FINGERS CROSSED

Finally Friday.

Well, tomorrow is weigh day at Weight Watchers. I really hope I am down more than 10lbs. My own scale says so but we'll see what happens at theirs. I know they say don't obsess about the scale and I get that but I'm on the precipice of new weight loss territory and I'm dying to know if WW can get me into it and beyond.

I'm equally dying to know what it will feel like to run at a weight I haven't seen in so many years. The last time I was in the mid 160's was when I was zooming past it in the wrong direction to my final fat weight. The last time I was in the mid 160's I wasn't running! So I really don't know what it is like to run at that weight.

Once upon a time in my mid 20's I was running a lot and I was really fast. I didn't realize how fast till many years later. Wish I was into racing back then but I was mostly running for the pleasure of running. I could run a 5k in just under 17 minutes...crazy! Ah, to have youth on your side, lol. Well, I know those days are long gone. My best 5k now is 28 minutes and something seconds. I would love to get to a 25 minute 5k when I lose weight, just as a self challenge.

I'm really looking forward to this summer in terms of running and weight loss. I'm taking advise from a friend that laid off serious running training for a summer in order to allow for reduced food intake to lose weight. He also increased strength training a lot during that time. The following race season he PRd (personal record) almost every race he ran! He lost somewhere around 30lbs, I think. I was most impressed when he decided to run a full marathon that he had not trained for at all. He had spent his time strength training and running to prep for only half marathon distances. His only full prior to that summer was run between 5:30-5:45 (can't remember exactly). The next year when he lost the weight, had strength trained and trained only for halves then made a last second decision to run a full he came in just under 5 hours!

So, I'm doing a similar thing and hoping for a similar outcome, lol. My food intake is a little reduced but it is altered in terms of what I eat more. I am finding that I need to eat a more substantial meal shortly before I run to give me the requisite energy for that exercise event. I used to eat whatever I wanted and hours later I could go run 10 miles with no real problems. Now, I eat lighter foods and a little less food and it doesn't last for hours on end like a rock in my stomach. But that's good! I just need to learn how to rearrange my food quantity to work with my running schedule.

Well, I'll keep my fingers crossed and keep you posted.

TTFN

45 AND COUTING

Well, it's the third Monday of the week.

Weight watchers is going well. At my last weigh in I had lost a little over 9lbs. According to my own scale I am now down 10 since then! This, however, is where I start getting a little nervous. Why? Because, I have managed to get myself down to this weight and even a few more lbs lower on my own before. It is at this point that I have not been able to go lower. This will be the real test of how WW works. I am eager to find out.

I have also been going to the gym once/week on a regular basis. I would really like to go more days/wk but my schedule simply doesn't allow for that. Nevertheless, I really do think it's making a difference. Since I can only go once/wk I do a total body strength workout. On my last run I felt really different. My body did not feel heavy or sluggish like it ordinarily does. My thighs felt smaller in that they weren't rubbing as much on each other.

I haven't lost enough weight to see a difference as I've only lost my marathon and Christmas weight and am only back to what my usual pre-Christmas weight is so it's gotta be toning and strengthening that is making the difference. I will do a stadium workout today with ramps and stairs. We will see how that goes.

I'm eager to go to my next weigh in Saturday. I want to hit 11 lbs down if I can. Wish me luck.

TTFN

49 AND COUNTING

First Monday of the week.

Hi Blogworld. Been super busy at work so my posts have been longer between. But here is the update on my Weight Watchers journey.  Officially I joined 2/28/17 but I didn't start doing the plan till 3/4/17, roughly 5 days later. So in 2 weeks+2days I'm down 6.2lbs. Not bad. I am learning how to fine tune the plan. I am learning what works for me and what doesn't. This is really good for me. It's a bit different from calorie counting in that certain types of foods are free to eat to the point where you'd have to eat so much you'd get sick before it started to count for any points.

I have to say, for running purposes my body is having to readjust to lower/different kind of carb/calorie intake. It was really hard to run at first. I was feeling pretty low on energy. It is still harder than when I was eating at-will but it is getting easier. I think maybe my metabolism is having to figure out how to utilize energy sources differently.

Well, if I think of my weight loss the way I view running a marathon or even a half I think I it will be more uplifting rather than still seeming like there is so far to go. For example, I set little goals when I run. For a marathon, when I finish the first 10k I think, "wow, less than 20 miles..I'm in the teens, officially." Then, when I get to the 11 mile mark I think of it as only 15 to go. The same for half way. After half way my brain switches out to half marathon mode. After the first 5k I know I have a single digit number of miles to go. That is really uplifting. Then, I have a 10k left, a 5k left 1 mile, half mile, once around the track for a quarter mile...I can do that! Then the glory of the finish line! Woohoo!

So, in that same vein I am on my weight loss marathon. I started with 55lbs to lose. I have lost 6 lbs. I officially have less than 50 to go...49, in fact! I like looking at it from the other side. Somehow, it makes the journey more pleasing and uplifting...for me, anyway.

Next stop, my 5% mark. That will be just over 9lbs down. I plan to get that this week! I can do this!

I took a really horrifying before picture, lol. It's so bad I won't share it till I reach goal wearing the very same thing. It is me wearing a white Marine Corps Marathon shirt from last year and a pair of blue jeans shorts. The shirt is comfortable but it is white and form fitting so I look not to unlike the Micheline Man, lol.... It really looks like sausage casing, maybe spray paint, LMAO.  I just can't wait till I look like awesome sauce in it!!!! Then I will show y'all, too...before and after.

TTFN

JUST WHAT THE DR. ORDERED

Second Monday of the week.

Well, accountability seems to be just what the Dr. ordered. I went to my first Weight Watchers meeting last Saturday. It was great. So many success stories...very inspiring. I downloaded the app and started tracking my points. It's been a love/hate thing. I'm already down to 176.8!

I am getting plenty to eat. I'm not hungry. BUT, tracking my food is throwing in my face all my bad habits. This is good but irritating, too.  It is making me quit being so lazy with food preparation but at the same time the food I make is simple and easy.

What I am pleasantly surprised about is how much food is " points-free" on the points system. I'm truly surprised. This has made it really easy to stick with. No, I can't eat pasta willy-nilly and I can't munch on chips or eat pizza the way I like... But, these foods aren't forbidden either.

The smart thing about WW is that YOU make ALL of your food. It doesn't come pre-packaged where you eat till you get to your goal then you're suddenly released to fend for yourself not knowing how to make food for your new weight. With WW, you learn what you can or can't eat, how much of it to eat and whether or not it's worth it to you. They teach food smarts. I like this and can live with it.

Those of us who were new were asked what brought us to WW and what were the biggest reasons for wanting to lose weight outside the obvious health reasons. I gotta say I felt uneasy telling my reasons. But it occurred to me that my reasons are just as valid as anyone else's. Still, it was a little awkward.

As I sat in the meeting listening to folks proclaim how proud they were that they could walk a hill in their neighborhood for the first time without hurting or they could ride their bike another mile I couldn't help but feel so happy for them. On the surface these don't seem like big achievements but they are! To someone who could barely walk to the kitchen to get another snack to be able to get out and do these things mentally and physically is incredible. It is their marathon in training. No one starts at the finish line.

But when I was asked what my reason was I really got uncomfortable explaining that I was a runner and I run half and full marathons as a fat person and that I was extraordinarily frustrated at simply not being able to get any faster because of my weight. I explained that I truly wanted to break a 5 hour marathon. I felt so weird saying this because I don't want to sound like I'm belittling others' achievements. But this is what brought me there. This is my hill, my extra mile on the bike.

I'm hoping it will show other overweight folks that they don't need to let their weight hold them back physically. They can run a marathon if that is something they want to do. Weight will only affect speed but not getting the job done.

I have a long way to go but as I said before, a journey of a 1000 miles begins with the first step.

TTFN