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.

Checking in

I'm feeling pretty good recently, and have been working hard. Paddling started two weeks ago, and it looks like it's going to take up a good amount of my time. The first practice we just went out into the ocean. I was surprised that he was taking us right out like that, but it was cool to be trusted enough to go. It was absolutely beautiful out and it reminded me of why I love to paddle. On Wednesday night, right after practice, my muscles started to tighten up and I knew I was going to be very, very sore for the rest of the week. Although I've been running quite often and doing yoga and lifting weights, I hurt so bad on Thursday. Last week it wasn't so bad, but I was pretty sore again after practice. We've been continuing to run and train for the half-marathon. It's getting harder and harder to decide which is more important. Right now I'm only running twice a week and paddling 4x. I may have to sacrifice Yoga on Saturday mornings since it's really hard to get there in time right after practice.
Schedule for now:
Monday- paddling @ 5:30.
Tuesday- running long distance
Wednesday- paddling @ 5:30.
Thursday- running short distance and paddling @ 5:30.
Friday- Pilates
Saturday- paddling in the morning, yoga if I can make it after
Sunday- hiking Hawaii Loa Ridge.

Goal- I've given in to the fact that my scale in my bathroom weighs slightly less than what it should. It makes me feel good, but I am in reality I think about 5 pounds more than what my scale says. I'm going to stick with the number on my scale since that's what I use most often.
So, my goal is 146 on my bathroom scale (151 on real scales).
I think I can achieve this goal in two weeks, so I'll set it for April 16, Monday morning.
My doctor weighed me this morning. The scale said 155, which she said is actually at the very end of "within normal" limit for myself. Of course I want to lose more weight, but I'm actually within the normal range. That's pretty awesome.

The Glycemic Index

We went for a run yesterday, ran a hard 2.7 miles. Denby and I ran it in a little less than 25 minutes, which is really good for me. I was sucking in air at the end because I didn't want to slow down. Afterwards we went to this nutrition seminar, well it was really small, there were only 6 people. It was very informative, about the glycemic index. I had heard this term before, but didn't really understand it. It was really interesting hearing about it from someone who obviously knows what she was talking about it and really believes in it. It relates and makes sense with the low-carb diets that are popular now. I have always believed that the low carb diets are better for you nutritionally, (not the really low-carb diets, the good carb diets). I checked out the website nutritiondata.com and it tells you more about some of the different diets that are out there. The glycemic index along with the glycemic load seem like they would really help you lose weight, if you understand and are willling to put in the time to use it. What I really liked was the Better Choices Diet that uses both a calorie count along with the "fullness factor" scale and the glycemic index. It is one of those "duh" it just makes sense ways of eating (not a diet, but a lifestyle change).
The plan for this week is tonight- Pilates class, Wednesday- long run, Thursday- off, Friday- run with Titus, Saturday- yoga, Sunday- hiking.

150... and holding steady

So I was able to hit the ever elusive goal of 150. Now I have plateaud there. I guess I'm gonna have to change up my workouts or something so I can go intot the 40s. I have been able to put on some pants that I haven't worn in a LONG time, and that feels good anyway. I can tell I've lost the weight. I'm gonna try to run/walk/swim/do something every day this week and see if I can't make the scale go below.
I'm having a lot of fun planning for my wedding. I think it's going to be different than most weddings I've been to, since we have very little money. It's going to be a lot of fun. Nate and I are going wedding band shopping this weekend. We are going to get something simple for now. It's about 4 months away and I have to start getting together the minister, and figure out all the legal stuff, including name change, insurance, all of that jazz. I don't think I can really go wrong with this wedding planning as long as I get the important stuff done. If things go really badly, we'll just have another barbecue later on during the week and have a great time. Then people will just remember being in Hawaii and having an awesome time.

New Goal

Alright, so I finally hit the 150 mark. I was getting a little lazy, allowing myself to kind of hang out there. Now I am setting a new goal of 140 for the wedding. I think I can lose 2 pounds in the next two weeks.
Goal: 148 by March 17.
I got some pictures of the Aloha Run from Denby. To the left is us walking from the bus to the start line. On the right is "Devon and his Track Bitches." Basically, we are just feeling really good and looking really sexy after finishing. Every one of us was able to run the whole thing and I think we all felt pretty good for the whole race. After last week's yoga, I went for a run on Monday and my Achilles tendon started to hurt. I slowed down to a slow crawl and then rested my feet and legs for the next couple of days, so I basically did nothing. I went for another run on Thursday and it seems like resting paid off because the tendon didn't hurt this time. The last thing I need is to hurt myself so that I can't run or workout for weeks. Not right now. Today I woke up to meet Myia, Denby and Devon at yoga and then afterwards Myia suggested that we lift weights since we pay the daily rate for the class, we might as well use the gym as much as possible. So against my better judgment I used the leg machines. Right now I feel okay, but I have a feeling that tomorrow I am going to be quite sore. We may go hiking tomorrow morning, depending on whether or not Josh makes Myia go to church.
This week I plan on Sunday- hike, Monday- run or Power Yoga, Tuesday- rest, Wednesday- run, Thursday- rest, Friday- run with Titus, Saturday- yoga/weights.
I have continued to eat well, and actually am not really missing out on anything. My basic strategy has been to replace all the bad-for-me things that I've been eating with an extra serving of vegetables. I think I still eat too many calories per day, but I've made the switch to higher fiber, more vitamins and minerals types of food. It's kind of a low-carb diet. What they say is true, once you stop eating carbs all the time, you really stop craving them as much. Plus, my breakfast of eggs and vegetables or lunch meat has really kept me full all the way until lunch time and past on the days that I don't have time to eat on my regular schedule. There's been two days that I had to skip lunch totally, but didn't actually get too hungry. When I eat cereal or a bagel or waffles, I always end up getting hungry before it's time to eat lunch. I'm sure there's something to say about the munching on food all day long/smaller meals way of living. Myia's looking awesome by going that route. I just haven't been planning ahead enough for that kind of way of living. I am feeling really good about planning ahead for lunch at this point. I've also been buying those frozen lunches and keep a few in the freezer at work for those days that I didn't plan ahead to make lunch. It's a hell of a lot less expensive than eating at Jack in the Box or McDonald's and a lot better for me. There's a lot of sodium, but I can live with that since I don't eat them all the time.
Score for me! Nate offered to get me chocolate ice cream last night and I said, No Thankyou. I watched him eat his ice cream, and didn't actually feel like I wanted any. Nate's been great. I don't think he's really noticed that I am not feeding either of us nearly as many carbs as we used to eat. And I think he has really enjoyed the last few meals we've made together. I like to put him in charge of seasoning whatever meat or protein we're having and when we have salad, he's in charge of cutting vegetables. We've had some delicious salads recently cause he's actually a really good cook. He really enjoys making rubs and marinades and throws in Cumin and all sorts of spices that I don't know anything about.

150!!!!!!!

Yeeha! Well, it's been quite some time, so lots to write about. First off, I have weighed in at 150 for three days straight. For me that's pretty fantastic. I've lost about 25 pounds since I first got to Hawaii. I can't believe I actually weighed in at 175 at one point. I told myself I would never let myself get out of the "healthy weight" bracket. It's amazing how easy it is to just let the weight slowly add up. Anyway, I have been working hard.
I've been running pretty often training for the Great Aloha Run. Nate had to go to Syracuse for a week and a half to spend time with his mother who just had a liver transplant, his sister the liver donor, and the rest of his family who has been taking care of them. I figured I would take that time to focus on exercising a lot, and eating really well. I cut down on most of the carbs I eat, packed lunch every day, and ran or walked every day of the week. I actually woke up really early a couple of times and took Titus running before work to watch the sunrise at the beach.
On Sunday the 18th Myia and I went on a dead-head voyage on the SSV Makani Olu, the sailboat that our company uses to take the boys on voyages to the other islands. It was rough! We left the pier and it started to get really wavy once we started heading out past Diamond Head. You would get up to the top of a wave, ride it down and then smash into a wave coming from the other direction. It was really crazy. Myia didn't quite get sick, but slept near the wheel for most of the trip. I was enjoying myself for a while, but it got old holding on for dear life. Halfway through the trip Myia went down and slept on one of the cots for a few hours. I hung out with the Captain and some of the crew. We saw a whale jumping out of the water near Makapu`u Lighthouse. I wish I could have gotten a picture. I thought the trip was supposed to take about 8 hours, but we didn't end up getting in until 8:00pm, which made it a 10-11 hour trip. The last 2 hours were the most painful. lighthouse, then Rabbit Island, then the Mokes. Then we had to go all the way up to We seemed like we were pretty close, we passed the Chinaman's Hat before we could enter Kaneohe Bay. I didn't realize that you can't just go straight in because of the sand bars. So I was sadly surprised when we didn't just turn in, but kept going. I was so miserable at the very end, and tired.
out to 11:34 minute miles. That'sMonday was the Aloha Run. 8.15 miles. I got my race time back, I ran it in 1:34 and averaged great for me. Ananda and I ran it together and she kept me going all the way until the end. There was definitely some points when I just wanted to walk. It's very different running on a new course where you don't know when you'll see the next mile marker. I've been training on a loop, it's about 2.5 miles long, and I know it so well that I always know exactly how far I've run and how far I have to go. Running the race you're always looking for the next mile marker to see how far you've made it. It was pretty awesome, there were about 12,000 people running. 20,000 people signed up, but apparently people don't always follow through. There were about 1,000 people running the race in Iraq, they do it on the same day and set a course for 8.15 miles for all of the soldiers from Hawaii.
After the race I felt pretty tired and sore, and didn't run for the rest of the week. Nate came home on Tuesday, and I vowed to keep eating well. I actually have been able to continue to eat well and on Friday I stepped on the scale and it read 150. It stayed at 150 for the next two days despite having a Snickers Ice Cream cone.
This morning I woke up incredibly sore from doing Yoga yesterday. I had a wake-up call about how little I have been cross-training or stretching recently. My arms are killing me today. I feel a little better after going on a hike this morning to the Likeke trail to the waterfall. We checked out the geocache that we found on my first hike and made Josh and Denby find the microcache "no more mister nice guy." I am an idiot and forgot that I said that I was going to bring Titus on the hike. Everybody else had their dogs.
I'm setting my next long-term goal as 140, hopefully by the half-marathon in June. My short term goal is just to break 150, so 149. That should take one or two weeks.
The plan is to run on Mondays and Thursdays, Yoga on Saturday mornings and hike on Sundays.
You should check out Myia's blog on how she's gotten so thin:
click here.

My Trip to Boston

So I wrote a blog about my trip to Boston the day I got back because I was so excited about the trip. I'm not sure what happened, but the blog no longer exists. Maybe I didn't save it, that's the only thing that makes sense. Anyway, I had a great time in Boston. I got there and it was cold and I was tired, but Anna and I took a walk through Angela's little town anyway. We basically just checked out the cool architecture and took a lot of random pictures of houses and doors.
I got to spend some time with my new nephew that evening and had a fantastic dinner.

Arin came the next night, Friday night, and we had some Shabbat dinner. It was pretty tasty. It was interesting having the food blessed before eating, and dealing with their rules about the electricity. The meal was really, really good, with lots of hala bread and salmon. Ang was very flexible, they did their thing, and we did ours. We took turns changing Akiva and holding him. He is so adorable.
Andrew arrived via bus on Saturday morning. We played a ton of games and changed and held Akiva some more. Andrew was really funny holding little Keevers like he was so fragile he was gonna break him at first. Alec also came to visit later on Saturday, through hell and high water. We went for a walk through town and stopped at Starbucks. It was cold, but I had a great time. We all had a chance to talk about our lives for a little while. We went back to the house and ate some more and played some more games. It was worth everything to see my sisters and brothers with the first of the next generation of George and Pauline Sullivans.

We went to church on Sunday morning, and then had a delicious breakfast cooked by Roseanne at her sweet little apartment. Afterwards we hit the Museum of Science, which ended up being very cool and interactive. We went to a 3d Mars production, that I hate to admit was kind of lame. I also had a weird, sweaty older man, who may have been a little f**cked up, talking to me the whole time. Alec had to be rushed to get on a bus and we went out to get some Kosher Chinese Food. It was rather good. I also happened to be starving. After Chinese we took Andrew to the bus. We headed home and changed and held Akiva a few more times.

Monday morning we went out to look at Bridesmaid dresses and wedding dresses. It was fun trying on a whole bunch of different wedding dresses. They were all so beautiful. I knew as soon as I put it on, that the dress I got was the right one. It was awesome having the saleslady put the veil on my head. I almost cried. Then Ang, Arin, and Anna all found some bridesmaid dresses in blue. They looked beautiful. It was sad that my mother wasn't there. She will love my dress when she sees it.

Kara's Aloha Party

So, yesterday was Kara's last day at Marimed. I'm so sad! I'm gonna miss seeing her around the campus. I hope she decides to drop by. Of course, I know I'm gonna see her at her house and at get-togethers, but it won't be the same. Anyway, the Aloha Circle was awesome, and then later we had her goodbye party at the yacht club. Luckily I had actually bought some vegetables to grill the day before, because I didn't have any time to exercise, and I snack too much at parties. I did drink a lot of wine and I ate a lot of food. First I ate a lot of grilled vegetables and shrimp, then I had some of the steak Nate and I made. I also had Mike's spinach rolls and a few pieces of sushi. This morning I woke up feeling a little bit queesy, (I'm sure I felt better than Nate did this morning), but I made myself do a half-hour Gilad workout on TV. I only have these 3-lb weight balls to use for the weight lifting section and I felt a little silly using those for bicep curls. It's funny though, it's been so long since I've lifted weights that my arms are actually a little sore from that little bit of work. Kind of sad. Later I was feeling a little better after a nap and took Titus for a walk/jog. It felt really good. If Titus hadn't been tired I would have kept running. Next time I need to just drop him off and keep going. I don't think I've lost any weight just yet, but I'm feeling good from moving around every day. I have to get out of holiday mode, and start eating better too. Until I change how I eat, I'm never gonna lose any weight, it doesn't matter how much I work out. Especially now that I have a huge box of chocolates from Ang. They are so delicious. I've already eaten several. I'm gonna have to munch on some carrots or something to keep from eating the whole box. Tomorrow I plan on running again, or possibly doing some Gilad workout.

Resolution Check-up

So, so far so good for the new year. Of course, it's only the 4th, but that's okay, a little pat on the back can't hurt. So far this week I've been pretty active. Went walking with Myia on Tuesday for lunch, we actually walked pretty far. Yesterday I went for a run with Myia and Ananda, three miles. It hurt pretty bad, actually, but we all made it and Myia ran off at the end ahead of us. After that I took Titus for a quick run because he was crazy and full of energy, so we did sprints up the road. I'm sure we looked pretty funny, cause I was running as fast as I could. Today I'm gonna walk at lunch again. I've been semi-good with the eating better. Nate and I cooked a pork roast on Monday and Nate spiced the hell out of it. It's pretty good and better for me than most of the food I eat. So we've got a ton of leftovers and I've been working on those all week. I even ate just a taste of hamburger helper last night and substituted more vegetables and some pork. I really need to hit the grocery store for some healthier snacks- I'm thinking Almonds, mozzarella sticks, and some carrot sticks. I'm not as into the vegetable snacks as Myia is.
My plan is to walk again at lunch today and then tomorrow I'll have to do something on my own. Either the TV workout with Gilad or I'll run with Titus. Probably will also hike this weekend, but I'm not totally sure. On Monday I plan to hike with the boys, and then hopefully walk at lunch on Tuesday. I probably won't have a lot of time to do anything on Wednesday, since I've gotta get all my work done and then my flight for Boston leaves that evening. I'll plan on doing some airport walking in between flights. I'm gonna have to plan ahead for some healthy snacks on the flight as well, because usually I bring combos or some other completely delicious, but unhealthy snack. Arin and Anna and Angela are gonna have to be ready to do some walking or running out on the East Coast even though it may be cold and there's not a lot of daylight to take advantage of.
Training for the Great Aloha Run is still my main focus right now, so I'm planning on building up my mileage again and it's gonna have to be soon. The race is on President's day- Feb. 19th. Obviously we can do it, since we managed to finish the half-marathon, although my body needed some major healing afterwards. Myia said that I actually ran 8 miles of the half-marathon, but I don't recall going that far before I started walking. I would like to actually run the whole thing, which would be a huge improvement from last year. Then next year, maybe I'll have a time to beat. I don't even know what my time was from last year, I was so glad to be done I forgot to look.

Happy New Year!

So the New Year has arrived. Myia and I have busily been planning out our goals for this coming year. Well, really for the next few months. I will be blogging more regularly as part of my weight loss goals for this year. My other goals are:
1. Losing 7 pounds by the Aloha Run, which brings me to 150.
2. Run at least once a week with you guys
3. Run once a week with Titus (shorter run.)
4. Walk during lunch at least once a week.
5. South Beach style diet- less refined carbs and unhealthy fat-
started today and doing well.
6. TV workout once a week.

I'm hoping we're gonna hike more often also, but I'm not gonna make that one of my goals. It takes up too much time to make it something I plan on doing every week.
Right now, I'm feeling pretty bloated and fat from all of the holiday eating and drinking. I'm hoping I haven't done irreversible damage to myself.

Still Trying

I've been less than motivated again recently. I did run on Tuesday, Denby had drank a lot of coffee and made me run at a really good pace. I was proud that I kept up with her. I'm supposed to run tonight, and probably should considering the first thing I did when arriving at work was grab a huge chocolate chip cookie and chow down. I need to make sure the other girls are going to be able to run tonight, or maybe I should run by myself!
I'm hoping that Denby is looking into the Tae Kwon Do classes at the YMCA in Kailua. I think that would definitely change things up a little.

Holiday Party

I've been trying for the past couple of days to eat better. It's really tough during the holidays. Last night we had a holiday party, and although I think I didn't eat a whole lot of food, I also drank quite a few beers. I also didn't do anything active yesterday. On Tuesday I ran with Ananda and Denby, so at least I did something. I did some very short runs with Titus, mostly just to get some of his energy out rather than to get exercise for myself. I'm hoping that once Ananda and Myia are settled into their new jobs we can all start working out together again on a more regular basis. On my own I am fairly unmotivated. When I know others are counting on me to show up, I am more likely to do something. Hopefully we'll hike tomorrow morning and then run again on Tuesday.

The holiday party itself was a lot of fun, although Nate's just posing for the above picture at the beginning of the night, I'd say it's a pretty fair representation of how we were feeling towards the end of the afterparty. I got a few compliments on my outfit, which I was rather proud of. Hopefully Myia will send out her pictures since my camera batteries died at the beginning of the night.

154..... Briefly

So Thanksgiving morning I went for a run with Titus to the beach. I did some sprints in the waves (only cause that's what Titus wanted to do). It felt good to start the day off with some exercise. I jumped on the scale and Voila! Finally! 154. Then I went to Myia's for Thanksgiving lunch. That was some good fried turkey. She also put together some candied yams, stuffing, deviled eggs, ham, mashed potatoes, and I made a baked mac and cheese dish. I ate a ton of food then, of course, there was pie for dessert.... twice.... with cool whip. It was lovely. The next morning, I was no longer 154. It felt good to meet my goal for a moment.
Since Thursday I ran with Titus again on Sunday. Last Monday we were informed that Hip-Hop class is being moved to 4:00pm because the kids have been staying late practicing for the concert. Unfortunately for those 3 of us who are not still in elementary or high school, 4:00 is too early because of work. We were thinking about doing a Salsa class instead later on Monday, but we were all too tired. We are planning to start salsa next week. Tonight Ananda and I called each other and actually ran again. It was good because I was starting to feel unmotivated again. It is so helpful to have someone else to workout with. We only ran three miles, but it's something.
I'm looking forward to running on Saturday morning and hopefully also Sunday. I may hike on Thursday, but its gonna be a late Hawaii Kai hike, including flash lights and what-not. We'll see. The plan is not to get too off track even with the holidays coming up. And to hit 154 again.

ooops

Just ate about 15 homemade chocolate chip cookies. At least I substituted splenda for sugar, and did mostly whole wheat flour... Actually, I don't think that even counts when you eat 15 cookies. And lick the spoon and beaters.

Arin Weighing In...

Weigh in - 170 lbs. Now, that may seem like a lot, but given the fact that when I moved to Philly from Rochester it was 194 (and had been for at least a year) it's pretty good. So, I lost some when I got here and then I gained some back - to about 185. Maybe I'll put in some before and afters...

Before (April of 2006):








Okay, now that one is just funny.





Here's a for real one of me chunking out in my business suit (March 2006):














Finally, more recently (October 2006):














And now I've stalled out at 170 and am almost ready to get back on the crap eating train. It's cold out! I want to hibernate! There are holiday parties ALL THE TIME! I need some support!

So, went to the gym last night. Feel like crap tonight but will go tomorrow night before I do laundry, Friday after work before the concert I have to go to, and Saturday morning there's an intro to yoga class that I want to take before I do my acocunting homework and study for my test.

I wish I weren't too scared to take a hip-hop class!

Project 154

Weigh-in- 155

So, it's been a little while since the last post. I have been keeping busy for the most part, but did not go on a hike last Saturday with the Hike for Discovery team. Myia was feeling like she wanted to take a break, so I joined in. I also skipped Hip-Hop last Monday. I did go for a few short runs, mostly just with Titus to the Dog Park. I didn't gain any weight, and that's the most important thing. I've decided that my new goal is 154. I don't know how long I've been at 155, but it's been way too long. I just need to drop the 1 pound, and then I feel like I will be over my plateau. Of course I want to continue to lose weight without diet pills or even strict dieting, so it's taken me a long time to lose all the weight I've lost in the past few years. I think I just need to step up the running on the days in between hiking and Hip-Hop class. Maybe if I do that for a week I can lose the 1.
This week I've woken up feeling pretty exhausted, I don't think I've been sleeping very well. That makes it hard to work up the motivation to go for a run. All I want to do is watch tv.

This past week's hike was pretty awesome, well the first half of it anyway. It was also a great workout. The views on the first half were beautiful. I cut my leg on a fallen tree, but it was well worth it. The second half of the hike was pretty much a huge dirt road, still in use by cars. It was pretty boring, there were no views, and it hurt your feet because the dirt was so packed.
Afterwards I was really tired, but luckily not too sore. I ran on Sunday, just a little bit, and then on Monday was Hip-Hop class. That was a lot of fun. I almost felt like I was keeping up with the instructor. There's a couple of 12-year olds (or younger, I can't really tell) who are awesome. They're really fun to watch because they're so young, but they can dance really well.

So, the plan for this week, since it's already Wednesday, is to run later this evening if there's time, hike on Thursday to the Pillboxes in Lanikai, run with Denby on Friday, possible Turkey Trot on Saturday, and hike with Myia on Saturday or Sunday. Monday is Hip-Hop of course. Keep the focus on 154 and stop eating like I am a starved child.