sliding off the back of them, I don't want to find out how much that hurts.

Friday, April 8, 2011

Honesty...Day 35

I promised to be honest in this blog, as if I was talking to my friends in person.  Today it's hard to be honest, because yesterday I failed.  It started out like any other day, I ate my oatmeal for breakfast, worked out, and stayed on plan for lunch and dinner, and accomplished a lot during the day, but then night fell, and I couldn't sleep.  It was the worst bout of insomnia that I've had in a really long time.

Thursday, April 7, 2011

Pictures

So in my family we have never really been that big into pictures.  With the exception of Christmas morning, the camera rarely left the bag.  I became the official "cheeser" of the family.  You know the person who every time they see a camera goes "cheese" and doesn't mind their picture being taken.  Then something changed, around high school I began not wanting to have my picture taken.  Now there were a few exceptions, well posed pictures with friends, professional pictures such as senior portraits, and pictures that when I saw I said they were a "good angle" of me and the individual could keep.  Although I cannot pinpoint an exact moment that I began being self conscious about myself, I think it was sometime in high school when I also began not wanting to have my picture taken.

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Quick Post...Day 32

So not going to share a lot today, but I had to share my time on the elliptical today...14:05 min. mile!!!!!!!  If I wasn't motivated after yesterday (which I was, but you know what I'm saying) I am now!!!!  The real shocker seems to be that I have turned into a bit of a runner, I really enjoy pushing myself on the elliptical or treadmill!  Maybe a marathon isn't as unattainable as I had once thought that it was (although it is still a LONG ways away, lol).  =)

Monday, April 4, 2011

What a great start to the week!!! Day 31!

So today is a dark, dreary, rainy day.  Not to mention that it's a Monday, bleck!  Due to all of this, and an insomnia night, I really didn't want to get out of bed this morning.  I allowed myself to sleep in some, which may be a mistake but I really do need at least 6 hours of sleep to function well during the day, and finally crawled out of bed at 10:30.  Once up I made my breakfast, went through my morning routine of checking e-mail, Facebook, and tried to figure out what my plan was for the day.  Around noon I decided I would go over to my apartments fitness center and work out for a half hour.  I had no idea how motivated I would be when I got there.  I climbed on one of the elliptical machines and began my half-hour work out with no real goal in mind other than just going for a half-hour...then it happened.  I had just been running with the tempo of my music, slowing when I needed to catch my breath for a moment, but then going right back to my 4.5-5 mph pace.  I looked down to see how I was doing and saw that I had gone a mile in 14 minutes!  All of a sudden I was motivated, I began to think "holy cow you could go 2 miles in the half hour you are here", and "I can't remember ever going a mile in 14 minutes!"  So I pushed myself, I kept pace, I slowed when I needed too, but then kicked it back up, I was going to do two miles in a half hour!  At 29 minutes exactly I hit two miles!  A personal best!

Sunday, April 3, 2011

Well Fudgesicles!

I had hoped that I could give you wonderful news again today that I had lost another five pounds in two weeks, but alas I can't.  I haven't lost any weight these two weeks.  I think I know why, last week.  Although this past week I've exercised 5 days, last week I didn't exercise at all.  That was the week I didn't post.  Although I kept up with the diet, it's not enough for me and I know that.  In the past the only way I have lost weight is with diet and exercise BOTH!  So you live, you learn, and you move on.  Although I wish I had lost weight, I'm really happy I didn't gain any!  I'm not going to beat myself up over this because what's the point?  It will just depress me, and I'll fall back into those bad habits.  Nope, I'm going to eat my apple-cinnamon oatmeal, get dressed, and then go work out on this beautiful day.  In two weeks, I want to have lost 7 pounds, new mini-goal.  =)

Saturday, April 2, 2011

What Else is New...Day 29

Holy cow, I've been at this for almost a month now!  First of all beginning a health plan at the end of your last full semester of grad school may not have been my best idea, but I'm sticking with it.  End of the semester stress has set in, only five more weeks of classes and so much I need to get done!  I'm really hoping that I have learned to balance my time a bit by now so that I can work in some exercise time, study time, and me time all in one day!  As a matter of fact I'm multi-tasking now, lunch and blogging.  =)

Ok so there is going to be a lot in this post, I've got pictures, stories, and requests to make so I'm going to go a head and put the page break in early on...