Week 1= Success!

I have made no secrets about the fact that the one thing I'm struggling with most post surgery is exercise. After week 1 of the 'Couch to 5K' program, I think I may have found the answer. :)

In 5th grade, I was one of the fastest girl runners in my class. I really liked exercise when I was younger--took gymnastics in elementary school, enjoyed PE, took walks to my friends' houses, ran around in the backyard, etc. In high school at Saint Mary's I was even on the swim team, and didn't dread exercise like I do now. I guess adding on the extra weight through the end of high school and college, really made exercise more difficult, and therefore I just didn't want to do it. If you haven't noticed, I really don't like doing things I'm not good at. :)

This week, although not really being "excited" to exercise, I definitely didn't dread it, make excuses...etc. We went on Sunday, Tuesday, and Saturday night. I even took Spencer for a walk on Monday too, so I exercised 4 times last week. I like the format of the program--the first week we went out for 35 minutes- 5 min warm up, 90 sec. walking/60 sec. jogging for 25 minutes then a 5 min. cool down. With the game on Wednesday, rain on Thursday/getting ready for my party friday, and my staff party on friday, we couldn't go between tuesday and saturday. I was really proud of us that we did in fact go on a saturday night, and we even beat our distance from Tuesday! I am looking forward to going again tonight, which like I said, hasn't been the case with exercise for a long time.

Here are the things I like about the program: we can go in our neighborhood, it is strenuous enough that I feel like I'm working hard, but I'm not dying the whole time, it's easy to follow--Chris has the app on his Iphone, and it tells us when to walk/run, and the time passes quickly, since you're alternating between walking and jogging. It's amazing to think that I'll be able to jog/run for 30 minutes when we're done with the 9 weeks. When Chris was training before for 5ks and his triathalon, he said running made him feel the most energized and he got addicted to it. That is something I never thought I'd achieve--getting addicted to exercise. Here's hoping... ;)

Going in the right direction

When I first saw the latest picture comparison, Chris said..."What is the first word that comes to mind? We both said, "WOW" at the same time. :) I can't believe all of the changes my body is going through. I am down 77 pounds today, and I'm wearing a new pink tank top and shorts in the picture. In the last week, I've gotten my eating back on track. It's amazing how being back in your routine can affect your diet. I don't find myself grazing and I'm back to more regular meals. I've cooked a lot at home, and I'm tracking my food daily.

Chris and I decided to try the "couch to 5k" program again, which I tried to start about 6 weeks after surgery when I wasn't ready. Last night we went for 30 minutes--5 min. warm-up, 20 minutes of '60 second jog/90 sec. walk' rotation, and then 5 min. of cool down. I was able to jog at all of the times I was supposed to, and it was a wonderful feeling! I haven't been able to jog for a period of time, in a very long time. That program is 3 days a week, and we're going to get some dumbells to be able to do our weight lifting at home too. I'm starting to notice the need to tone certain areas due to the weight loss, so I know that starting the weights is really important. I took Spencer for a 20 minute walk today as well. I think if I stick to the harder exercise three days a week, I might be more willing to take shorter walks with Spencer the other days, and not feel guilty that all I'm doing is walking for 20 minutes. Since he's gotten older, he can't make it much past 20 minutes anyway.

To also help with exercise, I've decided to start an Outdoors club with my class after school on Thursdays. We are going to focus on fitness and exercise, along with gardening in the spring. I have 16 kids in my class who are going to attend, and I think this will help keep us motivated to have an active lifestyle. Since I've been doing a lot of shopping lately, I also have been parking near the back of the lot, so I have further to walk inside. Even the little things can help. :) I know that exercise is the key to keeping the weight loss steady at this point after surgery.

Today was pretty productive--I met Kelly and the boys for lunch at the mall, ran a few errands, and wrote 5 pages about my education and staff development, community involvement, educational philosophy, and education issues of today to submit for my Teacher of the Year paperwork. I had forgotten how much of a chore it is to write a paper! But, in order to be considered for Wake County Teacher of the Year, you have to submit entries on these topics. It was actually good to think about my educational philosophy and be able to articulate it. I've sent the work off to my editor, who I'm sure will come back with at least a few suggestions. :) Be easy on me, honey!

I'm off to watch some Monday night TV while Chris is at class. Bye bye.

It's been a while...

It has been a long time since I've posted! The holidays were a wonderful and busy time, and now I finally feel like I'm back into my routine. We returned home from Dallas very late Monday night, so this week I've been pretty tired at night, even though I've wanted to blog. Now, since it's Friday, and we had a 2 hour delay due to the talk of snow (even though we didn't get any) I'm rested and relaxed, and able to write. :)

Pounds-wise, I'm down 74 pounds. Things have started slowing down a little. I lost 12 pounds in December, compared to the 20-25 pounds/month I had been losing before. This has caused me to think about my eating to evaluate what's going well and what I need to work on. I know that things are not going to continue at the rate they were, and it's a big change from the past to lose 15 pounds between Thanksgiving and Christmas instead of gaining! I'd like to lose 55-60 more pounds. It's amazing to think that in just 4 months, I've lost over half of the weight I'd like to lose. Every time I go shopping at my favorite new stores and think about the sizes I'm wearing, I sigh with contentment. And these aren't even the sizes I'll be at in a few months! I cleaned out my old clothes that don't fit anymore, and it filled 6 large trash bags! I had the VVA pick it up over the holidays, and my closet looks so bare. One good thing about my weight loss slowing is that I can wear the pretty clothes I've gotten lately a little longer. It was crazy to think that some of the clothes I've only worn a few times were too big already and had to be given away. I'm trying not to buy too much, but I can't help myself! ;) (and the gift cards I got over Christmas are burning a hole in my wallet...)

The one pitfall I found myself enveloped in over the holidays is grazing. This was especially the case in Dallas. My family went there for New Year's to see my aunt and uncle, and spend time together since we hadn't seen them for Christmas. It was a nice trip to relax and enjoy spending time with each other. In thinking about my eating habits while we were there, I would graze between meals...which is something the doctor had warned us all about. Even though I can't consume as much food as I did in the past, eating between meals when you're not hungry is not a habit I want to bring back. It really showed me how quickly old bad habits can return. I'm not beating myself up over it, but I decided that I need to make a change, since I'd like to see my weight loss continuing at a good rate. About a month ago, I stopped tracking my foods into my food diary. I decided for a while again, I'm going to enter it back in to be more accountable. I figured before, since I knew I was being conscious of how much protein I was getting, it didn't really matter if I entered it into my program, but now I'll enter it for the purpose of tracking my eating again.

I would like to start lifting weights, along with a cardio exercise plan. Chris and I are going to set up a plan to go a few nights a week so he can help me with the weights, and then I can go with my friend Kelly after school the other days. This is an area I continue to struggle with having the motivation to do. Like I was talking about with friends last night, I guess summer and bathing suit season needs to be my motivation now...to tone some areas being affected by the rapid weight loss.

I need to buy a new hot pink camisole and gray shorts, and then I'll take another comparison picture at 75 pounds down. I also want to take some pictures with my pretty new outfits too.

Well, Chris and I have a fun date night planned--dinner at Firebirds to share a club sandwich and BLT salad, and then shopping to spend our gift cards! :) I love shopping with Chris, and he usually never wants to go, so I'm super excited he wants to tonight--it was even his idea! Have a great weekend everyone! :)