Getting (and trying to stay) Back on the Wagon.

Well, last friday I lost 2.4 pounds (220.8). Yay me! Didn't post the week before that either, but I lost 2 pounds that week. The sad part is that even with losing almost 5 pounds in the past 2 weeks... I still don't feel accomplished because I had gained like 5 pounds the week before that. Yup... in one week! Ridiculous! I believe it was because of a new birth control pill I was taking. I was working so hard the weeks before that and was only losing like 0.2 pounds. It was frustrating and that last week I barely exercised and went over my calories.... and the result was a 5.2 gain? No way. I know it wasn't mathematically possible. I'd would have to eat like 4500 calories every day for a week, and I know I didn't. So... I finally decided it was that pill and stopped taking it. The first 2 weeks off that pill and I have almost lost the weight that I gained on it. And I believe that last year when I was working really hard and only losing like 0.4 pounds each week... was also the time that the doctor tried to put me on that same brand of pill. So... at least now I know that one is DEFINITELY not for me.

So, anyway... moving on. Looking forward to being back on track. I really have to stick with it this time. I want to finally feel better about myself and I want to look GREAT in my wedding dress next year! 2007 was my highest weight... 257 pounds. I have fluctuated a lot over the last 2 and half years or so, but at least I never got back up to that. I think my highest since then has been 231. Not great, but at least I did manage to keep some weight off overall. I gained 11 pounds after my surgery in January this year, so that sucked. But, now I really want to get everything off... and hope to be down to about 165 around my wedding. My fiance is also trying to lose some weight. He's having a harder time with it than I am right now (though for some reason this week has been a REAL struggle for me). When he actually sticks with it, he loses big numbers each week. However, sticking with it and counting his calories and working out are all things he doesn't like do (but then again, who does?) Hopefully we can do it together and motivate each other. I want us to be one good looking, healthy pair in our wedding pictures! And I want us to be healthy active parents when we have children.

In other news: I start C25K again this weekend. I'm scared! I never finished it last time I started... I made it to about week 5 and couldn't get past that. I had hoped to be a little lighter when I started this time, but obviously that didn't work out. Oh, well. We are doing another 5K in June this year (same one we did in June of last year) and I hope to be able to beat my time by a few minutes, and be able to run most of it. Anybody else out there actually finished C25K? Any girls that are still chubby? Sometimes I feel like I will never be able to finish it until I'm thinner because it's hard carrying around this extra weight and trying to run. It really kills my knees and feet. I'm plan to run on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays typically. I really hope I can stick to that schedule most of time though. I'm also hoping that by me keeping a schedule and losing weight that it'll motivate the fiance to keep a running schedule. He wants to take the physical test for a local police department in May or June, so he needs to make sure he can pass it.

All in all... I'm pretty optimistic about things. I have about a year and seven months until our wedding, so that's plenty of time to get myself in shape. I also hope to spend this years birthday (28! Dang, I'm getting old!) under 200 pounds. Gotta do it!

I don't think many people even still read my blog, since I don't post regularly and I don't post many interesting things... but here's hoping that at least a couple of people get something out of it. I miss the days where I used to blog and feel excited about it. I think it made me feel more accountable for my actions and motivated me more.

Have a great rest of the week!

Running and Cooking

This morning was my third 5K of the year. I really am still not sleeping very well at all. I tried to go to bed early last night but just had the hardest time falling asleep and staying asleep. I dragged my tired butt out of bed around 5:45 this morning. Never did I think that I'd be getting up at the butt crack of dawn to go running. And especially did I never think that I'd be excited to do it. I had the nervous energy all over again, despite the fact that this is my third time doing this. I ate my breakfast, grabbed my banana and Powerade and was out the door. There were a TON of ladies in this race. It was a sea of pink. (photo courtesy of the BFF. We run all the races together.)

I started out rocking this race! I finished the first mile in about 13 minutes, then the second mile in about 14 minutes, and then something happened to me. That last mile killed me. I just lost my momentum. I ended up finishing in 43:01. That's 19 seconds slower than last time. Boo! I had really hoped to finish in under 42 minutes, but oh well. What's a girl to do???

Well... next time she will continue running/training the WHOLE time in between races. I have to stick to it. The more I do these, the more I'm DYING to be one of those girls who's just jogging along like 3.1 miles is walk in the park. Meanwhile, in reality I'm chugging along trying to convince myself to keep running. The next race is at the Cincinnati Zoo. Which is going to be hard to compare that time to other ones, I think, because that place is just a massive amount of hills!!! It's rough just walking around the zoo, let alone running! I better get to training for that one.

Today I bought myself (partly with a gift card from my birthday) some new pans. I've really been dying for some Rachel Ray anodized pans, but I can't afford them. So, I used my Target gift card to purchase a 2 pack of Kitchen Aid hard-anodized pans (an 11 inch skillet and a griddle) that were on sale. I desperately needed new pans, especially with all the cooking and baking I've been doing lately. They are SO pretty. I can't wait to cook on them tonight!

I've been testing out lots of new recipes on the boyfriend. Of course I never think they are good enough, but he always loves them. This may sound very 1950's of me (which is weird since at work they consider me a feminist) but I love cooking for my Boyfriend. When it's just me I don't usually bother to cook much. However, watching him enjoy eating the dinner I made, having him tell me it was good right before he promptly falls asleep with a full stomach.... well, it's oddly satisfying.

Back in the right direction.

After gaining a pound last week, I got things moving in the right direction again this week. I lost 2 pounds this week. I'm at 214.2. Yay!

I really need to keep things moving down. Can't wait to be in the 100's. I haven't been there since like 7 years ago.

So much stuff to write about... my rewards program, an odd smelling pie, the 5K tomorrow morning.
Hopefully tomorrow I'll have much more time. For now, I'm tired and need to rest up for the race. I'm a little nervous since I haven't ran much lately, but oh well.

Tomorrow at 7:15 I'll be starting my 3rd 5K of this year.

Weigh-In and Weekend.

Well, this week was rough. I wasn't feeling well and was SUPER tired. I think it's almost time for that ugly TOM to rear it's head. So, I really haven't exercised much, and most days I ate a little more than I should have, and I slept A LOT! I tried to get things back under control towards the end of the week, but I still ended up with a big fat GAIN this week. Boo!!! I gained 1 pound. Time to put a stop to that business. I'm at 216.2 now and I definitely don't wanna get any higher.

Next week, I'm definitely back on track. My 3rd 5K run is this coming Saturday! I'm a little nervous, but not too bad. I'm getting used to the idea of doing one of these every month. I didn't run as much as I should have since the last race, but I definitely did better than I did between the 1st and 2nd race.

Anyway.... tonight I'm hanging with the boyfriend. We haven't seen each other in 6 days so I'm really looking forward to it.

Last night I saw "The Ugly Truth" with my sister. It was pretty good. I love Katherine Heigl and the movie had some really funny parts. Also... don't forget the cutie, Gerard Butler.

Just made a little lunch. Lately I'm obsessed with making these tuna melt things. Total for both pieces ends up being around 300 calories. Just build them and bake them for a few minutes at 375 degrees. I use:

- a 100 calorie whole grain english muffin

- 1 can of light tuna (in water, not oil) which is about 100 calories.

- 1 tsp of light mayo

- I usually try to add in some sort of veggies to the tuna "salad", like celery or some zucchini.

- 2 slices of fat free American cheese.

Well, I'm off to play some Wii Fit, then hopefully to the gym, then a little shopping and just hanging out waiting for the Boyfriend to get off work. It's completely rainy and stormy here today. Yuck.

I'm celebrating by taking a nap.

Quick Update:
Did my second 5K race this morning with my BFF, Mrs. B! Yay for us!

The last race I finished in 46:48. It looks like (still waiting on the "official" results) I finished this one in 42:42!!! Holy crap, people! I shaved like 4 minutes off my last time! Woo hoo!

And now... I think it's time for a nap.

I want to be a runner!

I always have tons of things I want to blog about, but never seem to have the time. Anyway, here's the story of my first 5K race:

My official time was 46:48. Before the race I told myself that I wanted to finish in under 45 minutes, but I would settle for under 50 minutes. I guess that's exactly what I got. I hope to finish the next race (even though I don't know what that course is like yet) in under 45 definitely. The morning didn't start out great. It was like a comedy of errors.....

The Boyfriend and I got up early thinking that we were going to have a good breakfast so I'd have some decent fuel for the race. He was going to get up and make me pancakes and turkey sausage... but somehow we didn't end up having enough time. It was a sad state of affairs in my kitchen that morning. We ended up with 3 pancakes and that was it. So I inhaled them as we were running out the door (the Boyfriend let me have them all) and grabbed a bottle of Powerade. Then as we're about half a mile from home, I realize that I left my bib for the race at home so we have to turn around and get it (and we're already running a little late at this point). When we get back to my apartment I jump out of the car (and almost get accidentally hit by the car), run in and get my number and we're back on the road. We are on the way to the race and I'm sorting some music on my mp3 player to prepare for the race and we somehow pass up our exit on the highway... so we have to drive 5 miles up to the next exit, get off the highway, turn around, and get back on the highway. We made it to the race in time since we had planned on getting there early, but I arrived a bit flustered and aggravated.

As we were waiting for the race to start I was getting VERY nervous and kept thinking "I don't wanna do this anymore"... though I knew I would have to.

Then we were off......

It turned out to be much harder than I thought! I knew it would be hard... but I was still shocked. The worst part was it wasn't like I was so out of breath or my heart was racing... but that running on the pavement and the hills make my legs sooooo tired. I'd slow down and be ready to start running again, and as soon as my legs would hit the pavement my knee would hurt and my legs would feel instantly exhausted again. However, I pushed through. I didn't do as well as I hoped I would and I had to keep motivating myself in my head the whole time. (even thought of The Biggest Loser this past season and when they did that whole 26 mile marathon.) At least I finished. I can say I did it... and I can get ready for the next race. Mrs. B and I finished 1st and 2nd in our age group.... though we were the only ones in our age group. hahaha. But, I still got a medal for being 1 out of 2.

I started a "5K Wall" above my desk at home. Mrs. B and I are aiming to do 1 5K race every month from now until October. So, hopefully by the end of this year my wall will be full and I will be able to really, truly run. I want to be a runner. I never thought I would be able to even come close to being one... and now I feel like it could be in my near future.

We did it!

Well, this morning was our first ever 5K! Whoa... it was harder than I thought it was gonna be. My BFF, Mrs. B, and I are hoping to do one 5K race every month from now until October... so I've got to really start training hard to get better at this stuff. Anyway, more on the race later. I'm still tired and recovering. haha. But here's a picture of me finishing the race...