Post-Race Blues

It's been just over two weeks since the half-marathon. I'm finally getting back into the workout swing... I took 2 zumba classes last week, had a short 15-minute weight lifting session (pre-zumba class), and went for a 2.43 mile run. Tonight I'm headed back to zumba and I have 2 runs scheduled this week (Christmas/gym not having classes/traveling have prevented much more than this) -- but overall, I'm OK with my exercising. I'll knock it up to 4-5 days a week after the new year/things settle down.

What I've been struggling bigtime with is my eating. I've been eating EVERYTHING in sight lately. And things not in sight. I've gotten into a really crappy habit of stopping somewhere on my way to work and getting a soda and a snack or two or three. I'm probably eating 1000 calories before 9am. It's out of control and I'm not really sure what's happening. All I know is that I need to STOP. Every day that passes I know it's getting harder and harder to get to my 30th birthday goal. If I get things in gear now, I can still make it, but I'm sabotaging myself. And I don't know why. My life is in a really good place right now. My depression is sneaking back in, but I think that's because I'm eating like crap which means I'm not getting good sleep, which brings down my defense mechanisms. It's an awful cycle.

For now, I'm going to go to the library and pick up a book about weightlifting and then head to the gym. And have a reasonable dinner when I get home (thanks to TheBoy). And hope for a better day tomorrow.

Week WhoKnows Weigh-In

A little MIA lately due to traveling and just an overall hectic schedule -- but I'm happy to report that I've kept the weight off during that time! Haven't lost (much) but maintaining the loss I had is good!


Starting Weight: 247.8 lbs
Last Weigh In: 246.6 lbs
Current Weight: 246.0
Difference: -0.6 lbs
Net Total: -1.8 lbs

Week 11 Weigh In -- a REAL loss

Well it only took 3 months, but I actually have a REAL loss to report. One that gets me to net negative! Hopefully this is the first of many to come.


Starting Weight: 247.8 lbs
Last Week's Weight: 252.6 lbs
Current Weight: 246.6
Difference: -6.0 lbs
Net Total: -1.2 lbs

 I started logging my food again (and being truthful about it) -- and I've been walking a lot more. I got a fitbit a couple weeks ago and I've been pushing to get more and more steps. On days I don't run, I try to make it to 10,000 steps. With a couple of exceptions, I've been really good at it! I'm leaving for work early today so I can get an extra mile in! 

Week 10

Blah blah blah.

I'm still in the same place I have been for months.

252.6 on the scale this morning. I am chalking SOME of that up to TOM, but I'm owning the rest. I've really been slacking.

BUT, I did run 10 miles without stopping this weekend. What the what?

Week 8 Weigh In

Okay friends. I'm back from a delightful vacation. I saw so many friends, witnessed 2 weddings of dear friends, got baby snuggles from my niece, and ran the longest distances of my life (7 and 8 miles). Did I eat too much crap? Of course I did. But damn it, I had fun. That's what matters.

Starting Weight: 247.8 lbs
Last Week's Weight: 251.6 lbs
Current Weight: 251.0
Difference: -0.6 lbs
Net Total: +3.2 lbs

Well, it's a loss. Which is something. It's small. I'm okay with it. I'm slowly getting back into the swing of things. I've been focusing on drinking tons of water (and spending plenty of time in the bathroom to prove it).

Half-marathon training is being slightly adjusted this week as TheBoy has drill this weekend (meaning we can't do our normal Saturday long run). Luckily, we both have Friday off from work (thank you, alternative work schedule) -- so we're going to do the 9 miles then. Because I don't have to run on Saturday -- I decided to sign up for a beginners TRX class on Saturday at 8am. My gym is just getting into the TRX business, so the classes are free this week and next. We'll see how it goes. I'm actually kinda excited about it.

A late Week 6 weigh-in

I'm late, it's been busy, blah blah blah.

I forgot when I set this week's goal that my dear TOM was coming this week. So I'm up. Some of it's probably real gain, some of it is definitely water retention.

Starting Weight: 247.8 lbs
Last Week's Weight: 248.4 lbs
Current Weight: 251.6
Difference: +3.2 lbs
Net Total: +3.8 lbs

I'm traveling for the next 10 days, so Week 7's post won't happen. But when I get back, hopefully good news in week 8!

Week 5 Weigh-In

Getting to this post a day late, but I did the weigh-in yesterday. So it still counts.

Starting Weight: 247.8 lbs
Last Week's Weight: 248.6 lbs
Current Weight: 248.4
Difference: -0.2 lbs
Net Total: +0.6 lbs

Okay, so I didn't meet this week's goal of getting the net total to 0. But at least I maintained? I don't know. I just can't get my head back into this game. I'm allowing myself to eat crap regularly and in too big of quantities. I am so annoyed at myself.

So, this week's goal. Quit sucking. Ha. Just kidding. Goal is to lose 1 lb. Because seriously, not so hard.

Week 4 Weigh-In

Well, it's not Tuesday, but it's time for this week's weigh-in. Yesterday I felt bloated and gross from a weekend away. I knew the scale would tell me bad things (I checked. It did.) so I waited until today to do the "official" weigh in for the week.

Starting Weight: 247.8 lbs
Last Week's Weight: 249.8 lbs
Current Weight: 248.6
Difference: -1.2 lbs
Net Total: +0.8 lbs

It's headed in the right direction. But I'm still not doing what I need to be doing to see the numbers I want. And I'm slowly starting to realize that the dresses I bought for the two weddings I'm going to in a couple weeks may not fit how I want them to fit. I really need to buckle down.

I can come up with a million excuses for why I'm not doing well. But this week's primary problem is that I was gone this weekend and didn't get to the grocery store. I'm forced to eat what's in my fridge (not much. mostly apples.) -- which has lead me to buying crap food. I'm not prepared. That's my own fault and there is not a single person to blame but me.

This week's goal is to get the net total in the negative. There's absolutely no reason why I can't.

Week 3 Weigh-In

Well, it's another Tuesday. I hope this blog becomes more than just weigh-ins, but life has been crazy lately. Friends moving out of town, new group of people to make into new friends. It's the life of a clerk.

Starting Weight: 247.8 lbs
Last Week's Weight: 247.8 lbs
Current Weight: 249.8 lbs
Difference: +2.0 lbs


Well, not exactly what I was looking for. I wasn't perfect this week -- obviously far from it. But I'm starting to see some good changes in my eating habits -- it could have something to do with the massive amount of produce I bought at the store this weekend. But I haven't binged in days, and well, that's a better success than anything the scale tells me.

I was hoping that once labor day came and went, life would slow down a bit. But with a 10 day vacation right in the middle of September, that doesn't seem very likely. Don't get me wrong -- vacation is great. But it throws me off my routine and that never works well for my waistline.

Week 2 Weigh-In

Ha. You guys (the imaginary people that I pretend read this blog) thought that I had forgetten all about this blog in less than a week, didn't you? Come on, admit it.

I didn't. Jokes on you.

It's Tuesday, so it's time for a weekly weigh-in.


Last Week's Weight: 247.8 lbs
Current Weight: 247.8 lbs
Difference: 0.0 lbs

Well, there we have it. One week back on the blog and a 0.0 loss. I mean, I guess it’s better than a gain, right?

The problem is that I’m not putting in the work to see the change I want to see. While I’m running consistently (sticking with my marathon training) – my eating just isn’t there. WAY too much junk food. And not just the occasional candy bar. Full on binging. For no apparent reason. I mean, I know there IS a reason, I just don’t know what it is. That, my friends, is what this blog will hopefully help me to discover. I just want to eat. All the time. It barely matters WHAT I’m eating.

But this comes back to what I wrote about last week. I need to start CHOOSING to be healthy. I need to start consciously deciding to have a healthy day. This morning I had every intention of stopping to pick breakfast up at McDonalds. But as I drove there, I decided not to. Mostly because I realized I’d want something with cheese on it (more on that later) – but I need to get to the point that that’s not even an option. Because I know that a McDonald’s breakfast would lead to junk food at work. And an unhealthy lunch. And probably an unhealthy dinner. It’s a snowball. And at some point, I need to stop that snowball from forming. So, today, my only goal is not to binge. I'm focusing for one day and one goal. Because otherwise I'll get overwhelmed and well, binge. See how that works?

 

I'll report back.

On Depression and Weight Loss

Earlier this week, the world lost a great man. A comedic genius. Early reports are that Robin Williams took his own life. It's hard enough to lose someone to natural causes or in an accident. But when you lose someone to suicide, it hurts in a whole different way. Robin Williams suffered from severe depression and ultimately made the decision that living just wasn't worth it any more.

I can relate. I suffer from depression. At this point in my life, I am ok. I have more happy than sad days and sometimes that's all you can ask for. But I've been there. Those deep dark places where you just can't see the light. When the disease just keeps telling you over and over that death would be SO much easier. And you start to believe it. Because when one bad day has turned into two bad days, which turns into a bad week and then a bad month and all of a sudden you can't remember the last time you had a good day, it's just so hard. Because depression is real. Just as any physical illness is real, depression is real. And it's scary. Very scary.

I was lucky when I was 14 to meet the right people at the right time and find a way to turn bad days into good days. It took a lot of work. A lot of therapy. A lot of soul searching. And lot of getting real with myself. And it was good for a while. One good day turned into two good days which turned into a good week/month/year.

But depression doesn't just go away. Early in my college career, bad days starting finding a way to mix into the good days. One bad day followed every15 or 20 good ones. Then one bad day every 10 or 12, then every 5 or 6, then every couple of days. And then the bad days started outnumbering the good again. It was scary. I tried ignoring it. I tried throwing myself into school and work and all the extracurriculars I could find. But soon I was slipping back into that deep dark place and starting to hear all of those bad things the disease wanted me to hear. But I had been down that road before. I knew how bad it could get. I knew that that was never a feeling I wanted to feel again. And I asked for help and got it. And eventually the good days started out weighting the bad again. But it took work and it took the support of those around me.

And I know that even after you've beaten depression numerous times, it doesn't go away. I know that I will have depression every day for the rest of my life. But that doesn't mean I have to let it win. Every day I have to make a conscious decision to have a good day. And sometimes that's enough to keep me going. And sometimes it doesn't. Somedays the depression wins and I have a bad day and can't make my way out of my bed. Sometimes it's two bad days in a row. But every day I wake up and consciously decide to have a good day. And for now, that's working.

So what does this have to do with weight loss? Seemingly nothing. But stay with me here.

I've been struggling recently with weight loss. If we're being real, I've been struggling with my weight my whole life. I don't know if there has ever been a time when I've been a "normal" weight. Last year I lost about 40 lbs in about 5 months. And then I stopped. I kept working out but I stopped paying attention to what I was eating. There was more Chinese food. And lattes. And candy bars. I managed to maintain the loss. When I moved to Memphis I put back on about 10lbs. And I've been playing with that 10lbs for the last year.

The last 5 or 6 days, I've fallen back into my old ways. Too many snacks. And candy bars. And soda. And just generally eating unhealthy. And I'm pissed. I want to lose this weight badly. And yet I'm sabotaging myself.

It wasn't until right before I started writing this post that I put it together. I'm a fat (I use this in the most respectful way possible) girl. I've always been a fat girl and I'll always be a fat girl. Maybe not physically, but I will be mentally. I've been down this "off the wagon" road before. It's one bad day and then two and then a bad week and a bad month. So let's stop the pattern. I know how to do this. I need to start making a conscious decision each day to be healthy. A conscious decision to treat my body like it deserves to be treated. Just like I make a conscious decision every day to be happy.

So today I'm choosing to be happy and healthy. Today. Tomorrow can wait for tomorrow.

Week 1 Weigh-In

If this blog is going to be about weight loss, I guess the first thing is to start off with a weigh-in. To know exactly where we're starting from.

These will probably happen on Tuesdays. Because Tuesday is as good of day as any.

So, here we go:

Current Weight: 247.8 lbs

I'll discuss my goals at some point in the future, but just so they're out there:

Goal 1: 240.0 lbs (reward: pedicure)
Goal 2: 230.0 lbs (reward: haircut. And I need one. Bad.)

Long-Term Goal (My 30th Birthday, May 15, 2015) : 199 lbs.
Long-Long-Term Goal: 169 lbs.

Starting anew.

Hi All -
Apparently it's been 4 years since I started this blog. I posted 10 times during those 4 years. So, not exactly a blogging success story. But here I am for yet another round.

I deleted the old posts -- I want this time around to be exactly this. This time. I'll probably incorporate some of the old posts into new posts (some of them are still relevant) -- but I wanted to start fresh. So here we go.

I welcome your comments and suggestions and anything else you want to contribute to this blog.