Just some random babbling.

I finished my 10 weeks of running. By the end I was able to jog over 3 miles in my half hour. I was pretty impressed with that. I was jogging on the treadmill, and I was using an incline of 1.0. SOOOO, now that I've finished, I've been trying to think of how to continue jogging and using some kind of plan. I decided that I would jog outside this week, because it's been so nice. 

Well, jogging on a treadmill and jogging outside are very different! I was struggling to jog after 6 minutes! I figured it would feel different, but I didn't think it would feel like the first time I ever jogged! Next week will not be as nice, and the weather is probably just going to be awful from this point on too. I'm going to have to hit up the outdoor jogging when Spring rolls around. 

It's kinda funny, I was so against running on treadmills. Now, I only want to run on the treadmill. 

Anyway, I was at the gym this morning and I was thinking about how tired I was. It took everything in me to make it to the gym this morning. I was trying to come up with any reason to not go to the gym. Well, I went anyway; I was feeling guilty and I had to go. About half way through my workout, I started getting that awake, refreshed feeling. I love that I can go into the gym so tired and unmotivated, and part way through a workout that energetic feeling comes to me. 

I had that same feeling when I was jogging outside the other day too. I was in such a terrible mood; everything around me was like nails on a chalkboard. I decided to jog outside, and even though it was the worst jog I've ever had, I felt fantastic when I was done. My terrible mood went away. I was able to enjoy the rest of my day. 

I know that most of you reading this know what I'm talking about. I feel so accomplished and happy after I go workout. It's the best feeling. I bet that's why I keep going back. 

Overall, I've been pretty busy. It's been tricky to get to the gym some days, but I rely so much on my routine and doing things in the same order during the day. Having my daily routines makes everything so much easier, even though each day has a different routine!

October?? I guess I need an update!

So, let's get right to the point. Overall, I stayed exactly the same this month. No change in weight. Ok, really, I gained two pounds (according to my bod pod), but I weighed myself yesterday and I'm down two pounds. I'm going to mark that as "no change in weight". I wish I was really down two pounds and not playing catch up for eating too much, but I have to roll with the punches at this point. I'm trying to figure out how to live and keep a healthy weight. 

I'm still at 133 pounds gone, and it still blows my mind on a daily basis. Just the other day I was looking at a picture from my sister's wedding and I couldn't believe it was me. I was actually thinking, wow, I look really pretty. I really liked how I looked in the picture. It was kind of unbelievable, because I've spent so much time hating how I look in pictures. 

This is the picture I was looking at. 

Overall, I'm doing just fine. I'm working out 6 days a week, I'm running 3 days a week, and I'm not pigging out and stuffing my face! I'm beginning week 9 of the running program I'm following. If you don't remember, I think it's a lot like one of the Couch to 5K programs. It's been really good for me. If you are thinking about running, I suggest you find one of those programs to follow. It's not too time consuming, but you feel like you are accomplishing something!

I've been getting more compliments/advice at the gym too. It's like there's a new batch of people that want to talk to me about my weight loss of give me advice about losing weight. Most of the time I just smile and say thanks. I have to move on as quickly as possible because most of the advice is outrageous! 

One guy told me to lift less weight and spend more time in aerobics classes. I'm sure for some people that would work wonders, but I lost over 100 pounds by lifting weights, not going to aerobics classes. I'm not saying aerobics classes are bad and I have done some, but I just don't want that to be my regular workouts! 

I also, recently, had a little old man tell me to stop jumping around (doing plyos) and he told me that there was a mini trampoline for me to jump on over on the ladies side of the gym. He told me that all the equipment I needed was on the ladies side and that's why there is such a difference in the equipment on the ladies side and the co-ed side. I just stared at him! 

I've been on Pintrest a lot lately. I've been looking at recipes and there are so many on there! I've been revamping a lot of them to make them a little more calorie friendly. It's a great place to get new ideas. I've been really pumped about cooking and I'm doing better at planning meals and making dinners in advance. 

I'm hoping to make some good decisions in October and see it I can't lose a few pounds! 

Let's catch up

Well, I was on a roll there for about a week! I was able to post like 3 times! Crazy, I know.

Anyway, since then I've had a lot going on. 

1. I turned 30. Woo hoo! I had an awesome Mexican Fiesta Birthday party at my mom's house. Not the healthiest night, but I had fun and I'm glad I let loose on my birthday. Ok, I had some bomb-ass Mexican food (made by my mom) and 5 beers. I fell asleep on the couch at 11 PM and my friends were still hanging out in the back yard. What can I say, I'm not much of a drinker these days!

2. I had a bod pod. Not proud to admit it, but I gained about 2 pounds in the last 3 months. I have to rethink some things and figure out how to live my life the way I want to live and still not gain all this weight back. It's a very difficult thing. I want to feel like I'm getting to do and eat what I want, without going overboard, but still continue to lose a few more pounds and whatnot. I know there is a way to do it. I know there is a way to be happy and healthy. I just have to find it again. I used to be able to follow meal plans to a T and be happy and healthy. Now, I'm feeling unhappy when I'm following a meal plan. I feel like I have no freedom to live and make my own choices. I feel like I'm letting Zach and Janelle down if I don't follow a meal plan. I'm in an awkward spot in my weight loss. I need figure out what direction I want to go. 

3. I'm still running. I'm in week 8 of the plan I've been following. It's crazy to think that I've been following for this plan for 8 weeks. I'm jogging for about 30 minutes at a time. CRAZY! The entire time I'm on the treadmill I'm in total disbelief that I am even running. Some days I think it's just too good to be true! I mean, me.....running? I guess so! I'm able to go a little further each day and each week. I can go over 2.5 miles in my 29 minutes this week! I think that's pretty damn good!

4. I swear, I'm reading your blogs too! I just read them on the fly between my classes that I teach and on my breaks from other random jobs. It just gets hard to comment! So, keep reading and I'll keep reading yours!

Some new pictures

I was scrolling through my blog the other day and saw that I haven't posted many pics lately. I don't really have many pics to put up, but I do have a few from my sisters wedding and one really cool picture a friend got of the the other week. 

Anyway, not much to talk about; just wanted to put up a few pics!

My sis got married at a car museum. I got to
hang out on some sweet cars!

My sisters and myself.

A picture that a friend got the other week.
He caught me off guard, but it turned
out to be a good pic!

And.....I'm still running.

Ok, the running is working out for me. It's only 3 days a week and each week is different. I've seen and heard that this is a lot like the Couch to 5k set up. That's cool if it is, but I'm not running a 5k at the end! I just want to run to add more into my workouts. 

So, I'm in week 6 right now. Honestly, I think following this weekly running schedule is making time go faster. I'm not sure how I've already done this for 6 weeks. 

At the end of the 10 weeks I need to find a different thing to follow. I need something on paper that is telling me what to do. I'm going to do some research on the Internet. I can find anything out there!

Overall, when I'm running/jogging I am in disbelief the entire time. I honestly can't believe that I'm running. I can't believe that I'm pushing myself. I can't believe that I'm pushing the little button to increase my speed and push myself to run a little further each time I run. 

It's crazy, totally crazy. I almost want to tell everyone that walks by me how amazing it is.

I do get a lot of time to people watch on the treadmill. I love to people watch and my gym has no shortage of interesting characters. I bet everyone else sees a bunch of interesting characters at their gym too. 

Sometimes I can't believe what people wear to the gym, talk about at the gym, or even some of the crazy workouts they do at the gym. Sometimes I think I'm being "Punked" and that douche Ashton Kutcher is going to jump out. 

Update

My updates have been behind lately. Sorry! I'm still weighing myself when I'm supposed to. I just don't get on here in a timely manner to get my status out there!

Well, August was another month where I didn't lose, but I also didn't gain. I'm still at 133 pounds lost. 

I'm consistent with the working out. I think I actually work out more these days. I know for a fact that working out will be part of my routine for the rest of my life. Sometimes, the food still scares me. I'm afraid of slowly slipping back into bad habits and over eating habits. I know I'm not the only one that has that fear, but it's scary! 

I get nervous when I know I'm going to a cookout, party, night out with friends, etc. I get worried that I'm going to "get out of control" with the food. I know I'm still learning how to eat in moderation. I'm working hard to make it the norm and not something I have to think about every time I step out the door. 

Looking ahead....

I have to get a bod pod soon. I'm trying to get one scheduled for this week. 

September is my favorite month, because it is my birthday month. I seriously celebrate for the whole month. This year I'm going to be 30. I'm not really worried about it though. I'm healthier now than I have really ever been in my whole life. 

Getting personal.....

I'm ready for all of my teaching jobs to kick back into gear! I'm ready for my routine to be more routine! 

Now that summer is winding down I really feel like I can get back on track. I've been slacking a little too much on the meal plan. I've been maintaining and not losing. I need to and want to lose this last little bit of weight. 

Honestly, I've been happy....for about the past 6 months. Really happy. I've not been mentioning it, but I've been seeing someone for the past 6 months and I couldn't be happier. He is the best guy I've ever dated. 

He's the first guy I've dates since I've started all these meal plans and working out and whatnot. I've been learning how to eat on schedule, work out, and have a functional adult relationship with this guy in my life!

I've got the working out under control, but I'm still figuring out the whole eating thing again. He knows what I've been doing. I was upfront from the first day I met him about doing everything on a schedule. The whole discussion about mass weight loss came a few weeks later. 

I've gotta tell ya, it's been easy to have him in my life. Like I said, the whole working out thing is not an issue. It's the food that is tripping me up. And I've also gotta tell ya, he makes me feel absolutely beautiful; saggy skin and all.

I used to worry about how I appeared to other people; especially guys. Now, I could care less. He thinks I look great in jeans and a t-shirt. 

However, it can make it hard to focus because he is always making me feel so good about how I look. It can make it easy to "cheat". I know, I know, what a silly thing to complain about.......he makes me feel great, and it's hard to focus on my eating.....blah, blah....I'm sure you all just threw up a little in your mouths. 

I've had an awesome summer hanging out with him. He wants to do active things too. It's not problem to get him to go for a walk, play putt putt, go bowling, etc.... but I'm ready for there to be less free time and more work time! I think once my schedule fills back up I will be able to focus better on the meal plans. 

Oh...his name is Josh, and he's the awesome. 

Still Running.

The running thing is still panning out for me. I'm into week 3. It's not too bad. 

Today, I did my first run of the week. I even wore my heart rate monitor to see how many calories I can burn in a run. Today I was just under 3oo. Not too shabby. 

Like I said, I'm not trying to replace lifting; I'm looking for something else to add in with my workouts. I need something to mix it up for a while. 

I would like to start running more often, and we'll see what I can do after I complete these 10 weeks. 

It feels pretty good that I decided to do this whole running thing on my own. I felt like I was capable of doing something else and I found something good for me. 

I'm sure that as it gets colder I will lose motivation, but in all honesty this plan will get me into the holidays. After that, I might ask Zach to help me with a plan to continue running and to keep it interesting. 

I've been running...scary, I know.

So, I've decided that I need to add something to my regular workout routine. I found an interval jogging plan that lasts about 10 weeks. I do it three times a week and I'm finishing my second week. 

I'm not sure what changed and why I went from hating jogging and running to wanting to run as much as possible. I'm still lifting 5 to 6 days a week, but I 3 days a week I also jog for about 25 minutes at the end of my workout. 

Here's what the plan looks like:

Week 1:

Walk 1 minute
Jog/run 5 minutes
Repeat 4 times
Walk 1 minute
Total: 25 minutes

Week 2:

Walk 1 minute
Jog/run 7 minutes
Repeat 3 times
Walk 1 minute
Total 25 minutes

Week 3: 

Walk 1 minute
Jog/run 10 minutes
Repeat 2 times
Walk 1 minute
Total 23 minutes

Week 4:

Walk 1 minute
Jog/run 10 minutes
Repeat 2 times
Walk 1 minute
Total 23 minutes

Week 5:

Walk 1 minute
Jog/run 10 minutes
Repeat 2 times
Walk 1 minute
Jog/run 2 minutes
Walk 1 minute
Total 26 minutes

Week 6:

Walk 1 minute
Jog/run 10 minutes
Repeat 2 times
Walk 1 minute
Jog/run 4 minutes
Walk 1 minute
Total 28 minutes

Week 7:

Walk 1 minute
Jog/run 10 minutes
Repeat 2 times
Walk 1 minute
Jog/run 5 minutes
Walk 1 minute
Total 29 minutes

Week 8:

Walk 1 minute
Jog/run 10 minutes
Repeat 2 times
Walk 1 minute
Jog/run 6 minutes
Walk 1 minute
Total 30 minutes

Week 9:

Walk 1 minute
Jog/run 10 minutes
Repeat 2 times
Walk 1 minute
Jog/run 8 minutes
Walk 1 minute
Total 32 minutes

Week 10:

Day 1:
Walk 1 minute
Jog/run 10 minutes
Repeat 2 times
Walk 1 minute
Total 23 minutes

Days 2 and 3: 
Walk 1 minute
Jog/run 10 minutes
Repeat 3 times
Walk 1 minute
Total 34 minutes

So far, I've been doing fine. I've been able to get in all three jog/runs. When I'm jogging I move between 5.1 and 5.6 for the speed and I do it on a 1.0 incline. I'm able to go over 2 miles each time. I hope to increase my speed each time. I'm not looking to be a sprinter; I just want to be able to go a little further each time. 

I think this is fun. It's a challenge that I'm ready to take on now. Last year, and even before, I was not up to this task. I think a lot while I'm doing this too. I usually think about how unbelievable it is that I'm actually running. When I start getting tired and I want to put my arms on the sides of the treadmill for support, I start thinking about how amazing it is that I'm even running at all. 

It's cool how things can change over time. 

Maybe some of you will do this too. It would be nice to hear from you if you do!

As always, if you're new here, leave a comment and tell me about your blog. I try to read as many as I can!

Update time

So, here's the low down on July. I was working out like a maniac, but finding too many reasons to "cheat" on my meal plan. So what does that mean as far as weight loss? No weight lost. That's what it mean.

I'm still at the same place I was at the end of July. 133 pounds gone, forever.

I'm kind of at a crossroads right now. I know that I'm not at my healthiest weight and  my healthiest body fat percentage. I know I still have some weight to lose and it's not even that much. Maybe like 20 pounds, but I'm happy with the progress I have made. I mean, I lost 133 pounds and that seemed easy compared to staying motivated to lose this last 20. Why is this last 20 pounds so hard?

I do want to get that last little bit off, but I'm struggling. I know summer has something to do with it, but I can't use that as an excuse. I'm also worrying that I'm letting other people down if I don't lose these last few pounds.

I would feel freaking awesome to get down to my healthiest weight and fat percentage. I would probably smile from ear to ear for a month. I mean, going from morbidly obese to lean....that would effing rock. I'm almost there too.....so where has my motivation gone?

I know this turned into some random babbling, but I just had to get some of this off my chest.