Day 50: The Day After

Surprisingly, I am actually feeling quite fantastic after my 5k. I wasn't sore at all and my feet felt great in my favorite shoes. I am surprised but not entirely as I am getting used to running/walking more than 2 miles most days.

Today I ventured out and did C25K Week 6 Day 1, which was 5 minutes running, 3 minutes walking, 8 minutes running, 3 minutes walking, and 5 minutes running, for a total of 34 minutes plus warm-up and cool-down. Since it was a longer distance, I decided to take my Sports Beans with me. They help keep the muscles in my legs from being too sore and give me energy for long runs. The first five minutes weren't that bad and the eight minutes subsequent were only difficult during the last few minutes. I explored some different parts of the trail, and enjoyed the scenery. I ran all the way from City Hall Park to my gym, which is at least 0.5 miles or more. I am still super slow, lol. :-) I decided to continue after 34 minutes and fartlek (I love that word!) for the next 20 minutes. Doing fartlek for the last part of the run keeps me running about 5k distance, and doesn't exhaust me to the point that I can't walk to my car afterward and have to be dragged. (In case I'm found unconscious, pause the Runtastic app!) Anyhoo, I did 2.26 miles in 53:17, not the best time but I can deal. I have done almost 30 miles this month, and the month is still going! :-)

 In my favorite Outdoors Inc shirt from Memphis!

Afterwards. Either my glasses are akimbo or I am, lol.

 

The fiancé and I have talked about making some homemade hummus and pita for our night together since we don't like to spend a ton of money on eating out or eating unhealthy. My influence is somewhat rubbing off on the fiancé (or maybe vice versa since he lost 25 pounds way before I did, lol) cause now he likes to run with me and cook and eat healthy. He is finishing up his externship this week and I couldn't be happier for him. With any luck, he'll get a job offer, but if not, he is very talented and will find somewhere that will enjoy having him. As for me, my job search is temporarily on hold while I concentrate on me and getting through my third semester of college, but once I feel ready to do so I will definitely entertain the possibility of working again. :-)

 

I hope everyone has a great day! I am going to my chemistry class in a little over 20 minutes, then will be putting some gas in my car on the way back. Nothing real Earth shattering, as long as the car doesn't run out before I get there, lol. Be blessed all and enjoy the weather! :-)

Day 38: Running On Fumes

Well, not really, I just thought it was funny. :-)

After going to put gas in the car, I went outside to run. I normally don't go outside to run when it's hot out but it was probably 77-78 degrees and I thought I could swing that. I did C25K W3D2, which is composed of a 90 sec run-90 sec walk, 3 min run-3 min walk; repeated twice. It was sort of easy on the treadmill, but it was definitely harder on the pavement.

I ran very slowly. I was worried about running too hard at the beginning and then petering out right before I stopped running. And trust me, it got tough. I was running at a 22 minute pace, breathing hard and about to stop in the middle of it. But I decided to keep on going, cause I was like, I've only got 2 minutes left, 1 minute left, and so on and so forth. I have to admit that I'm guilty of looking at the clock, especially when I have no pockets to put my phone in. Plus, if I have no guidance for how much time I have left it is much easier to give up! But still, I put in around 1.32 miles, which isn't bad at all. :-) I have done 26/50 of the 50 day challenge and am over halfway through the Lazy Girl Marathon at 14 miles ran this month! :-)

After pounding the pavement in City Hall Park.

 

 



Me and Frodo's butt. He decided he was going to get in the fun too!

My 5K is in 11 days! I am not super nervous, but I know I will not be running the whole time. If I'm lucky I will get to week 6 or 7 (I run each segment of C25K for three days in a row, then amp up the intensity. It's pretty tough, but I make it.) of C25K and at least get a fairly major part of the 5K where I actually run! I'm trying to beat my last time of 58:23 (but I was walking it, so that's not bad!) so hopefully I will be able to do that. My fiancé will be running with me so that will be good at least. He definitely encourages me when it gets hard. :-)

Well, I gotta go study for my Chem exam, but I will definitely check in this evening. I will be biking 9.11 miles in honor of 9/11 victims tonight, so hopefully it will let me record it without there being a glare on the screen. :-) We'll see, my dad's bike isn't very photogenic when it comes to recording times, lol. :-) I hope everyone has a fantastic day and is blessed! :-)

Day 30.5: More Signs You're Getting Thinner

-When people are sending you advertisements to become part of AdvoCare (turned it down)
-When your job preferences lean more towards Lululemon, TrueRunner, and REI because it's become an area of expertise and, let's face it, you really want that employee discount! :)
-When it literally sends you into a tailspin when someone takes away your healthy food (true story)
-When your plans for the weekend revolve around whether or not you can get your run in
-When you're looking forward to a paycheck so you can register for yet another 5K.
-When you have a 5K sticker on your car and don't feel inferior for having it
-When you go into the mall, and you want to go into literally every store having something to do with fitness
-When you are told to teach someone to do something, and you think a workout sounds pretty good
-When half your internet time revolves around your Facebook page and inspiring others

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These are more examples from my life! It's crazy how my life has changed completely. I still remember when I walked into S2 in May and felt like an idiot because I didn't look like the type that would even belong in a supplement shop. Now I am looking forward to my next visit, with the intention to keep going! And today the scale FINALLY tipped in my direction, putting me at a very nice 207.0. If I can shake off that last pound, I will be down 25 pounds! That would be such a geekout moment for me, because it means I am a quarter of the way there, give or take. My total goal was 106 pounds, and now it's down to around 82-83 pounds. That's not such a scary number when you see that almost 25 lbs of it is already gone.

My mom has decided to make some spaghetti for the evening and I will be more than happy to partake. I need to have some cause I have realized my caloric intake is way too low! I had no idea that I was eating so few calories, I thought for sure I was averaging around 1200-1500 but it is actually somewhat lower than that. I am shocked! So, I will be having a good meal tonight, and trying to eat a little more than my usual.

Please know that this is not an intentional thing and I don't encourage you to not eat! I have no intention of eating or not eating. I just eat when I feel like eating, and don't eat when I don't feel like eating. But I am so glad I found that out early in the game so I know to adjust my caloric intake to help recover the fuel burnt after a workout. I didn't realize that I was burning such ridiculous amounts off until today! So tonight and henceforth, I will track my food and make sure that I get enough calories in! :-) Never thought I would say that, but there you go. :-)

I would love to know how to get around 1500 calories a day in in a way that's not going to make me feel all bloated and gross. Any suggestions would be welcome! I will probably go to S2 on Wednesday and see if I can get advice on how to eat MORE. Crazy. :-)

I hope everyone has a great night! Be blessed all! :)

Day 30: New Records and a Month of Blogging! :)

I decided to go for another run this morning, because I'm awesome that way. I didn't really want to go running around my neighborhood, since it's basically lots of houses and big dogs. Not very exciting to run in. :-) So I packed up my car and headed over to City Hall Park in St Peters. There is a backstory behind why I love this park. My fiancé and I had our first date at India Palace and then we came to City Hall Park before going to see a movie. We were sitting around and I asked him to be my boyfriend, being the blunt person that I can be at times. He said yes, and you know how the story has ended thus far. Anyhoo, we go to City Hall Park every half-year and year anniversaries and geek out about how much we love each other. So, what better place to go than City Hall Park to go run?

Getting my run on! Sorry about the pile of clothes. ;-)

 

 

It was an absolutely beautiful day for running. Sunny, cool, and low humidity. I got my run on and completed the C25K app for the day. Here are my stats according to Accutrainer:

 

Mileage: 2.04 miles

Steps: 3,870

Calories Burnt: 202.2

Total Time: 26:34

 

It's about average time for what I run, but much better mileage! I think I was getting up to 4.0-5.0 mph or more, which relieves me to know I actually do run faster than I walk. :-) I broke two records today: mileage and Calories. I have never burnt above 133 calories on the dreadmill nor have I gone above 1.50 miles. This is the first time I have broken the 1-mile and the 100s-calories barriers and I couldn't be happier about it. And the scenery was so beautiful, (small) waterfalls, creeks, bridges, animals (I saw several squirrels and a rabbit), and a pond. I really enjoyed running here and I think it may be a place for me to run for the next few days. I plan on getting my mileage up a bit and then going to Creve Coeur Park, which is a 4-mile trail around a lake. It is one of the prettiest (and longest!) trails I've ever been on, and I can't wait to take it on.

 



Nice and sweaty after a 2-mile run/walk. :-)

 

My fiancé and I have designed a team shirt for our run in the Lemon Drop 5k and Hot Chocolate 5k in December. We are Team Fire and we have two shirts, one in navy and one in pink. I can't wait to order mine later on this week, when and if my paycheck ever shows up.

 

Speaking of which, I have an interview with Lululemon tomorrow. I am geeked out because I absolutely love their clothes and just the company culture. It is very laid-back and more my style. For my group interview, I am supposed to teach the group how to do something that relates to me. Since I love to strength train and work out in general, I am going to teach them how to do an abbreviated form of the workout that I'm doing to strengthen my arms. I can't wait to do that, it will be so much fun. I don't know what I'm more geeked out about, getting an interview there or teaching people how to work out. :-D I will let you know how it goes. :-)

 

Speaking of the Arm Challenge, here are my stats for today:

 

10 push-ups

10 dips

20 bicep curls

20-second punches

 

The workouts are definitely getting more challenging, especially doing push-ups. I am no longer doing girl push-ups but full on push-ups, so adding more is definitely challenging! Nevertheless, I'm doing pretty good at it and keeping it up. Tomorrow will be a rest day on the arm challenge (except for when I do it at Lululemon tomorrow) so I will not be posting stats. :-)

 

I hope everyone has a good day! My day looks to hold... well, not very much really, just keeping busy around the house. It's always a bit limiting when you don't have much gas in the tank, lol. Be blessed all!

Day 28: Good Morning Good Morning To You

First off, I hate it that McDonald's is using this song now. Singin' in the Rain is a classic and has nothing whatsoever to do with fast food. :-) I remember the first time I saw that commercial line I was SO mad.

Anyhoo, all that business aside, it is a beautiful quiet morning and my fiancé is still asleep downstairs. I have a guest bedroom that he stays in when he and I are going to be doing something on Saturday and Sunday. The reason we do that is simply because we can't sleep in the same bed when it's a Queen-sized bed because usually I am all over the bed and putting my foot up his side and waking him up. Or so he tells me. Ironically, we went to Chicago about a year ago and stayed at this really fancy hotel in Schaumberg (thanks Dad and Hotwire!) and we were able to share a king-sized bed without even bothering each other. So I guess we just need a bigger bed. :-D

I also have some good news: my fiancé is going to be the first Sunday transformation on the Girl on Fire Facebook page and blog! For those of you who don't know, my fiancé has lost around 25 lbs and has kept it off for 2 years! I'm so proud of him and I have gotten his permission to share his story and take a similar after photo of him at the apple picking today. (A similar picture taken 2 years ago was what inspired him to lose weight.) I'm so geeked out and proud of my crazy fiancé! If you have a transformation story you would like to share please let me know. :-) I will be writing the piece up so if you're not really a writer, no worries, the English major is here to help! If you like to write, by all means send me something good! :)

I am going to get in my run today as well, and since the gym opens at 10 I will get to go on my own and then go apple picking! I am aiming for 30 minutes run/walk (or about 32 since it generally increases in 5 minute intervals). I think once I hit about 40-45 minutes run/walk I will start increasing the intensity a bit, because 40-45 minutes is about what I want to run the 5K in. :-) (Less would be good, too!) I'll get back to you later this afternoon with Transformation Sunday (like Reformation Sunday, only fewer casseroles) and a new blog post!

I am also doing a challenge suggested by one of the people I follow on Facebook called Race Addict. They have posted a 30-Day Arm Challenge to get rid of the bat wings! I have been nervous about my arms not being toned after I lose weight so I am more than happy to sign up to get rid of them. If anyone else is interested in the challenge, here is a pic, which will link to my site for a larger view:

 

I apologize for it being so small! For some reason it's not cooperating with me. Day One of the Arm Challenge is:

 

5 Push Ups

5 Dips

10 Bicep Curls

10 seconds of Punches

 

And I will post each day what I'm doing so you can follow along with me! :-)

 

I hope everyone has a fantastic day! It's breakfast time for me, lol. :-) Be blessed!

 

 

 

Day 26.2: And On The Nineteenth Day, She Rested

I'm feeling a bit better thanks to getting some chemistry homework out of the way and it just being quiet around the house for a change. I'm enjoying sitting around reading everyone's blogs and leaving comments, and just doing things that don't hurt. After a huge welt on my... back end... from the 47 minutes of biking last night, and sore knees from running 15 days in a row, it feels good to take a rest day. And surprisingly, as I rest my weight goes down instead of up! I was expecting the weight to come creeping back on if I didn't exercise. But I guess that's more of a long term thing, which is good.

I have gotten back on my antidepressant, which I'm not sure if it is making me feel better or worse. I have not been on it for two weeks now, and the scrip just came back up for refill (I lost almost a full bottle in Illinois somewhere while I was at my best friend's party. I tried to refill it and received a snarky message that my insurance carrier was not going to pay out for a lost bottle and they would not refill it for another 14 days. No bueno.) Either way, we will see if they turn me into a blabbering emotional wreck^200 again. This particular antidepressant has not caused any problems with my weight loss, in fact it makes my weight drop off twice as fast when I'm exercising regularly. Go figure. :-P

Tomorrow my fiancé is coming over, yay! We will watch a movie from home on Saturday and do our annual apple picking outing on Sunday after church. Either way, it will be very HOT. The Honeycrisps came out earlier because of the unseasonably mild weather for most of the winter, and so we are picking them in very early September instead of late September. We will also go back for the pumpkin picking in October, which is another of our traditions. I don't think we have ever eaten much of our fruit bounty except while we're out there picking. (Though I've never eaten a pumpkin whilst picking another pumpkin. That just sounds hard to do. And messy! :-D)

My birthday is in 16 days. I will be turning 29, one year away from the big 3-0. That kind of frightens me a little, and a little sad that I've wasted my twenties just sitting around being depressed and stuffing my face. That's no fun at all! Hopefully my 30s will treat me a little better. :-)

Well, I am going to work on some more chem homework and shower, but not while doing the chemistry homework, lol. Be blessed all and have a great labor day weekend! :)

Day 24.5: I'm an Overcomer!

My ankle is doing much better after a lot of walking today with my friend, which made me suspect it was not properly stretched or just cramped up from all the running. I went in the gym today and knocked out 8.57 miles on the bike between 80-88 RPM. I lowered the resistance level ever so slightly (from 6 to 5) but it didn't seem to make too huge of a difference. I feel amazing and look forward to my next cardio/strength day on Friday! :-)

I have realized today what a different person I am now. I tell people when they hurt my feelings or I feel they've overstepped their bounds and I am no longer shy about it. I am not necessarily mean, but whoever is bothering me knows that I am upset. It is so weird to finally be able to say that I am an assertive person. I have never been an assertive person, and I thought I would never be an assertive person. It just doesn't run in my family; my mom literally took a college credit course on how to be assertive and interact with people. I never did find out her grade though, lol. Either way, I am making new strides physically, emotionally, and spiritually and it feels great.

I am almost out of supplements after two months of using them. It's time to visit Jake at Supplement Superstores and restock. You may think I'm weird for my supplement obsession, but I honestly will not go anywhere else except S2 for them. Complete Nutrition always kind of scares me in the mall because every time I walk by there, the guys inside there give me creepy eyes!!! Either they think I'm hot or they think I'm a good candidate for a sale. I briefly considered going in there but the same dude was there with the creepy eyes and I was like, nooooo, moving along now. If you live anywhere near St Louis, visit Supplement Superstores ASAP. If for no other reason that they give you free samples, lol. :-D

I have become obsessed also with the Healthy Choice Café Steamers. They are portable and great after a long workout when a heavy meal is just too much. I love the pasta, but I am branching out and trying some meat entrees (bad former vegan Shelly!) because I love having a variety of food. Cause trust me, nothing will make you stall out faster than eating the same thing every night. I remember when I was a teenager trying a weird version of a diet and literally eating the same thing every day (at only about 800 calories a day, don't try this at home, kids!) and never lost a thing. In fact, I think I gained because my body was in starvation mode. Now I eat a variety of things at ~1700 calories a day. :-)

Anyhoo, I am full of talking today and I think it's time to get some food. Be blessed all and have a fantastic day!

Day 20: 20th Day, 20 minutes!!

I'm so ridiculously psyched. I just ran for the "elusive" 20 minutes and for my first mile! Well, technically a mile and a tenth, but who's counting, right? :-D

My day started out kind of sucky. I have been doing things right but since I got off antidepressants I am ridiculously stuck at 217 again. I just think I will be at this weight for awhile, until my body gets used to being off antidepressants. Either way, to see the same number on the scale everyday is super frustrating! I reluctantly went running, still a bit upset from the scale number. I listen to Christian radio a lot of the time on the way to my run, and Third Day's "I Need a Miracle" came on. I said to God, kind of flippantly, "A miracle would be good." I was just being silly, but God gave me some amazing things to be thankful for. I'll share some with you:

1) I can see! (And just getting new specs, you really appreciate being able to see.)
2) I can hear moderately well.
3) I can walk.
4) I can run like nobody's business.
5) I have good things to eat.
6) I have clean water and will not get sick if I drink tons of it.
7) I am doing well at college.

And the list goes on... but my spirits were incredibly lifted. I felt energized and happy and I knocked out 20 minutes on the treadmill! God is good.

Oh, speaking of new specs, here is a photo of me with said new specs:

 

 

I totally love them! They make me look so stinkin' cute. And I had to wait 4 days to get them so I'm very grateful to have them. I'm also grateful because my original glasses broke 3 months ago and I wasn't able to replace them. I wore a pair that I wore when I was 15 and I couldn't see very well AT ALL. So now my scrip is the intended power and I can see just fine. (By the way, excuse the lack of makeup and the post-workout hair. I had just done a workout and when you sweat profusely, makeup is a bad idea!)

 

I hope everyone has a fantastic day. I know I will. God bless!

Day 18: Kickin Butt And Taking Names

Day Five of the running streak! I have gone 10-10, 3, 6, 10, and today I ran for 12 minutes. It's not exactly doubling my time but I reckon that as I clock more and more minutes I will have to add a few minutes at a time. I am still trying to hit that elusive goal of 20 minutes of running and trying to add more time every day.

I also gave up caffeine, entirely by accident. :-) I have been drinking flavored water for about 2 or 3 weeks, and I realized yesterday that I had drank no soda at all, just drank water and was fine with it. So I thought, what the hey, I'll just stop drinking soda. So I have and have my cup with a V on it (it originally stood for Vegan to promote my blog, but since I am no longer updating the blog I just carry it around for fun) filled with lots of water. It's a 24 oz Tervis water bottle and I am totally geeked out about it.

I made this really great little fruit salad today. My mom was serving eggs with way too much fat added to it in the form of sausage and LOTS of cheese (yuck), and I wasn't really interested in that after a 12-minute run. So I threw together a can of mandarin oranges, a handful of blueberries and slivered almonds, and some Greek yogurt. It was delicious and more nutritious than my mom's eggs and sausage. :-D I will post a picture of it the next time I make it and give a more detailed recipe.

Well, this is a short entry since I have class in a few minutes. Have a great day all and I'll catch you later today. :-)

Day Nine: Actual Next Day!! Mind is BLOWN.

Hi everyone, 11 page views today? Man you are all amazing. :-)

I finally got on after one day, so technically this is day nine!
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I went to yoga class this morning, reluctantly. I have not been to an exercise class in ages, and generally speaking I don't like them. I'm always the token fat chick in the class; sweating, not in proper workout clothes, and just somewhat of a spectacle to myself and others. So, needless to say, I generally avoid them like the plague. But today, I decided to be different. I got in, and true to form I was the sweaty fat chick (but there was an old guy in my class who was borderline flashing his backside on the bending moves, so I felt better, lol) but I felt different this time.

Sure, I was screaming inside my head, things I prefer not to repeat, but I feel like I made the right decision trying to take care of my body. Ever since I took some serious steps towards reevaluating my life, I'm starting to realize that without exception that everyone starts out that way. They might not be as heavy as I was and am, but they feel out of place, like the token something-or-another. They feel like everyone is staring at them and judging them when in reality everyone feels the same way about the way they look and could care less what you look like. In fact, I saw someone more overweight than me totally killing it on the elliptical and my immediate thought was, "Get it girl!" I was so psyched to see her kicking ass like that. :-)

I found something kind of cool today when I was taking my supplements this morning. I noticed on the bottom of the 1st Phorm container that holds the Thyro-Drive I take every morning there is printed in script, "Never Settle." I had never noticed it before and thought it was super cool. As I fought my usual inertia, I kept repeating these words to myself, "Never settle." And I think that after some evaluation of my own life there is some truth and motivation in that phrase.

I have settled my whole life. For crappy jobs, abusive family members and boyfriends, for programs in school I didn't enjoy in the slightest, for being unkempt and overweight my whole life. I was always saying "Yes," to someone or something without considering my own opinion. I just continually let myself go without considering that I could take my life in another direction. Maybe today I can decide for once not to settle and to say "Yes," to myself.

Didn't think you would get poetic turn of phrase, didya? Well luckily, today you did. I hope you all have a great day and remember not to settle!

Day Eight: Stay Positive

I have been inactive for more than a day, but I promise to update this more frequently (and actually do it everyday!)

I quit my job yesterday. I had only been there for six weeks but it was probably one of the most demeaning jobs I have ever had. I got yelled at, got nasty garbage spilled on me daily, and got all kinds of crap from everyone. I was so glad to see it go. But I do have to find another job in the meantime since I have tuition for school and whatnot. :-) I do have enough of a paycheck coming in to pay for the rest of my degree, but I'm still a bit nervous. I'm confident though in my ability to find another job.

While searching for another job, I have decided to work on myself. I have been visiting S2 for about a month now and totally love the BMR Bliss Go Pack. I finally broke my plateau and got below 217.2, which I'm sure is due in part to relieving myself of some really difficult stressors (my job being one of them!). My mom has brought on the drama lately, and I find that working out has relieved a lot of that tension. Today I signed up for yoga classes and may start Zumba soon if my knees will tolerate it. I start my yoga classes tomorrow at 10:15am. :-) I will be sure to keep ya'll updated. :-)

I have also been going to vet tech school at Penn Foster, which I know is a for-profit school, but my fiancé has had a wonderful time with his college education and is about to graduate with a cooking certificate from a for-profit school, and I'm so stinking proud! I am doing my vet tech degree and will be doing another degree with them when I'm done with this one. It'll be a surprise. :-)

Keep you updated on my progress. :)