2013 - A Work in Progress

I'm really not a great blogger.  I do this mostly for myself and I don't expect thousands of pageviews, making myself a brand, popularity and sponsorships.  But maybe just maybe I could post more than once a year, ha!

So I didn't reach my WW goal in 2012 and while I did run every day starting with the 1st, I only ran every day for 69 days.  Now I'm into 2013 and working on it all again.  This is my THIRD year of not eating meat.  My New Year's resolution for 2011 was to not eat meat.  With the exception of a piece of andouille sausage in my jambalaya after my New Orleans Jazz 1/2 Marathon in October of 2011, I was meat free for the entire year.  I was meat free all of 2012 with the exception of two Jack in the Box tacos one drunken evening when Tonia was here.

Tonia was here and we went to LA to go to Dolly Couture to pick out my wedding dress.  Ah yes, my sweetie proposed on July 8th of 2012 and we are getting married on May 11th, 2013.  Most of the broad strokes are in place.  Some of the smaller details are still in the works, but I am looking forward to the event, to the honeymoon, to being married to my sweetie and to the possibility of having a little Scottie or two (yikes!).

In the mean time, my WW is going well.  I've been fully recommitted for about three weeks now.  I would still like to lose about 30 lbs.  But hey, never give up and slow and steady wins the race!!!!  I'd like to hit lifetime before I get pregnant and have to go off of WW.  And I'd like to look good for my wedding.  So, WW it is.  Also, my running has been on hiatus due to what I believe is plantar fasciitis.  My heel started hurting Thanksgiving weekend after a Turkey Trot, a 3 miles run, and two two hour Zumbathons and it hasn't stopped hurting since.  I've been doing Booty Blast, limited Zumba and some mild elliptical and treadmill, but my running has been pretty curbed.

So, I'm still a work in progress.  I'd like to see that Lifetime so I can say at some point that I am a Lifetime member of WW.  My outlook has changed a bit though and I don't feel so much like it's a race to a finish line as it is just a constant work in progress.  It's something that you have to think about and work on and be committed to every single day.  It doesn't come easy, it's just something you always have to work on.  You can take the weight off by sheer force, but then it will just come back.  The goal is for all of this stuff to become ingrained and become a habit.  I guess it's like quitting smoking.  Years later there are days when you still want a cigarette.  I have to remember to consciously eat right and exercise and if I make a mistake, just go right back.

Maybe I will always be a work in progress, but I guess that's ok.

New Year's Resolution

Happy 2012!!!!

I have resolved this year to run at least one mile a day every day for the next 100 days.

Today I ran for two miles and then did a 4 minute Tabata workout. (alternating running with mountain climbers).

We will see if this gets easier.  Day one is done. 

I'm also getting to my Weight Watchers goal this year.  I am super inspired by their new BELIEVE ad campaign.  "If you want it, you got it.  You gotta believe."

If you haven't seen the commercial, check it out and check out WW Success Story Suzi Storm.

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=StHhd1DBN_g&feature=share

RUNNING a 5K tomorrow - OFFICIALLY!!!!!!

I am running the 6 tunnels to Hoover Dam 5K tomorrow!!! Yay and Yikes!!!!!

Have I mentioned how I have always hated running and how I could never do it and how ASTONISHED I am that I actually CAN run?  I mean, I am pretty slow and I know I'm awkward and I probably look really weird doing it, but I am RUNNING now!  So weird.

As far back as elementary school I wanted to run, but after two minutes my chest would be heaving and I would be gasping for air and feeling like I was going to die.  I never understood how people became runners.  I don't really understand how -I- became a runner.  However, I really feel like I have to amp up my exercise to get 10-15 lbs off and the way that most people do it is by running.

When I started my WW journey ten years ago, I never thought I actually would be able to get the whole way to goal.  140 lbs seemed so far away and I never thought I could get that small.  I thought that maybe I could do 170 or 160.  But you know, here I am at 150, down 67 lbs from my all time high of 217 and I reaaaaaaaaallllly want to be 140.  I just feel like my body is used to all of the exercise and activity that I have integrated into my life and that's it's used to the vegs and the natural foods.  That was one of the good things I think about the old WW Momentum program was that when you lost more weight, the number of points that you got per day would decrease.  Maybe they need to do that again???? I have been 150 +/- 2 lbs for three months.  I think running and boot camp will help immensely.

So, tomorrow I go to Boulder City and RUN a 5k.  Last year in February of 2010 I walked a 10K and almost died.  I walked a 1/2 marathon in April on this same 6 tunnels course that I am doing tomorrow.  I feel like this is going to be an amazing day for me tomorrow and that it could be potentially life-changing.  I sure hope that I can run the entire thing.  I ran 2.5 miles yesterday and I was dying so I decided to take today off and rest to be fabulous for tomorrow.

Here I am in my cool 6 Tunnels 5K t shirt that I picked up today in my race packet

my nerdiness knows no bounds, this is what I ran in yesterday, YIKES

going to work on Thursday.  Not the greatest picture but the pants make me look skinny!

But anyway for tomorrow, I have my compression pants, my race shirt, my Adidas Supernovas, my race number, my Garmin, my iPod and my camera.  I am ready to run 3.1!  Wish me luck!  recap will come tomorrow!

I may get past this plateau yet

So, here's my dilemma.

I stayed the SAME at my weigh in last night.  I have been the same weight for at least the last three months +/- 2 lbs. At least I'm maintaining, but the problem is I am NOT at my goal. I knew the last ten pounds would be tough and I knew that to really get that fit, I would have to amp it up, but I really didn't expect this. sigh.

I read an article today about plateaus and I have been trying to find it to post here, but I have been unsuccessful. Basically the suggestions were: add weight training 3x a week, drink more water, track what you eat and change your exercise.

So, other than the fact that I have been very lax with the program over the past few months, those suggestions are REALLY applicable to me. I have been working out continuously for well over a year, but I always do the same workout: cardio/Zumba. So it is time to switch it up and add some Body Pump for weights. This means I have to cut out a Zumba, or two but I think I'll survive. I remember when I first started Zumba, it was my goal to be able to make it the whole way through certain instructors' classes, especially the really high energy ones. I still sweat at Zumba, but I believe that my body has gotten used to doing it regularly and that it takes less energy (fewer calories) to move my smaller bootie and smaller hips around so I burn fewer calories per class than I used to. So, time to ramp. When you do weight training and you have a higher muscle mass, you burn you burn more calories so, weights it is. I have to come up with a new gym schedule. I will miss Zumba, but I think this will be good for me to shake it up and ramp it up. I also don't drink NEARLY enough water, so that's going up too.

So last night I went to Zumba with my friend Cheryl, she is a breast cancer survivor, and she had a double mastectomy over a year ago and she is starting reconstructive surgery on Monday. So, this was her last Zumba for a while, because she is having a series of surgeries. She is such a strong and brave woman. Oh yeah, and I met her at Weight Watchers. I will miss her at Zumba, she is so funny, she cracks me up. She also writes music and sings and acts and all kinds of stuff in addition to her day job as a Valet driver. I love the characters in this town! She'll probably never see this, but good karma is coming your way from me, my girl, and I know that your surgeries will be successful and that you will be great! I am thinking of you.

pre-workout (not sweaty)

post-workout (sweaty) with Cheryl (isn't she fabulous?)

VIP locker room!  I bought the membership as my reward when I lost 40 lbs!

So, last night I signed up for a 5k for this Saturday, YIKES!

So I figured I'd better run.....

pre-run

post run, no worse for the wear.  Scott said I looked like I was gonna collapse, lol.  He better not be saying that when he's photographing me cross the finish line on Saturday!

it's posted on the previous blog entry, but I wanted to prove to myself that I actually could DO a 5k before I tried to run it on Saturday....so I did exactly a 5k (3.1 miles)...

I have actually finished races before.  Last year I took up walking and I did three half marathons, a 10k and the breast cancer 3 Day 60 mile walk (20 miles a day for three straight days, camping in a tent at night).  I have medals from all three halfs and the 10k, but never from an event that I actually RAN.   SO this week - I run.  Wish me luck!

Rock and Roll announced yesterday it's Vegas 1/2 marathon and marathon are going to be ran on the Strip at NIGHT!!! SO, I'm tempted....

And I already signed up for THIS - MY DREAM RACE!!! But don't tell anyone, shhhhh... I haven't told a few key players yet....