Wedding is Right Around the Corner!

So I've been so freaking busy recently. I have been paddling and running and have started lifting weights again with Ananda (only three times now, but I'll count it). I'm feeling pretty good about my size right now. I'm about a size 9, that's what the pants I'm wearing now say.

I weighed in at 135 (on my scale), which is a good 140 in real life. Not bad. I'm thinking after the wedding I'm still gonna work on losing a little more weight, I wouldn't mind getting down to 130, but I think 135 is probably the best I'm gonna get. Which is way more in shape than I ever imagined I would be able to get to. For now, with the family coming out and the upcoming wedding and the impending drinking that will be happening, I'm gonna just concentrate at staying at 140. I am going to make a major effort to not completely throw away everything I've been working for. Luckily for me I still have a few races to look forward to, especially now that long distance is coming up. That means that I'll have a reason not to go back to being completely lazy and eating fast food.

I've done pretty good the past few days, even when Bobby ordered Calzones for me and Nate. I only ate half. I have to thank Myia for convincing me that Skinny Cow ice cream cones and sandwiches are worthwhile. Because they're in the fridge they get eaten instead of the other junk that's in there. And if Skinny Cow is the only ice cream choice, Nate'll take what he can get.

So I think when the wedding is over, the title of this blog is going to change and I'm gonna keep writing. It's nice to be able to report on my progress, even if Arin and Myia are the only ones who read it. I'll probably send the link out to a few more friends again and see if I can't get some interaction on this thing.

It's June Already!

So, I've continued on the path to getting more in shape. I weigh 138 now, and it's been holding steady there for a while. It's more weight loss than I really planned on, but I figure I might as well take advantage and get down to a healthy weight of 130 if I can. On a real scale that's 135 and I think I'll be happy to stay there. I'm already happy where I'm at. The pictures on the left are of the paddling team. Our first races at Keehi Lagoon. I got to race and we came in first place.




Somebody told me yesterday that I had nice arms. That's pretty awesome. It feels so good to feel strong again. I think even if I hadn't lost any weight, the feeling of being one of the stronger paddlers, and being able to run 10 miles is so worth it. I really let myself get to a point that I told myself I never would. I couldn't jog one mile. I've always known that I'm happier when I'm involved in some kind of physical activity.

Of course, you would think that having lost some weight, I would look better in pictures, but you just can't fix that cheesy smile when I'm happy.

Looking healthier

I should post a picture of myself at some point when I get the chance. People have really been noticing that I have lost weight. I guess the last couple of pounds came off of my face or something. I am starting to understand why some people don't want to lose weight though. It is scary sometimes to get so much attention. It is also uncomfortable to be asked so many times "How much weight have you lost?" I don't really like too much attention in the first place, so I guess for some people that wouldn't be such a big deal. Plus, it's a weird thing to talk about with so many people. Well, I've lost this much weight, blah, blah, blah. I try to change the subject very quickly. I'm sure once I'm at my goal weight and I just stay there for a while, I won't be getting all of those questions anymore. In the meantime I'm feeling really healthy. I am really enjoying paddling this season. I want to go for a hike this weekend. We were supposed to get a lady to come teach a yoga class for us, but I don't think it's going to work out. We may just do a yoga video after running or something like that.

144 For a Moment

This week the scale has tipped just below 145. It doesn't seem to really want to move below 145 and is fighting to hold its position. I have gotten several comments from people recently about having lost weight. I have finally lost enough that people can see it in my face. I am having difficulty with my clothes because I don't have enough money to buy a whole bunch of pants that fit now, when I plan to lose 5 to 10 more pounds. So do I wait? I was running last night and my underwear were falling down. I seem to have lost a lot of weight in my rear.

I guess I could buy some clothes that I can still wear later. Maybe some skirts or shorts. Luckily my partner at work has some clothes that she doesn't wear anymore (she's lost some weight as well) so she gave them to me. I'm wearing a pair right now!

So paddling has been going pretty well, we did this thing called a "Tractor Pull" on Saturday morning at 6:00am. You sit in the first seat of the canoe and the coach sat in the last seat to steer and you pull the canoe for a quarter mile all by yourself. And he times you. I did pretty good, I did a quarter mile in 3 minutes 40 seconds. The time to beat was 3 minutes 23 seconds. This is one of the techniques the coach uses to pick who goes in the races. There is a race on Saturday, it's a few miles long- I'm actually hoping that I don't get picked. I don't want to paddle for two hours. The last race was about an hour and a half and it was really hard.

Goal for this week: get the scale to stick at 144 for REAL YO!

Ran 5 miles yesterday, Monday- paddle, Tuesday- run, Wednesday- paddle, Thursday- paddle, Friday- Run or Pilates, Saturday- paddle or run, Sunday- Yoga

Up to 146, but so worth it.

So I was hovering around the 145 mark, and then I allowed myself to eat a ton of ice cream the last couple of days. I also skipped paddling practice yesterday. I gained a pound, but the ice cream was really delicious. I'm ready to get back to practice today, and maybe run tomorrow, or do pilates. Saturday we should have practice in the morning, if not, I'll be going to yoga.
Goal for this next week: Lift weights at home on Sunday. Oh, I hate lifting weights at home, but I'd like to get some tone in the arms.
Weight goal: 144 by May 5. That gives me a couple of days to get back into the groove.

I was just looking back at my first couple of posts and my original goal was to be 145 by June 24! I actually made that the other day!
My new weight goal: 135 by June 26. That's 2 months. Lets see how that goes!

This week I'm feeling a little tired and burnt out. Last week I was pretty tired too. Paddling is 4 days a week and although some days it doesn't seem like much of a cardio workout for some reason, on other days we paddle HARD. I am sore today from paddling so much yesterday and we have practice again tonight. Myia and I also figured out that since paddling started we are running slower than we were. I'm sure it's because we've only been running 2x a week at the most. I'm gonna try to run either Wednesday or Thursday before practice, but that might be too much. I originally said that I was going to skip a day of paddling in order to get in a different kind of workout, but I think I'm too competitive to do that. If I miss practice than I feel bad. I think I also have the possibiliity of getting into one of the races that are coming up and knowing that makes me want to show up to practice as well. I miss doing Yoga on Saturdays and then lifting weights, but practice is from 7:00am to usually around 10:00am. And then we miss the early yoga class. I may try out the power yoga class that doesn't start until 10:15.
On the positive side, my scale actually rested on the 145 mark this morning. I don't think it's gonna stay there, I tend to fluctuate for a while before the scale sticks, but I'm hoping that in the near future I may actually start working towards 140. A few months ago I never would have believed that I would be this close to actually meeting my goal weight. I would love to get around 135 on a real scale, which is about 15 more pounds that I would have to lose. Before the wedding I would like to get to about 145 on a real scale, so still 5 more pounds to go. Perhaps I should get myself a better scale! At least the one I have is reliable. I can at least tell that I am losing weight and how many pounds I am losing, but it is disheartening when I go to the doctor or weigh myself on a regular scale and I am actually heavier than what it says at home.
I am pretty proud of myself- the other day I wore a shirt to work that used to be inappropriately tight. It actually was loose on me. Most of my clothes are really loose on me now and I think there are only 2 pairs of pants in my closet that fit me correctly (you know, the ones hanging in my closet for years that I kept in the hopes that someday I would fit into them again someday). I still have several pairs of pants that are way too tight to wear, that I would like to fit into before the wedding. That may be a little much to ask, so I'm not gonna count on it.
This weeks goal: 145 (on my home scale) by Saturday. I know it hit there once, but can I keep it there?

In training

So, I was able to run 8 miles today after work. I am really surprised at how good it felt. I didn't feel very good before I started and my knee hurt. I ran the first three and I was pretty tired, and then I figured I would just run one more, and then one more, until I had made it to the 8 mile turn-around point. At the end I was actually running, not gasping for air and jogging. I ate one of those sugary energy gel packs at the 5 and a half mile marker. It actually helped a lot I think. It gave me a little boost of energy, especially for the last mile. The only problem was that it was dark and I was running in the park after dark by myself. I knew Myia was waiting in the parking lot, but it was still scary. It's sad that you can't just run by yourself anymore without getting all paranoid that someone's going to attack you. I was ready to karate chop anyone that came near me.
Tomorrow and Thursday are paddling practice, hopefully not in the canal. I like it much better when we go out in the ocean. I'll have to run on Thursday or Friday, Pilates on Friday on base. I'm gonna have to decide whether I want to paddle on Saturday or hit Yoga and lift weights. It might be smarter to lift weights.
The scale's been going below 150 pretty consistently, but still bounces back up to 150 a lot as well. I think if I want to lose more weight I'm gonna have to evaluate how I'm eating. I'm trying to figure out where I can write down what I eat and stick with it. I tend not to stick to journaling. It might get a little annoying if I write everything I eat on this blog. Unless I can find a tool to add onto the side of the blog... Anyway, I'm feeling really good, but I'm plateaued, again.