I DID IT!

I hit my goal weight!  That's 60 pounds GONE!  The feelings of pride and achievement overwhelmed me when I looked down at the scale.  I am so glad that Charlie was there to witness it!  I looked up at him and he gave me an one heck of an intense high five for 5:30 am!  This is one achievement that has me feeling so incredible -- it's difficult to explain!

After I nearly wet myself with joy, I asked myself, "Now what?" and as I expressed in a previous post, it's not quitting time!  I've set an additional goal to lose another 10 pounds!  Weight Watchers categorizes a healthy weight for my height and age to be between 129-155 pounds.  I can do that!  In fact, I feel like I can do anything!  So empowered!

Beginning weight:  220
Pants size:  18
Dress size:  16

Current weight:  159.6
Pants:  10/12
Dress:  8/10

Feeling so GOOD!

So close!

Well friends...I hoped a great deal, but I did not meet my goal on Thursday.  I stepped on the scale, looked down, and read 160.1.  A TENTH OF A POUND AWAY!  Goodness gracious.  It's still loss, it's still closer...

It's been difficult to run since the 10K.  It seems as though I might have done a number on my right foot.  My boss thinks it's plantar fasciitis, which makes sense based on what I've read about it and what she's told me.  This is no bueno!  I didn't run all of last week, and my foot started to feel quite a bit better.  Then, on Saturday morning, I pushed myself out the door and enjoyed a 2.43 mile run with my dog Shenzi.  After I got home and took a shower, I stepped out of the tub and felt the terrible pain again.  This is what I get for jumping into a race that I wasn't particularly prepared for in the way that I should have been.

Lesson learned, folks -- you've got to train for these sorts of things!  Properly train, that is.  Now I've got foot trouble and worries that a half marathon might not be in my December schedule....

10K Finisher!

I woke up this morning feeling pretty sore so accomplished!!  Charlie and I ran the 10K race yesterday and did better than we expected!  I ran the whole thing.  No walking for this girl!!!  That was my goal -- to run the whole thing, no matter the pace.  And really, I'm not nearly as sore as I thought I'd be, but the hilly course did do a little number on my knees -- they took a beating going down the hills.  I've got to say though...there are very few things that can make you feel that much like a super sweaty beast  rock star.

 My time:  1:10:44 -- not too shabby for the longest race I have ever completed.  Bring it on, half marathon!

Charlie's time: 53:48.  He placed 227 out of 1390...pretty darn good if you ask me, being that he hadn't been working on his speed!

Just me, hanging with the fall goodies post-race at the arboretum. 

Charlie and I -- nearly one year married!  Celebrating our first year of marriage and our accomplishments together.  If this is what we are doing to celebrate one year, imagine the years to come!  :)

My boss, her husband, and her sweet baby came to cheer us on.  I would say the hardest part about running races is not having our families around to come out and celebrate -- but it sure was wonderful having part of our Dallas fam show support.  

After the race, we enjoyed some of the free food and beverages that the sponsors were providing.  There were breakfast burritos, slices of pizza, small cones filled with frozen yogurt, and beer.  Blue Moon.  Let's just say that all of the activity points I had accumulated from the race were destroyed by the beers I enjoyed, but the ridiculous early morning beer buzz  hilarity of munching on breakfast and drinking a few beers just seemed too good to pass up.  :)

Well, tomorrow is our actual anniversary date, and I simply can't be more proud of the people we have become together.  I'm so thankful for the immense support I get from friends and family, near and far...but I am especially thankful for the man that keeps me sane motivated and assured.  Here's to another year of healthy goals to enrich a happy life together.  

Weigh-in on Thursday -- hope to be at my goal!

10K - tomorrow!

This week has been pretty busy.  Charlie is working hard both in his teaching job and his performing gig.  I've been working all sorts of funny hours to help cover areas due to a nasty stomach bug that has been going around.  Anyway, with all of this craziness, I decided to add one more element: our first 10K!

I might be a little crazy, especially since I have never run more than 5 miles.  BUT, I know we can do it.  I was enjoying a slow morning on Tuesday because I didn't have to be to work untl around 11.  Following GMA, Good Morning Texas is on -- not a huge fan.  I think the gals on this morning show are suuuper annoying. Anywho,  I am glad I left it on while I started getting ready because that's how I heard about the Tour des Fleurs 10K & 20K at the Dallas Arboretum!  I immediately texted Charlie to ask him whether or not he thought it sounded fun...when he said "yes" I registered the two of us. Happy Anniversary!!  What a great way to celebrate!

The race starts at 8:00am tomorrow morning.  Afterward, there is an after party at the arboretum.  I am so EXCITED!  We will get to wander around and check it out -- we haven't been there since Charlie's family came to visit for his Master's recital a year and a half ago.  The Chihuly exhibit is still there and everyone in Dallas has said something about how incredible it is.  I can't wait -- I might just pee my pants in this nervous excitement!

Also, I weighed in on Thursday -- down 1.8 lbs!  So, ONE POUND TO GO!!!  I've got this...especially with a 6.2 mile race tomorrow!

Tick tock, tick tock...

Well friends, it's been nearly time to celebrate the first wedding anniversary with my husband -- and the one year mark of my weight loss adventure.  I can hardly believe it!

For our anniversary, I think we will take a trip to the jewelry store and get my wedding rings resized!  It's been a long time coming, but it seems an appropriate time to go ahead and get it done.  I just haven't wanted to part with them, but the one year mark for both life events seems to bring a sense of calm.  After all, the weight loss is the reason I need them sized.

The only downside of all of this year-long excitement is that I am feeling a little anxious about my overall goal.  I have not yet officially hit my weight loss goal.  In fact, I am back up to 162.8, which is one pound heavier than my previous post.  This constant back and forth has been annoying, but I am clearly not doing all of the work to get what I want.   I am absolutely not going to accept it any longer -- I will be at or beyond goal by October 1.  The only thing I accept right now is that I know I will be upset with myself if I can't say I've lost 60 pounds in one year.  Yes, I know 58.2 is close, but close just doesn't cut it!

And remember, I mentioned some time ago that I'd like to lose an additional 10 pounds -- and I haven't forgotten that I said that.  I still believe I can do it, and with belief...well, there's will, and with will...well you know the rest! :)

I am thinking I need to start trying something new along with my regular routine, just to get these last few pounds off!  More green tea in the morning to start the day right.  Bigger spinach salad, one less turkey bacon strip on my BLT.  I. Can. Do. This.

I am truly proud of how far I've come, but I cannot quit.  Hitting this goal means the world to me -- and I hope my finally reaching it will inspire others to do the same.

Ready.  Set.  Goal.

Runnin' runnin' runnin'

Once I got over the burning calves, heavy breathing, and butt jiggles the extreme need for compression pants and an extra sports bra, I really started to enjoy running.

It all started out by running half a mile a few times a week.  I would be sore for a day after a short run, which was super discouraging.  I'm totally serious when I say that I owe a great deal of my running success to compression pants.  All that extra bouncing around created soreness I couldn't even begin to explain -- not that you'd really want to read about that, anyway.  With the introduction of jiggle control, my endurance improved.  Instead of focusing on the discomfort, I started to learn to focus on the goal and the end result.

The first time I ran a full mile occurred one day while Charlie was working.  I was home and feeling restless, so I pushed myself out the door and made the pledge that I would make a mile -- and I did it.  I called Charlie immediately following the run, gushing all about the excitement I was experiencing.  Then I said something along the lines of, "And when it was over, I really felt like I could have run even more!"  After that crept out of my mouth, I realized how much of a mental battle running can be.  Ever since then I haven't settled for any less than a mile, especially since losing some of the weight that wiggled around.

                               Before: July 4, 2011.  After:  August 21, 2012

There's no doubt -- running is still a challenge.  Some days, it just isn't fun.  Some days, my legs just don't feel good.  I never really know until I get out there.  So, we just go.  At the very least, we are out for a mile and getting the dogs some exercise as well.  And now that TX seems to be creeping into fall early this year (which really just means we might be escaping anymore 100 degree days), the nasty weather simply doesn't make a good excuse! 

So, we continue to get our running legs back into shape!  That half marathon is totally happening!

Oh, and before I forget -- today was weigh-in day...and I am down 1.1 lbs this week! 

Starting weight, October 2011:  220
Today's weight:  161.8

The Plumping Past

Some days I find myself thinking about how I managed to get to 220 lbs.  I remember weighing somewhere around 175 before graduating from High School.  I started High School somewhere in the 150-160 range and gained after my father passed away my Sophomore year.  Then, I remember getting ready for class my Freshman year of college and seeing serious weight gain staring back at me from a cheap mirror hung on the backside of my dorm room door.  That mirror showed me something I didn't think was possible unless I were pregnant.  I had denied the fact that my pants were feeling tighter, but I couldn't deny the dark purple stretch marks that started to surround my belly button like a series of hideous parentheses.

I spent the rest of my time in college fearing that if I raised both arms in the air, my shirt may creep up and show the dark marks of my poor decisions.  After all, I wasn't creating a safe home to nourish and grow another human life -- I was simply shoving my face full of college buffet grilled cheese, delicious college town pub grub and greasy, well-known college town pizza.  My belly was showing me that I'd had one too many cheap vodka drinks and spent too much time partying and not enough time getting good sleep.  Those stretch marks slapped me across my face and for the first time, I was thoroughly disappointed in myself.

Like many young people, I checked out fad diets and dropped some weight in unhealthy ways.  Once Charlie and become more than just friends, I felt like it was even more important to lose weight.  I grew to a size 18 Freshman year and was a size 16 when I graduated.  Charlie and I were happy and comfortable together.  We moved to Texas, got settled in, and I gained the weight and the pants size back.  In fact, the size 18's started to feel tight.  The purple marks had faded to white, but I was so tired all of the time.  This constant lethargy paired with some pretty nasty mood swings made me think more about health issues and a little less about the need to buy a new pair of jeans.

My family history is riddled with a medical rainbow of health issues and causes of death.  Cancers, diabetes, heart disease...obesity.  I had never thought of it until then (you know, the kind of deep thought that comes over you like a wave) but obesity was something I was suffering from.  A mix of genetics and poor choices were making me fat, and let's face it -- only one of those things is something we have control over.

It's difficult to share some things.  The marks on my belly have faded and my strength has gotten bolder.  They remind me of a time when I lost myself, a time when I was uncomfortable and self-conscious. It's rare that I focus on them at all anymore.  I just don't see them.  I see happiness.  Healthiness. Comfort. Love.  Respect for myself.