Supergirl 10k

I signed up for my first 10k today, and this time I promise I will actually run in it. As we get closer to fall in AZ it seems like there are a ton more races to choose from and, initially, I was going to find a 5k to run since I know for sure now that I would be able to complete it. However, it occured to me that running a 5k might not feel like much of an accomplishment since by the time the race comes I should be running, at minimum, 3 miles 4 times a week. So I signed up for a 10k. Down the street from my house. Yup, I will be able to pretty much walk there if I wanted to. Huge bonus for me. Not having to wake up and drive an hour just to get to the race will be nice, but more importantly, the chances of my husband actually showing up and cheering me on increase like a bazillion percent and that would be nice. Just to have someone there to witness the accomplishment. When I bailed on the 5k part of the reason was the fact that he had no desire to go with me and watch me finish. I shouldn't need anyone, but for my first race I would like someone there to witness, to take pictures, and to basically support me.

The one drawback to the race is something I had no idea even existed: it is superhero themed. Huh? They want you to dress as your favorite superhero. Already I am going through my head of superheros trying to remember one that dressed in shorts and a tank top...if anyone knows if this superhero exists, let me know. I will start googling XL supergirl costume to see if any of them come as shorts and a tank top (supergirl was my favorite).  I am new to this running thing and I can't imagine running in tights and a cape or in full costume like this guy. Will I be ostracized for not dressing up? Am I going to stress about this until the morning of the race? Yup. But I will finish this, how can I bail on three races? I can't, not an option.  I think I will let everyone in my life know I am running so I have NO CHOICE but to run. I can do and I will not fail.

Typical Morning

This morning as I was driving through Starbucks I was thinking about a year ago and how different my morning would have been. A typical morning a year ago would include:

• Rolling out of bed at 5:55
• Showering, dressing in my one of my 2 pairs of grungy size 24 (almost too tight) denim Capri's and a maternity top (6 months after having the baby...)
• Leaving for work at 6:15 planning on picking up whatever fast food would sound good for lunch
• Driving through Starbucks to order my venti soy white chocolate mocha & depending on the morning a blueberry muffin
• Arriving for work by 7

Todays typical morning is pretty different:

• Still rolling out of bed (I never Jump out of bed), only at 4:45am
• Throwing on my exercise clothes and heading out for a run, anywhere from 2-4 miles
• Getting back from my run, getting ready for work putting on my size 16 shorts, cause I'm not afraid to show a little leg and a tank top (cause its too hot here to care that my arms look huge...)
• Packing my breakfast and lunch for the day
• Breakfast: Spelt bread, almond butter and a banana
• Lunch: Tuna salad and rice chips
• Leaving for work at 6:00
• Driving through Starbucks to get my iced green tea (unsweetened)
• Arriving for work by 6:30

If makes me feel good to see the changes and how much better my overall lifestyle is. I might not be losing weight as fast as I was a couple of months ago but overall the choices I am making for myself are way better than they used to be. Its not only about the weight but being overall healthier.

To Snack or Not to Snack....That is the Question

I am totally, 100%, completely a boredom eater....meaning I eat when I am bored. If I had an exciting life this would probably mean I would be super skinny from lack of interest in eating. Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately...) my life is pretty mundane and I end up always spending my time thinking about eating. Notice I wrote thinking about and not actually eating. This has been part of my lifestyle change - a huge reduction in time spend snacking. I work in front of a computer, which is pretty unexciting and I used to liven up the day by snacking. How sad is that? That's how I would make the day exciting with FOOD. Lame. But does that mean my life is boring now that I don't snack? Uh, Kinda. I still spend time wishing I could snack on chex mix (YUM) while I type away. My life still sorta revolves around food, only now, its about how much I miss it. (WOW, really Lame). I am hopping that this goes away with time (or at least lessens) I have to keep reminding myself that I am trying to undo like 20 years of behaviors that I have ingrained in myself. I need to not be too tough on myself that I still think about food all the time.


On a completely non food related note, how annoying is all the coverage about Lindsey Lohan? Seriously do I need to know her every move? I don't think so....

Ahh Vacation, I miss you already

So I haven't been MIA because I fell off the wagon, it was more like I flung myself off. I was on Vacation. I am not one of those awesome lifestyle changers who make good food choices while on vacation, that is Not Me At All. I use it as an excuse to eat "normal" not worrying too much about the calories I am eating. In fact, the only thing I really debate is whether or not to eat something because it might make me sick (so Pizza and I did not have a re-acquaintance). I did not worry about calories or pounds gained until, of course, this morning. I am not sure what the damage is, but I think it was worth it. I can have fun without food, but also, as sad as it might sound, really have more fun with food. I guess I have a long way to go as far as changing my attitude and I am ok with that. This change is a marathon, not a sprint...it might even be one of those ironman triathlons cause I have a long way to go.

The vacation was not all about the food, there were some highlights, which include:

1. Watching my daughter (pictured above) absolutely, positively, LOVE the beach. She was in pure heaven. She Loved running into the tiny waves and playing in the sand. One of the best memories we have made so far.
2. See an old friend and enjoying awesome BBQ (opps, that's about food)
3. Having a cashier at the coach outlet (another highlight) comment on how good I look when she was checking my ID (I am about 50lbs heavier in the picture)
4. Sticking to my running schedule by getting up in the morning and running on the Beach - so much nicer than my plain old track housing neighborhood.
5. Just overall relaxing and playing with my daughter (and husband, I guess)

I am happy to be back in my own bed and happy to be making good choices so far today. Hopefully the vacation gave me the break from dieting that I needed to be back on track.

Letter

Dear Weight loss efforts,

You are burning me out. I am getting tired of counting calories and waking up at 5am to exercise. I am tired of worrying about the hidden calories in restaurant food, I'm tired of eating a piece of Pumpkin bread and gaining a pound. I'm tired of feeling guilty if I don't exercise or have a Hershey's kiss. I'm just tired and this blog is suffering.

Love (yes, love you even though I am tired of you),
Amy

Having Kids = Tricky Weight Loss

This past week has been a hard week for weight loss. I am trying to make more things for my daughter to eat that are homemade that she will like. Two weeks ago, I made banana bread, last week it was pumpkin bread, and this week I made spelt bread....so far she liked all three and I feel good about giving them to her since I know what ingredients were used to make them, but I also have Really Liked Them too. I try hard to resist but when I smell things baking in the oven, of course I have to taste them when they are finished - that's just plain good quality control - but I don't stop with that, I end up wanting some everyday. Which wouldn't be a huge problem, except I haven't cut out of my regular snacks to allow for the extra bread calories because its really not super filling. So my point is, I like bread therefore I am not losing weight. Sigh.

Having kids is hard on weight loss efforts. The most weight I have ever lost was 85lbs (and I gained it all back - holy crap) and I was good at it because I lived alone, had no friends, no boyfriend, it was easy for me to stay home and cook what I could eat and not have anything in the house that was not diet friendly. I didn't think it was easy at the time but now when I look back it was WAY easier than trying to do this with people in the house who don't eat healthy. The food I get for my daughter isn't so bad, its pretty healthy, but my husband and his daughter in no way eat healthy (I try with his daughter but its hard when she grew up eating differently and her father still sets a horrible example). So I have constant temptation in my house and its rough. So I had a bad couple of weeks (again) but I am going to my darnedest to succeed this week. I am going on vacation for the weekend next week and who knows how well I will do, so I need to be super good this week.

Too Many clothes or Shotty Construction?

My closet broke last night. How does a closet break you ask? Well, the shelf & bar underneath that holds all the clothes detached form the wall and fell. Clothes were everywhere, everywhere. I didn't even know this was possible, I mean I guess I knew it was possible, but really shouldn't those be able to handle like 10,000lbs??? Not only do people normally hang clothes on the rod, don't a lot of people put boxes, more clothes, etc on the shelf holding the bar? Is it possible that I have soo many clothes that I exceed some sort of weight limit? For a moment after this happened I thought this was one of those embarrassing fat person moments - like my clothes were so big that they were too heavy for the rod/shelf.  Maybe. But I tend to lean more toward crappy workmanship.

In more uplifting news, I reached the 60lbs gone mark this morning! I hadn't planned a reward when I reached this goal, but I think I need one. This was a hard month. I had lot of moments where I had to remind myself to continue. I had a weak moment where I bought Carmel apples (from Costco, sooo Yummy) and after I cut up a slice and ate some, I had to throw them away. All I could think about the rest of the night was how good they were and how I wanted more. I knew I should throw them away but I hate that I am basically throwing away $10. In the end though I decided that either I pay in cash or in lbs gained and I ended up throwing the rest away. Clearly I am not making good choices all the time. I never should have purchased them to begin with, but at least I ended up not worrying about the money I spent and got rid of them. I am going to start July off right.