My first 10k!

I know it's been a while since I've checked in with my running goals, but I promise there will be a 1/2 marathon update soon! Last weekend I accomplished a huge running goal of mine by completing my first 10k! The day was just so amazing I need to make sure I get everything down before I forget :)

Leading up to the race
The last few days leading up to the race I was pretty nervous. I had just started the 21 day fix workouts and meal plan (which I love by the way) so I was pretty sore. Leg day ended up being skipped so I could feel fully recovered before my race.  One of my biggest concerns was that I  hadn't trained enough. To be honest, the first few weeks of half marathon training were going GREAT until I started my long term sub job. After that my workouts were sporadic at best, hence the lack of organized training posts. The weather also wasn't in my favor. The below freezing temps and FEET of snow meant the majority of my training runs were done on the treadmill. However, I was really feeling good when I did get around to my runs so that did give me some confidence. As the date got closer I started to make my race plans. I knew I could run at least 5 miles because I did that during one of my training runs, so I wasn't going to allow myself to walk until that point. I told myself if I needed a break at mile 5 to take it and not be disappointed that I didn't run the whole thing.

The day of 
I woke Micah up at 5:30 (with much difficulty) and we were on the road by 6am. I had my bags packed the night before so the only thing I had to focus on was grabbing my breakfast and getting my husband moving. My breakfast consisted of coffee, 1/2 banana, and Ezekiel toast with almond butter. Soon enough we were on the road towards Marquette, which was a little over 2 hours away.

We arrived at the Marquette YMCA where I picked up my shirt and race bib. I was SUPER stoked to find out that my race bib happened to be my birthday. Since I'm born on St. Patty's day that had to be a good luck sign right?! I got dressed and decided to throw on the event shirt on top of my planned outfit because at that time it was only around 34 degrees. The hubby and I walked around a bit while I made sure everything was exactly the way I wanted it.

It begins! 
It was still super cold when we lined up and I quickly was grateful for that extra layer. I hate running with gloves but the event shirt long enough to pull over my hands while we were waiting. Then we were off!

The first mile was great. I found my groove and finally started to warm up. Then I saw that mile two was on (muddy) grass. Holy crap was that hard!!!! I hadn't really done any grass running before and it was a struggle. I started to doubt weather I could make it to my 5 mile goal at that point.

At the end of the grass section Micah was actually waiting there for me to cheer me on! He set up GPS tracking on my phone before the race so he could follow my progress the whole time. The combination of seeing him + moving back to pavement gave me the willpower to keep pushing though. The next mile or so was just enjoyable (<--- did I really use that word?!). The sun was out and I was running along Lake Superior which was just gorgeous. I took this time for some prayer. I didn't realize how much was on my heart and the next few miles just flew by.

Before I knew it I was on the grass section again (it was an out and back course) and I snapped back into reality. I just hit the 5 mile point where I told myself I was allowed to walk, but I hated that grass SO MUCH! I convinced myself that I had to keep running to get out of it faster. Somehow that mental game worked because I made it out and was headed towards the finish!

I completed my first 10k and ran the whole time!!! I finished with a time of 1:23 which, considering my PR for the 5k is 40 minutes, I was quite happy with. **you don't have to be fast to run, you compete against yourself!

After celebrations! 
Right after the run I wasn't quite ready to eat yet, so I made Micah take me to PetSmart where we miraculously didn't purchase anything. Then we headed out to lunch at Buffalo Wild Wings where I had a Southwest grilled chicken wrap. It was a beautiful day so we ended up exploring around Marquette for a while. First we went waterfalling and found this beauty

I was still pretty good at this point so we went to another Marquette favorite and hiked up Sugarloaf mountain! The view was AMAZING but at this point my legs decided they were done :) It was totally worth it ! 

We ended this near perfect day with some Froyo and a very sleepy ride back home listening to Harry Potter on audio book!

Thank you everybody for all your encouragement and well wishes! Next race is my 1/2 marathon in Eagle River, WI! Eeek!!

Looking back, moving forward

Looking back, 2014 was a huge year for me. I finally took control of my health and started moving (literally) in the right direction. I lost over 80lbs, gained countless relationships, and accomplished tasks I once thought impossible. Sure, I struggled... but I pushed through. Now that the new year is here it's time for those new challenges and resolutions. 2014 was probably the first time I was aware of my goals throughout the whole year and I truly attribute that to this blog and my few followers keeping me accountable. Even though I didn't accomplish all my goals within the year, giving up is no longer an option for me. I will acknowledge my accomplishments, move the goals I didn't reach in 2014 to the '2015' list, and add a few more for good measure. :-) Thank you all for your endless support and love.

Looking back: Accomplished in 2014

- ran a mile without stopping 1/16/14

- lost 50lbs 2/19/14

- I am no longer morbidly obese 2/24/14

- raced another 5k 4/12/14

- ran 5 miles without stopping 5/31/14

- lost 70lbs 7/11/14

-  Stopped shopping in the plus size department 8/10/14

- moved 365 miles in 2014 8/25/14 

Looking forward: 2015 goals 

- lose 85 lbs

- lose 100lbs 

- Reach 'potential' goal weight of 150 *121lb loss

- Hit my step goal continuously for 30 days in a row 

- Run a mile in under 10 minutes
- Race my first 10k 

- Race my first 1/2 marathon
- Complete Jillian Michaels 30 day shred 

- RUN 712 miles in 2015

- Complete a beachbody 'Piyo' program 

- Get out of the obese category

 - Get out of the overweight category

Again thank you so much for everything. I can't wait to see what 2015 has to offer. This is MY YEAR! 

"Enjoy the journey, fight for the finish" - Me

When life isn't in your favor

When I am at home I have the ability to be in complete control of what I eat. As a control freak I thrive in my own environment. I can plan out all my meals, weigh and measure all my portions, and know that I am doing exactly what I am supposed to be doing. The reality of the situation is that I can't always be at home and there will be times where I am put into a situation where the world isn't about me and my weight loss journey.

This week I found myself in one of those situations. I went out to a camp for a few days to serve as the waterfront director for a local school. It was a BEAUTIFUL location and I welcomed the opportunity to get out of town for a few days. I honestly had a great time; everyone stayed safe the the kids really had a lot of fun.

What I did not prepare for when I was out at camp was the food choices. There was one lady in the kitchen that was responsible for cooking for about 75 people, so as you can imagine we weren't given many (if any) alternative options. Our meals consisted of things like hot-dogs, french fries, french toast, sausage smothered with grease... almost no healthy options. There were a few meals where they did put out some celery and carrots, but for the most part I was struggling. On top of the meals they had a ton of cookies and candies that they served as snacks, and of course what's camp without s'mores! They even had a special cabinet of 'goodies' for the counselors and staff. I have a major sugar addiction and at home I am able to fight it some by keeping 'treats' out of the house, but at camp.... things didn't go so well on that front. To make matters worse I didn't have service on my phone so I couldn't even use MyFitnessPal app to see how bad things actually were.

I think was surprised me the most was how my body felt. Even though I was eating more than I had in months, I was constantly hungry. My energy levels were super low, so even when I tried to get moving and do some light exercise the motivation dwindled quickly. I stopped craving my yogurt and protein shakes while my mind turned toward that next cookie or candy bar. Bluntly, I felt like s***. I have can't believe I used to live like that all the time with that much sugar in my body. It was truly a wake up call and a great reinforcement that I am moving in the right direction with my health.

At camp, life was not in my favor. It wasn't the ideal environment that I had set up for myself at home and I struggled. I gained weight, felt like crap, and I've moved on. It's time to put all of that behind me and continue with my journey towards health and fitness.

So what have I learned from this whole experience? First of all I need to think ahead. I need to remember that most places I go will not be set up for WLS patients. I had the ability to pack and bring food from home if I would have thought about it. Also reflecting back I realized that exercise was always an option. No matter where you are all you have to do is keep moving. I am confident that next time adventure strikes I will be prepared with better food and exercise options. :-)

NSV (non-scale victory) of the week: I now fit in my husbands jacket!

I hope all of you are doing well! Enjoy your memorial day weekend!

Re-Commitment days 3 & 4

Hello all! Yesterday was day 3 of re-commitment week and so far so good! I managed to get to the gym for another 55 minutes yesterday. I have been working on a couch to 5k program and yesterday was supposed to be the day I moved on to the week 4 workouts, but I just wasn't feeling it. Instead I decided to do another timed mile and got a new PR & NSV! Last time my mile was a 13:37. yesterday it dropped to 12:45!!!! That's almost a minute closer to my new-years resolution goal of 10 minutes!

I didn't quite meet my nutritional goals yesterday, but I was pretty close. Still was a bit short on my protein and water but wasn't too far off. Today's focus is water! I WILL hit 8 cups. I have also decided to skip the the mushy foods diet because I realized that only thing it was keeping me from was healthy raw fruits and vegetables. Still haven't weighted myself but I am quite glad I added that goal to my list because I hadn't realized how much of a compulsion it had become. I cannot wait until Monday!

Day 4 results:

vitamin supplements: success! 

300 minutes of exercise: 175/300 for the week

64oz fluid:  60/64

No added sugar: success! 

No weighing: success! 

70g protein: 55/70  

In other news, I had my 3 month post-op doctors visit the other day! Looking forward to sharing the good news soon! 

Getting back on track

I have to admit I have been struggling lately with sticking to my program. Many people after weight loss surgery acquire a strong intolerance/aversion to high sugar foods. This was something that I had actually hoped to get because sweets have always been a huge struggle for me. Up until last week I hadn't really tested my limits with sweets because I had been doing so well at following my prescribed diet. Well last Wednesday night advertising finally got to me and I just had to try McDonald's chocolate covered strawberry frappe. I didn't check any nutrition facts because I thought after 3 months I deserved a treat.

So I drank ALL 570 calories of process sugar, fat, and chemicals...

It was wonderful. My body did feel crappy for about 10 minutes (At this point I hadn't allowed myself ANY added sugar) but I quickly faded into my blissful sugar high. No aversions, no nausea, and now I was sucked back in. Those 79 grams of sugar are still affecting me. I basically feel like I've fallen off the wagon. I am now having a much harder time staying on my diet, and have continued to indulge on a few sweets such as chocolate covered pretzels and some puppy chow. My cravings for unhealthy foods are back in full force and it's not just sweets. I literally will KILL for carbs! I have also noticed a change in my mood and energy now that my food choices haven't been the best. I haven't been killing it in gym as much as I should, and even my water consumption has decreased. Welp, it's time for me to commit to getting back on track. Monday is my 're-commitment' day! Here are the specific goals and benchmarks that I am going to commit to for next week! 

1. 2 days liquid diet, 3 days soft food diet, last two days on my current diet
2. Take ALL my vitamin supplements each day
3. 300 minutes of exercise
4. Hit 64 oz of fluid each day
5. No added sugar! 
6. No weighing myself until the end of the week (This is going to be HARD!) 
7. At lease 70g protein everyday! 

I plan to check in daily for one week to keep myself accountable! The hope is that after this week I will re-establish my good habits and get back on track toward health and fitness! With that, I have a few victories to share. 

NSV: I am no longer morbidly obese! This is HUGE for me!  I now also fit into some pants from high-school :-D 

SV: I have hit 50lbs lost! Half way to 100!

God Bless! 

The 40lb difference

It's incredible what 40 lbs can do for your body. My resting heart rate has decreased about 10 bpm, my body has WAY less aches and pains, and I am less out of breath walking up flights of stairs. To be honest the best thing about the 40 lb difference is that I am so much more confident in myself. This confidence boost has perfectly coincided with the start of student teaching. I was able to go shopping for 'teacher clothes' and fit into sizes that I haven't been able to fit into for years!

If you're going through this journey with me, just keep pushing! It's amazing how your own body can motivate you once you start seeing results. 

~Ability is what you're capable of doing. Motivation determines what you do. Attitude determines how well you do it.

-Lou Holtz

Those NSVs or Non-Scale Victories

Anyone who has ever followed any type of weight loss program knows that there will be a point where you will stall. In the past those stalls have been devastating for me. If I had a week with no loss or if it went up I automatically felt like a failure. As an emotional eater this threw me right back in the cycle of depression, eating, and gaining back all the weight. This time as I approach a stall I know I need to put away that evil scale and focus on those non-scale victories. A NSV can be anything from getting a compliment at work to fitting in your clothes better. These victories can be GREAT motivation when the scale isn't. After all this journey is about much more than losing weight, it's about getting healthy. If you are struggling with a stall or anticipate one coming up in the future I strongly encourage you to focus on those NSVs with me, and if you can try putting the scale away for a few weeks.

My NSV this week came from going to the gym when I knew I didn't have much time before I had to go to work. I didn't have enough time to do my planned C25K workout so I decided to attempt to run a mile and time it. I have had a goal to run a mile without stopping for a while now. I have been about to do it in the past, but it was always at a speed where I felt like I was doing more of a bouncy walk than a run. I  never remember having a timed mile of under 15 minutes. To my amazement not only was I able to run a mile, but I was able to do it in 13:37. A new personal record for me! How many morbidly obese people can run a mile in 13 minutes ;-) I am very proud of this victory. I am now able to cross off #1 on my fitness goals page. #2 is running a mile under 10 minutes, which is something I hope to accomplish by the time I hit my goal weight.

~Don't be afraid to push yourself, you may be surprised about what you can accomplish.