Pages

On a Journey to Wellness

Come with me on my journey to losing weight, getting healthy and going out to meet the world head-on!

Monday, April 30, 2012

Non-Weigh In

Another Monday! My plan for this weekend was to relax. It didn't work but I can't complain. I still had a lazy week work-out wise but at least I got something done.

Measurements:
Hips: 48.25 inches (same)
Waist: 45.25 inches (+1 inch)
Arm: 14.75 inches (same)
Hips: 26 inches (same)
Calf: 16.75 (+0.25 inches)

So I pretty much stayed the same but my waist is getting bigger. I've noticed. I can tell by the way my clothes fit and how I feel. I don't like it and I think it's odd that only my middle is growing but not my hips. They usually grow and sink together. Sigh. Sometimes I just don't get it. But there it is.

Achievements:

Water
I definitely drank enough water all but Friday and Sunday. That's 5/7 days out of the week. It's getting warmer so I'm guessing I should start rising the water intake to work with the increasing need to hydrate.

Calories
I dropped the ball on starting to count calories. I didn't realize how long it had been since I last counted. I have to try again.

Strength Training
Twice last week. I also ended up getting really sore due to unexpected activity on the weekend. I definitely hadn't planned on having such a busy weekend so I over worked myself. But I like that the soreness is there (my arms thighs and butt). It means I was working my muscles whether or not I meant to. LOL

Cardio
My right heel is still in pain but it's getting TONS better. I woke up this morning and hardly had any pain. Eventually there was some pain but it's very minimal compared to the last couple of weeks. To celebrate I went on a run this morning.

A part from this morning I only ran once last week. It was a slow walk.run. I didn't really go out after that. I hate this inactivity but didn't want to risk hurting myself further. I've also been continuing my leg and foot stretches so my foot can get better.

Goals:
Now that my foot is feeling a lot better I'm really hoping to finally get back to running. I want to sign up for another 10k before June 1st. From there I'm going to be starting my summer job and I'll be moving around for a few weeks this summer. I'll have to see what work outs I can do while on the move. Hopefully I'll have access to something to keep me moving around.

A part from running I'm going to attempt calorie counting again. I want to lose enough pounds to start the summer right! I can do it!

I'll be going on a big road trip this week so I'll be out and about hiking some redwoods. I miss hiking too!

Until then!

-w0rld

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Late Non-Weigh In

Yesterday was hectic yet not. I forgot a lot of little things throughout the day I didn't even work out. But here I am finally making up for lost time.

Measurements:

Hips: 48.25 inches (+0.25 inches)
Waist: 44.25 inches (-0.25 inches)
Arm: 14.5 inches (same)
Thigh: 26 inches (-0.5 inches)
Calf: 16.5 inches (same)

So I randomly lost 1/4 inch on my waist and it ended up transferring over to my hips. I'm ok with that, random as it is. I'm interested to find out what possibly could have lowered the measurements of my thighs but I'll take that too. LOL

Achievements:

Water
I did pretty well last week. I think i drank enough water 5/7 days. On Sunday I ended up going to a theme park with a couple of my co-workers. It was a nice sunny day and I definitely felt some symptoms of dehydration. I worked on it. LOL

Strength Training
 Because I was trying my best to take it easy on my feet and legs since my right heel was still in a lot of pain I ended up doing a little more strength training than I'm used to. I ended up doing 3 days worth of easy strength training. It felt great. I need to work on it more often.

Cardio
Again, because my foot was still healing I refrained from a lot of cardio. I tried to run on Tuesday and my LEFT leg ended up cramping up like crazy. I ended up having to walk a good part of the way and slowed down considerably. I think it has to do with the fact that I've been putting more weight on my left leg since I've been limping with my right. Sigh.

Thankfully after purchasing insoles for my shoes, wearing arch supporting sandals these last few sunny days, and stretches in the morning my heel pain has gotten a lot better. It's still in pain whenever I'm idle for a while and then stand up but it's getting a lot better than last week.

I walk/jogged this afternoon, and although I did get some tightness up my left leg again it went a lot better.

Goals: My goal last week was to eat less sugar. Apart from consuming some ketchup a couple of times last week and trying my friends cheese cake I managed to stay away from the regular sugary things I usually automatically go for. I'm going to continue trying to stay away from sugar and I think I'm going to start counting calories again. For one month I'm going to attempt to focus more on strength training, water consumption and a calorie range. We'll see how this month goes.

Wish me luck!

love
-w0rld

Wednesday, April 18, 2012

I never realized how many things have sugar

So yesterday I started my "stay away from sugar" regime. I messed up before breakfast...

I ended up eating a fig newton while I was making oatmeal yesterday morning. As I crumpled the wrapper it came in I suddenly realized that I wasn't supposed to eat sugar. Darn! From there I was suddenly super aware of how many things I automatically put in my mouth or my meals that contain sugar.

Throughout the day I unconsciously ate again. I ate a thin mint Girl Scout cookie when I realized someone left them for us. Before I realized what I did I was licking up the crumbs around my mouth. Darn again!

And then in the afternoon when they were giving out snacks to the kids (I usually don't eat the snacks because I don't like them unless they're granola bars.. well guess what.. that's right) I ended up swallowing an oatmeal raisin thin granola bar before I realized I had done it again. Wait, what? Oh sh** not again!

Today I went to the dining hall for breakfast. I usually get oatmeal there too. My usual process is get a serving-spoonful of oatmeal, add a BIG spoonful of brown sugar and add milk. This morning as I was getting my regular serving of oatmeal I realized that I couldn't add the sugar. So instead I opted for butter. I NEVER put butter in my oatmeal. I tried it and it was o.k. Not amazing but ok.

I also ended up getting a small serving of scrambled eggs and hash browns. I was about to reach for the ketchup when I realized again that ketchup is more sugar than tomato flavor. I was bummed because I hate the taste of generic scrambled eggs (unless there's something in the egg I don't like it) or cold hash browns. Luckily my boss brought out the salsa bottle. I had to check the ingredients of this salsa and was happily surprised that there was no sugar added! Sweet.

I added a nice dollop of salsa and finished my sugar-free breakfast.

Go me!

It's amazing how much sugar I usually eat that I don't notice. I'm glad I'm trying this. We'll see how the week goes.

love
-w0rld

Monday, April 16, 2012

Non-Weigh In/Back from an awesome weekend

Happy Monday.

I woke up today feeling like I didn't get much done, but then the images of last weekend came flooding back to me. I got to go to an Environmental Education conference and it was an amazing experience. I also got to walk and hike a lot just to get to where all the workshops were and can I say one thing: Contra Dancing! LOL

But before I get to what that is let's start.

Measurements:

Hips: 48 inches (same)
Waist: 44.5 inches (+1 inch)
Arm: 14.5 inches (same)
Thigh: 26.5 inches (same)
Calf: 16.5 inches (same)

So I pretty much maintained last week. The only thing I can say about the inch gained was body fluctuations. Not really sure what's up with that. I would call it weight gain but since everything stayed the same, I'm not sure if that's how it works sometimes.

Achievements:

Water
After my water bottle broke I've been working with my old 32 oz water bottle. I probably drank enough water 5/7 days this week. I know this weekend I drank a TON of water, simply because I was moving around a lot and I needed it with the weather.

Strength Training
I was able to do one day a week last week. I'm still not getting that smooth schedule.

Cardio
The app looks like this. No this wasn't my time. LOL
I managed to do a 2 mile run on Tuesday that lasted 25 minutes. A good time. On Thursday I was able to do a quick 1 mile run in 12 minutes. A friend of mine introduced me to RunKeeper.com and I downloaded their app on my iPhone. The application not only shows you your route through a GPS unit but also takes down your time, your average min/mile speed, and tells you how fast you were running each MINUTE. It's a pretty awesome app and a part from your heart rate it gives you really good over all information on your progress. I was pretty excited and I used it for both of my runs. It was fun.


Something like this. Even the auditorium looked like this. LOL
From there on Friday night after registering and setting up camp at the conference there was a Contra Dancing event and my co-workers and I attended. One of my co-workers and I actually got there early and besides the band we were the only ones there. So we ended up waltzing around for a minute. We then returned after dinner and were joined by TONS of people. Now what is Contra Dancing? It's pretty much folk/line dancing. You learn the steps and then join in the group dance. It was SO MUCH FUN! You have a partner but each dance requires many different people that dance with you in lines, in circles, in diagonals. It was great dancing with a variety of people and making giant circles with over 40 people. We were dancing for 2 hours straight. It was amazing but at the same time I was in pain because my heel started hurting like crazy.

I think I'm going to have to visit a doctor about my heel because it's getting worse. I figure it's a heel spur because it usually doesn't bother me except after I've been sitting for long periods of time. After that the pain goes away after I start moving but all this weekend my heel was in pain. I need this annoying feeling to go away.

Goals: Run more. Eat less sugar. Maybe I should go on my own form of lent and ward off sugar for a month. It would be tough but I think I need it to work on my sugar addiction. It isn't getting any better. A part from that be more conscious of my portions. That's what I'll focus on this week.



Monday, April 9, 2012

Today I Wished I Were Heavier

So I work as a Teacher Naturalist at an outdoor school, which means that kids from nearby school districts come up for a few days a week and we teach them different outdoor classes. Things from Geology to Canoeing etc.

Today my schedule was belaying; which means the kids are going rock climbing and I'm in charge of the safety rope that keeps them up there as they climb.

One of the students I had was this gorgeous 12 year old girl that was as tall as me and probably as big as me if not a little more.

I always ask each student what they're goal is, "How far up this rock do you want to go?" and usually I add "Have you rock climbed before." This girl was confident. She had rock climbed before using climbing walls at a theme park.

I was excited to have her climb since bigger kids generally have a harder time climbing period. She tried, and she tried and she tried. She got a little more than a foot off the ground but she wasn't able to continue.

So I would be the one with the white shirt, the kids the climber. 
Every time she would slip she pulled me toward the wall with her. It's very rare for this to happen since I'm a bigger person, and kids are usually smaller than me, even if a kid were to let go of the wall completely they would usually just hang there.

This time I couldn't keep my ground. Anytime she would let go off the wall I almost got lifted off the ground. The whole time I kept thinking

 "If only I were heavier than her."
"If only I were heavy like an anchor."
 "If only my arms were stronger I can help pull her up."

Usually small scrawny kids can easily climb up the rock and we can pull them up to help if we needed to. This time I couldn't. And it killed me. This was a girl that was only a little girl in a big body. I could tell she was self conscious and it just isn't fair to have those problems. She wasn't even fat. She was just tall and curvy. She's the type of girl that develops early. I should know, I was one of them. Lol.

Later after class, I walked everyone back and I thought about how the whole time I was with this girl I had actually wished I were HEAVIER. I never thought I would actually wish for something like that.

Sigh. I hope that this experience didn't hinder this girls spirit. I made sure to encourage her and to talk to her after she stopped climbing explaining how getting up the wall wasn't the point, it was the effort she put and how hard she tried. She seemed unfazed. I only hope that strong face was genuine.

Does this mean I'm planning on gaining weight? NO. But it does reiterate the point that I need to get stronger.

I hate how weak I can be.

I'm sorry little girl. I'm sorry I couldn't help you. I'm sorry I couldn't be your anchor. I'm sorry I wasn't strong enough.

...

-w0rld

Non-Weigh In

It's Monday night. After a full day of work here I am. I managed to do my measurements this morning and I was slightly surprised seeing as I definitely indulged in some family bbq goodness this weekend for Easter Sunday.

Measurements:

Hips: 48 inches (same)
Waist:43.5 inches (-0.5)
Arm:14.5 inches (-0.5 )
Thigh: 26.5 inches (+0.25 )
Calf: 16.5 inches (same)

So it looks like my waist has gone down slightly. I'm surprised but very pleased. For the most part I've maintained my measurements. I'm just hoping that this small loss will stay and that it means that if my weight refuses to change I can at least get the sort of figure I've been looking for. LOL

Achievements:

Last week I was really gung-ho in the beginning of the week but when I finally looked back at the end of the week I feel like I hardly did anything.

Water 
My super cool 64 oz water bottle broke half way through the week (That's what you get for buying water bottles from the 99 cent store.) It really sucked because I felt like I finally had an easy solution for drinking enough water. My guesstimate is that I drank enough water 4/7 days a week.

Calories
I didn't count again. Sigh. I know I've been a broken record for almost a month. I'm not sure if I'm going to start again any time soon. I want to work on the portions and type of the food and not every number.

Strength Training
One time last week. It felt great. I'm hoping for more this week.

Cardio
Mon: -
Tues: 2 miles in 24 minutes
Wed:-
Thurs:-
Fri: a bush whacking hike apporx: 2 miles
Sat: 6.5 miles in 1hr 35 minutes/3 hours of walking
Sun: Light stretching

So less running over all but I finally started training by doing more walk/jogs. I've been able to get faster by doing running sprints and walking intervals. I was thrilled this Tuesday when I finally finished 2 miles in less than 26 minutes. I've been averaging around 26 minutes and I KNOW I can do better. I'd just been holding back. So on Saturday morning I decided to go on a long walk/jog. I ended up spending more time walking than jogging but when I DID jog I went for it. It felt marvelous! I was able to go farther than I would have if I had tried jogging the whole thing. I think for longer races I might have to adapt the walk/jog routine. Although I was walking half the thing I only made it back 10 minutes later than I would have if I had tried to jog the whole thing. I think I'll try doing it again with more running and less walking next time.

Goals:

My goals this week is to run and strength train as many times as I can this week. I want to make sure I drink enough water and stay away from bread. That's about the normal but it's what I need to focus on to get results.

Good luck everyone!

-w0rld

Tuesday, April 3, 2012

April Weigh In and measurement revelations!

It's the start of April. I did weigh myself yesterday morning but work was so busy I didn't get a chance to blog last night. But here I am better late than never.

Current Weight: 218.2 (-0.2 lbs since last month)

So in other words I maintained all month. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't disappointed. I was hoping I'd lose one pound this month. Just one pound. But that didn't happen. It also pretty much made me realize how much I need to work harder and how lax I've become.

While I was measuring myself yesterday morning I started wondering what my measurements were earlier. So I looked back at my post when I had my first "blog-aversary" and looked at what I measured then. Here are the numbers of December 2010:

"Starting Weight: 251
Current Weight: 207
I've currently lost = 44 lbs

Starting Chest: 52 inches
Current Chest: 47.5 in
-----------------------loss= 4.5 in
Starting Waist: 46 in
Current Waist: 44 in
----------------------loss= 2 in
Starting Hips: 53 in
Current Hips: 48.5 in
----------------------loss= 4.5 in
Starting Thigh: 27 in
Current Thigh: 26 in
---------------------loss= 1 in
Starting Calf: 17 in
Current Calf: 16 in
--------------------loss= 1 in"

Although I currently weigh 11 lbs heavier than I did over a year ago I've realized that my measurements are very similar to then:

My measurements for April 2, 2012:
Chest : 47 inches
-------------------------loss since Dec. '10= 0.5 in
Waist: 44 inches
(Now for this I realized that when I measured my waist I actually measured higher than where I measure now. So if I were to measure where I used to measure before my waist size would be:)
Waist: 41.5 inches
------------------------ loss since Dec. '10= 2.5 in
Hips: 48 inches
------------------------ loss since Dec. '10= 0.5 in
Thigh: 26.25 inches
----------------------- loss since Dec '10= +0.25 in (so I actually gained a quarter of an inch. LOL)
Calf: 16.5 inches
----------------------- loss since Dec '10= +0.5 in (I gained half an inch on my calves which is understandable thinking about how much I hike and run now.)

I'm a bit happy to see that although I've yo-yoed  my weight for a while my measurements haven't changed very much. This kind of gives me hope that although I'm not losing weight as much anymore as that first year my body is still healthy and I wonder if I haven't gained muscle at some point. 

I could hope can't I? LOL. 

---------------


These last few days I started eating a lot of sweet bread and sure enough I started feeling pretty sick. Although I haven't completely weaned myself to the Paleo lifestyle I've slowly been eating less and less bread and cheese so when I over indulged this weekend with cookies, muffins and cakes I felt so horrible every morning I couldn't remember how I was able to feel that way every morning a couple of years ago. Gosh. 

I used to wake up certain mornings and depending on the weather (if there was a sudden drop of temperature in the mornings) I would suddenly get a huge stomach ache and stomach cramps. It happened all the time. Up until recently I had stopped feeling that way but it came back last week. What a horrible feeling. I don't ever want to feel that way again.

------------------

Today after getting a surge of energy, partly from my disappointment with my weight and my happiness in finding out my measurements aren't so bad, I finally got out the running shoes and went for a run. I'm starting to try sprinting. I'm trying to run for short periods of time with walking intervals. Little by little making the walking intervals shorter and the running intervals faster.

Today I tried running faster each sprint and actually finished my 2 mile loop in 24 minutes. I have gotten so used to a lazy jogs that end at around 26 minutes I was so happy to finally get 2 miles in under 25 minutes. I know I can do this. I've realized I've been holding back. I need to stop underestimating myself.

I can't believe it's April and I had hoped I had made more progress by now but I have to keep trying.

A new month. It's time to "just do it" again. I was talking with an old friend and she reminded me of this. Whether or not you "like" a work out or a portion size you just have to DO it. 

I think that's what I have to adapt in order to finally see results.

We'll see how this month goes.

Good luck to all this month!
-w0rld