New Week

So, through Weight Watchers, today starts my new week--all 49 weekly points are back and a fresh start. I'm happy to say that my focus on watching what I eat helped these last few days. So, here's the stats:

Starting weight: 242
Weight last post: 207.8
Weigh-in today: 203.6
Weekly change: -4.2
Total loss on WW: -38.4
Total loss since Feb 2010: -50.4

So, this is definitely a move in the right direction! Another two weeks and I should definitely meet my goal of under 200 by Thanksgiving. The challenge at that point will be to stay there through Thanksgiving.

What makes this so difficult? For me, right now, it's about not being able to set a true routine. We are so busy!! But, this week we made better choices and cooked more than we had in recent weeks. I have some challenges facing me this weekend--a boucherie with family to celebrate Halloween, lunch after my Godchild's baptism along with a birthday party. The key will be to keep water handy and refrain from constant picking/snacking when I'm bored! There, I've said it--I eat when I'm bored! Have to deal with that issue!

So, what do I want to work on this week? 1) Get more exercise/runs in. I'm trying to run the Louisiana Half marathon in January so I have to start running more. 2) stay on track with food choices and track them. These last few days I didn't track as faithfully as I wanted, but I did still keep in mind what my approximate points were to make better choices.

Till next time,
Mandy

Reboot 2012

Wow--has it really been over a year since I last updated this blog?!?! That tells you how long I've not been focused on this life change. Well, I'm deciding to change that NOW! Effective 10/22/2012 I make the choice and decision that I have to get back on track. So, here goes the difficult stuff.

Starting weight: 242
Weight last post: 205.8 (April 22, 2011)
Weigh-in today: 207.8 (As of October 19, 2012)
Total change: +2
Total loss on WW: -34.2
Total loss since Feb 2010: -46.2

Facing this post is what will make me stick to this decision again. I actually got down to 192 at some point over the last year, and I'm up two pounds from 18 months ago.

The positive: I'm only up 2 pounds in 18 months when it EASILY could have been 10 times that. The negative: I'M UP 2 POUNDS!!

Ok, so yesterday was the first day that I tracked EVERYTHING I ate and my activity (still jogging/walking). So I'm calling that Day 1. Into Day 2, I'm doing well and have high hopes for the remainder of the day.

I have to take this one day at a time, and I will. I will do this again! I will make this change! I will be 155 pounds!

Newest Goal: Under 200 by Thanksgiving!
Challenges: Busy schedules with family and queen stuff (I'll post another blog about queen stuff!)
Are you with me?

1 year ago...

One year ago I started my journey with Weight Watchers(R) again. After a year I am pleased with the results and completely impressed with myself that I've been able to keep the weight off for this year. It gives me hope that I can continue and reach my final goal. So where am I a year later?

Starting April 2010 / Now - April 2011 / Change
Weight: 242 / 205.8 / -36.2
Waist: 43 in / 38 in / -5 in
Hips: 51 in / 46.5 in / -4.5 in
Bust: 49 in / 44 in / -5 in
Dress Size: 22 / 16 / -3 sizes

What a change!! I'm so excited to see this after one year. The starting weight is where I was when I started with WW again--my highest weight before I gave birth to Matt was 254--so I'm really down 48.2 pounds from my highest! Almost 50 pounds!!!

It has been difficult--I haven't lost as much as I could have. Essentially I've lost 0.6 pounds per week. But, it's slow so hopefully it should stay off. I have taken time off for various reasons but have always been able to get back on, so to speak.

Other positive changes:
1) I've gotten active! I was so much a couch potato before this journey. Now I don't mind going to take a walk. I have a little more work to do to get a little more active. There are periods of time when I revert back to the couch potato. Hopefully the summer will give me more opportunities to get active since we won't have to worry about homework and early bed times. However, walking/racing may take a back seat due to the heat.

2) New Clothes!! :) My hubby (I love you!) may not think this is completely positive as I've spent a little bit of money, but the styles I am able to wear with my weight loss are wonderful. I used to HATE clothes shopping because I never liked the styles that were available for my size; but it's getting better. I was in Stage this past week and tried on a dress from the misses section--it was a 16. It didn't fit perfectly--way too tight in the hips and bust, but I could get it on which is such a change from before. Just a few more pounds/inches with the right choices in food and more activity and I'll be shopping in the misses section permanently!! (For those wondering, the sizes above are the women's sizes--almost out of that arena!)

3) More energy and confidence. For the most part I have much more energy than I used to. I have been able to do things like climb a rock wall, complete a ropes course, climb to the top of Tiger Stadium AFTER walking the campus, and complete a HALF-MARATHON! All of these activities would have been extremely difficult for me a year ago.

I still have a long way to go. Next Saturday, I'm going to complete my second half marathon. My goal is to finish in less than 2:54:09, but I haven't been training as hard as I did for the race in February. Hopefully it won't be too difficult.

My next weight goal is to lose at least 5.9 pounds to be under 200 for the first time in over 18 years. Hopefully this will happen before summer begins--then I can work over the summer to 189 and lower! :)

I hope everyone has a great Easter and for those on spring break, enjoy your time off. See you next week (if I find the time to post) with my newest results--maybe after the race!

Bye now!

Long Time No See

Hi Everyone!

Here I am again. It's been a while since I've posted to the blog about my journey--things just get crazy from time to time. But I have a little extra of that right now, so I thought I would update you. :)

Starting weight: 242
Weight last post: 217.9
Weigh-in today: 206.4 (As of April 1, 2011)
3 week change: -11.5
Total loss on WW: -35.6
Total loss since Feb 2010: -47.6

It's good to get back on track. I just hope that I can keep it moving in the right direction over the next few weeks. If I keep it up, I should be able to get below 200 by May! If I can accomplish that it will be the BEST day of my life next two my wedding and the birth of my children!!

I'm still walking/jogging although not as much as I was before February. I think the weather has something to do with that--and busy schedules. But, I will be walking in a 5K this weekend (St. Charles Catholic Run for the Son) and I have a half marathon at the end of the month! Can't wait! :)

I'm Back...

Wow...it's really been 4 weeks since I last posted. One week I was on vacation in Gatlinburg. The others, I don't know--I guess I just didn't want to face what was happening.

But, I'm back and here we go with my latest update:

Starting weight: 242
Weight last post: 213.8
Weigh-in today: 217.9
1 week change: +4.1
Total loss on WW: -24.1
Total loss since Feb 2010: -36.0

So, there's not much to say here other than I've blown it for a while now. I guess over 4 weeks to have gained a pound a week isn't horrible but it definitely isn't good. I seem to have undone 3-4 weeks of work in the last 6 weeks. As for eating, I haven't tracked my foods. I've eaten out more than we've cooked at home. Over the holiday, I splurged more than I ever have really--I ate all of the time if I had the access to the food. I didn't make healthy choices 90% of the time.

Since the Rock-n-Roll Mardi Gras Half Marathon, I haven't worked out regularly either. Once or twice a week I jogged/walked, but I haven't had any long walks lately. Just before the vacation, I had worked out pretty steadily that week.

So what's going to change? Already, I've tracked all of my food for today. I have to keep that aspect up. I have to make changes in the foods I select throughout the day. I also have to make sure I have low-point or no-point snacks around to curb my eating all day. We will start cooking more at home rather than eating out. This will be a challenge this week/weekend. Wednesday is a scout meeting which will be a "quick-eat" night. Also, we're going to NOLA this weekend for Rick's birthday--gotta be strong and make good decisions with food.

As for working out, I jogged/walked three miles today to prepare for the 5k this Saturday. I hope to continue a pattern of working out 5 days of 7. I plan to walk every day between now and Saturday--I may rest on Friday so I don't overdo it. I want to make a plan with strength training and running to continue working out. I hope that will be do-able.

Back on the right track this week...looking for a loss on Monday, March 21. Until then, happy eating!

Weekly Weigh-in #6

Starting weight: 242
Weight last week: 211.7
Weigh-in today: 213.8
1 week change: +2.1
Total loss on WW: -28.2
Total loss since Feb 2010: -40.1

I gained again. This is a little frustrating although if I truly analyze this last week, I expected this.

My food choices were poor much of the week. I was a nervous eater on Wednesday and Thursday of last week. The weekend proved to be poor eating choices also with the race approaching. I had an AWESOME work out yesterday (see my Rock-n-Roll post) but that didn't offset the amount of calories I had consumed this week.

So I know what I need to do this week. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I can get back on track this week and lose next Monday.

Until then, healthy eating...

Rock-n-Roll

It's 4:00 a.m. and I wake from a fitful sleep. The adrenaline has been pumping since Friday evening when we went to the Health and Fitness Expo to pick up our race gear. And, just before I woke, I was dreaming that we would be late.

I get up to start getting dressed--the alarm wasn't set to go off until 4:45. When I finish changing clothes, I find that despite how early it is, my husband and sister are awake too and getting dressed. The anticipation is too much for any of us. We get dressed and ready for one of the most exhilarating experiences of our lives.

We meet my sister-in-law and her husband and head downstairs to go to the Astor Crown Plaza hotel to meet with DetermiNation. It's 5:00 a.m. It's about 35 degrees. When we get to the hotel, there is already a crowd and there is a second-line band in the lobby--this is New Orleans after all. At about 5:30 a.m. we follow the DetermiNation team and the band from the hotel to the starting village. This is awesome! While I feel a little bad for the people who are still in the hotels in downtown New Orleans attempting to sleep, I'm so pumped about what we're about to embark upon.

We arrive at the starting village and the number of people is staggering. :) I am amazed at the number of people who have come to New Orleans to run this race. As the sun finally rises around 6:45 a.m., we begin moving to our corrals. There are 22 corrals, and I'm in 22. I am expecting to finish this race, 13.1 miles, in about 3 hours and 15 minutes. 7:00 is here and the first corrals start the race. The rest of us wait a few minutes and the wave start has begun. Finally, about 7:35, corral 22 is ready to start the race. There is no gun, but rather a countdown 10...9..8...7...6..5...4...3...2...1...GO!

We're off. I can see the sea of people stretch in front of me. One of the good things about the wave start is that my time didn't start until I crossed the start line. So, while it has been 30+ minutes since the race began, my race only began a minute or two ago. As I walk, I concentrate on keeping my pace steady and quick. I don't want to walk too fast, but I'm not trying to stroll either. As we continue the clothes on the side of the route is amazing--walkers/runners are taking their layers off in order to keep up with the warming temperatures. The clothes will be donated to Goodwill and the homeless in New Orleans.

My GPS tells me I've completed 0.5 miles; at that time, I decide to jog. I set my goal to jog the next 0.5 mile. I do, in about 6 minutes. I can't believe 1 mile of 13 done and I don't feel tired at all! :) Thank goodness for all of the training I've been doing. I continue to alternate 1/2 mile walking and 1/2 mile running as long as I am able.

As we continue the race, local bands are set up along the route to provide some music for our run. Also, the spectators along the route are awesome! They call out to keep going, you're doing great, etc. to help motivate us as we complete this amazing journey. There are signs to read and costumes to see! It's also great to see New Orleans from this route--there were so many things I haven't seen before even though I might be considered a "local."

There are mile markers at each mile and timers as well. The Rock-n-Roll event committee has set up points along the race to keep track of times. The first is at the 5K (3.1 miles) distance. I reach that marker at about 40 minutes which is GREAT! I continue and at about 5.5 miles, when I start to jog again, I get a tap on my shoulder. It's my sister-in-law...she started with me, and was ahead of me. When did I pass her?? We stay together for a little while, but eventually, to keep my pace, I pull away from her. We had told each other at the beginning that we shouldn't feel obligated to stay with each other if we felt we could move faster. The next split is at 10k (6.2 miles). I reach that marker and my GPS tells me that I hit 6.5 a few minutes later. When I reach that 6.5 miles, the time is shorter than my time on January 8 when I completed a half marathon relay! Woohoo! What a motivator.

By this time, I also realize I'm not that winded and I'm able to keep up the 1/2 walk and 1/2 mile jog. Between miles 9 and 10, there is a HUGE rockstar straddling the street in front of the pedestrian mall in the French Quarter. I wish I had a camera to snap some pictures--I'll have to remember for next time. I turn the corner to the last three mile stretch on Esplanade Ave. I complete 11 miles and know that completing the half in under three hours is within my reach--REALLY?????? I was expecting 3:15, but at the pace I'm at now, it will be under three hours!?! This motivates me more. At 11.5 miles when I should jog again, my legs are just rubber and I can't keep up the jog. But I keep up a good walking pace. At this point my resolve is to run the last 1/2 mile or so to the finish.

My GPS says I've reached 12 miles but I can see the 12 mile marker a ways away from me! UGH--the GPS is off now, so I have to guess when is the right time to start my ending jog. I see the entrance to City Park and figure now is as good a time as any. I start the jog, thinking the end is near, but when I enter City Park, I don't see it. I slow back to a walk until I get around the museum. Then I see the silver barricades and all of the people surrounding the end. I start to jog again. I want to cross this line running! I take out my headphones to hear the announcements from the finish line and to hear the spectators cheer us on. Suddenly, I hear someone yell my name--it's my husband! I'm so happy he's there to see me cross. I knew he would finish before me, and hoped he would be there especially since I am finishing about 15-20 minutes earlier than I thought I would.

I cross the finish line! I can't tell exactly what my time is, but my GPS on my phone says 2:46! WHAT?!?! I'm amazed. I find Rickie and cry because I did it! I completed a half marathon, AND I did it in under 3 hours--something I never thought I would be able to do. :) I wait for my sister-in-law to come in. We meet up with my sister and her husband. Everyone finished in under 3 hours! We go to a tent to get times engraved on our medals. My official time from the chip is 2:54:06--still under three hours!! I'm so happy! Rick's was 2:00:06--two hours!!

The rest of the day is relaxing and trying to avoid pain. This is an experience I will never forget. I am so pumped I'm ready for another one. So, the question is, when??? Right now, we're thinking April 30 in Nashville! Anyone want to come with us?? :)