Long Overdue Update

I haven't been feeling like blogging lately but that doesn't mean I've given up my weightloss efforts.  So I wanted to post a long overdue update. 


WEIGH IN

Since my last post in early January, I am down 10.7 pounds and down 112 total.  Incredible!  After I met my 100 pounds lost goal, I will admit I did ease up on the eating right and exercise and my loss stalled out for about 6 weeks.  But I got back on the wagon and in my past 5 weeks or so have dropped the 10.7.  This just goes to show that what they tell us is true....weightloss surgery is only a tool.  It does not solve every problem or relieve you of the responsibility to make the right choices.  Because the fact is as time goes by you will be able to eat more.  And when you eat junky stuff like chips, cookies, ice cream, you can eat alot more of that kind of stuff than you can lean protein and vegetables.  No, I can't pack those things away in the quantities I used to but clearly I can eat enough of them to keep me from losing.  And I feel fairly certain if I tried, I could gain weight even though I have a small stomach now.  I am doing most of the work at this point, with some support from my surgery.  I'm the one making the right choices (or not) and exercising my body (or not).  The surgery definitely helps with portion control and cravings, but I'm still the one doing the work.  I'm about 9 months out from surgery now and still no regrets.  I would do it again in a heart beat.


MEASUREMENTS
Since I last posted measurements in December, here are the results:


neck - -0.25/-3.0 total
bust - -3.5/-13.0 total
waist - +0.5/-12.5 total  (WTF???)

hips - -1.75/-9.25

I have a lot more measurement points than this, but I don't want to bore you with them.  In total, I am down 63 inches.  I have to admit I am very frustrated with my waist measurement.  I mean, really, UP half an inch over the course of 2 months?   I always get annoyed when I hear people asking how to spot reduce fat.  I'm like "Come on!  Every knows you can't spot reduce."  But now I am feeling desperate about my fat belly and find myself thinking "what can I do to shift this belly fat?"  I know, I know, you can't spot reduce.  It's just the frustration talking.  I must be patient and trust the process.  Changes are happening.

FITNESS

I'm still working out 3 times a week with my trainers at Fitness Together and am getting alot stronger.  One of my current fitness goals is to leg press 410 pounds because I want to be able press more than my trainer...who is a guy.  What can I say?  I'm feeling competitive.  My goal is to get there before Memorial Day.  I am currently able to press 300 so I think I can do it!

For the past 5 weeks I've also been doing the Couch to 5K training program 3 days a week on my day off of FT.  I can't believe I am RUNNING!  I've never been a runner.  Ever.  I mean, seriously.  EVER!  But running I am.  In fact, I did a 10K yesterday.  I didn't run the whole thing, I did walking/running intervals.  But I did start the race by running 21 minutes straight with no walking.  That is the longest period of running I have done.  After that I completed the race doing walking and running intervals the rest of the way and finished with a time of 1:25:33.  My goal was to finish under 1:30 so mission accomplished.  And I got a snazzy medal to show off for my efforts!

By evening, I was whooped!  My hamstrings and butt were so sore so I soaked in a hot tub and ended up snoozing hard by 9:00 that night.  I slept for 11 hours!  So, yeah, the 10K whooped my butt.  But I whooped it's butt too, so I guess we are even. 

All in all I am still doing well.  Feeling really happy with my progress!

Bold in the Cold

I haven't posted my 2012 goals yet, but one of them is to participate in at least one 5K per month for the entire year.  Today I knocked out my January 5K, Bold in the Cold sponsored by a local running club.  It took us on some of the trails around Lake Grapevine.

I didn't take any pictures (bad blogger).  But they were nice trails and pretty convenient to my house so I will likely visit them again in the future.

I finished the race in just under 45 minutes, mostly walking with some burts of running...well, jogging.  And I made sure I crossed the finish line at a jog.  I was pretty proud of myself, I must say.  I did a 5K in December and was able to improve my time by 1:15.  After the race, I met with my trainer and worked out for 45 minutes.  My, how things have changed for me.

I started the race with the intentions of walking the entire thing.  I have been doing some running intervals on my treadmill at home but didn't really feel ready to try running out in the real world and in front of people!  What I usually do during races, is pick someone out in the pack and make it my goal to get in front of them.  I had Blue Jacket Girl in my sights and I just could NOT catch up with her.  And it started to piss me off.  So I said "to hell with it", and jogged for a couple of minutes.  I can do about 10 minutes of jogging on the treadmill, but no way was I able to do that outside.  (I'm not sure why this is....maybe I'm not pacing myself right without the treadmill to do it for me?)  But once I ran for my first spurt I decided I would finish the race in walking/running intervals.  I definitely did much more walking than running, but still am proud of myself for just doing it rather than holding myself back because I don't think I "look" like a runner.

The last mile I walked nearly the entire thing but I promised myself that when I hit mile marker 3 I was going to run that last 0.2 because I wanted to cross the line running.  And I did!  It was great.  And the other "real" runners are so supportive.  Was really nice to have the high fives and the cheering at the end, even though it was no one I knew. 

I already am signed up for my February race.  And just as I was thinking today how nice it would have been to have a friend with me today, one of my friends hit me up on Facebook when I posted about my plans to do the February race to see if I wanted to make plans to do it together with her.  Right on!  I am excited for that.

As for Blue Jacket Girl, I overtook her once or twice early on, but ultimately she finished well ahead of me.  That's OK.  I'll get her next time!