Wordless Friday

Well almost wordless...

All images via Happily Maintaining 

I hope you all have a happy & safe new year.  Blogging about my journey to get healthy and reading blogs with similar goals has been one of the best things for me. It was like seeing a whole new group of people that have the same state of mind as you. And that’s why I appreciate all of the people whose blogs I read and all of the people that read my blog. Thank you.

OMG moment

Ten days ago, I posted that one of my goals for December was to finish a 5K in under 50 minutes.  I think I was riding on an exercise high because I had just walked my fastest 5K that day with a time of 51:20.  I was only able to work out one more day after that and then I got sick.   Today I went back to the gym after not working out all week and this happened:

I did this today.  Me.  I still can't believe.  I actually walked 3.1 miles in under 50 minutes.  Say whaaat?!?!  I think my day at the gym today is one that I won't soon forget.  

I also went to the East Bay and hit up Lush.  I am obsessed with taking baths now so I wanted to take advantage of their sales.  I got all this for $65 since all their holiday items were buy one get one free.   One of the stars is a gift filled with 6 holiday bath bombs.  In all, I ended up getting 10 bath bombs/bubble bars and two soaps (the Godmother & Snow Globe).

To say that I am beyond excited about my weight loss & 5K time today is not enough.  This is proof that I can do those things which I thought I couldn't do.  I can do it.  I just have to keep trying and if I fail, try again.

Weekly weigh in & Christmas goodies

I was sort of bummed that I got sick because I couldn't work out so I doubt I will make my goal of 1,000 exercise minutes for the month.  I am finally feeling better & will be going back to the gym today.  Gotta prepare to for an epic race this weekend.  It could the meds that I am on (antibiotics & Sudafed) or the fact that I was more conscious of what I ate since I couldn't work out so I was extremely surprised with a 4 pound loss this week.  That makes it a loss of 79.6 pounds since September 2010.   Holy cow!   I really hope to start 2012 with an 80 pound loss behind me.  We will see if I can reach this number in the next week.

This Christmas weekend was sort of low key for me.  I started to feel a bit sorry for myself since I wasn't with family but I know that I made the right decision for me.  Usually for Christmas I get myself a nice gift.  Since I have to watch my funds a bit right now, I had decided that my entry to Bay to Breakers would be my Christmas gift to me.  However, I came across a couple of sales and decided to treat myself especially since I only spent $70 on it all.  Pretty excited to get these goodies within the next week.  

Ideeli was having a plus size sale & I managed to score a couple of items.

Stretch Poplin Jacket in Coal

Cargo Pant with Ruched Detail in Night Mist

Benton Springs Hoodie in Oxide Blue

Since I had a $20 credit with Ideeli, I only spent $38 on these three items including shipping.  Pretty sweet deal!


BrittanyFindsHerself posted that REI was having a sale on handheld water bottles so I decided to check out the sale.

With free shipping, I ended up spending $28 for both the wrist wallet & bottle.  I never thought that I would ever get excited to shop at REI.  I guess people do change.  :)

Since I didn't work out at all this week, I will be starting up again today with week 6 of the half marathon walking training guide.  I thought of skipping ahead to week 7 but I really want to be able to look back with a sense of accomplishment and realize that I followed through with the plan.  

My workouts for week 6 are: 

• Monday - 40 minutes walking 
• Tuesday - 25 minutes walking 
• Wednesday - 40 minutes walking 
• Thursday - rest day 
• Friday - 30 minutes walking
• Saturday - 4 miles 
• Sunday - rest day

As I've done for the past 5 weeks, I will continue to do at least 5k on non mile days.  My goal for Saturday is to beat my previous 4 mile time of 1:12.


Hope everyone has a great week.  Let's end 2011 on a high note!

Joy to the World...

I've got strep throat. Fa la la, la la la, la la la!

This was me today waiting for the doctor.   I started feeling somewhat craptacular yesterday and decided to skip my workout.  I slept for a lot of the day and I thought I was feeling better.  This morning I woke up a bit dizzy, feeling congested and my throat... my god you think I was swallowing rocks.  

I was going to go to the gym and "sweat it out" but when I could barely eat my sandwich I knew it was time to call the doctor.  I now have a nice cocktail of antibiotics & decongestants going.  This was actually the first time that I asked a doctor if it would be ok to work out.  He gave me a strange look and said to wait a bit and then to listen to my body.  

1. I never thought I would be asking a doctor if it would be ok to work out. 
2. I am a bit upset that this is interrupting my training.  I feel like I was on track and now there is this bump on the road.  Grr... 
3. At least I don't have much of an appetite.  

My mom and sister leave tomorrow for the next 10 days.  I am really bummed that I can't work out mainly because it was going to be a distraction for me.  I am saddened that I can't go to Mexico with them but I made the choice not to go to keep on this weight loss journey.  I just need to remain positive so that I don't fall back on old habits. Anyhoo...

I wanted to wish you all a Merry Christmas and wanted to thank you for your support and friendship.  If you don't celebrate Christmas, I hope that you still enjoy the upcoming weekend and prepare to make 2012 your best year ever.  

If you plan for it, it will work.

What's it?  For me, it's Weight Watchers.  I was a bit concerned this week on how I would do with my weight loss.  I find that the times when I lose control is when I go out to eat.  For me, it's hard to stay on track in the face of temptation.  I also lost 5.2 pounds last week so I wasn't sure how my body would perform this week.

I lost two pounds and that makes me so happy.  I had weighed myself in the middle of the week and I was down 2.4 pounds.  But that was before the 3 holiday get togethers I had.   I knew that I couldn't just let myself eat whatever I wanted so I did a couple of things to ensure I would succeed this week:

1. Plan ahead.  Two of the get togethers were at a restaurant.  For both, I checked and calculated the points before hand.  I made sure I stuck to my food choices.  
2. I didn't deprive myself.   I love the wheat bread at the Cheesecake Factory.  I allowed myself to have two pieces and I was satisfied with that.  Also, at the restaurant I went to on Friday, I decided to get dessert & shared it with the table.  I had allowed for enough points so that if I wanted dessert at the end of the night I could have it without feeling guilty. 
3. Work out.  I worked out 5 times this week.  I made that a priority. 
4. For the brunch potluck I went to on Sunday, I prepared a WW friendly meal - skinny country potatoes.   Since it was a potluck, I didn't have control over the food being served.  When I started filling up my plate, I filled half of it with fruit, a serving of the country potatoes and then small servings of the two quiches prepared.  I filled up with fruit first and even went back for seconds... of the fruit salad.  
5. Alcohol - oh how I love a good cocktail.  I used to be the one that would get a couple of drinks plus a full meal.  This time, I had ONE cocktail at each get together.  Again, I didn't deprive myself and I enjoyed my time with family and friends.  

Since I knew that I would be eating out, I made sure that the days that I didn't I ate more sensibly.  It's great to be able to enjoy life and not worry about losing control over food.  All it took was a bit of planning to be able to stay on track.  It sounds simple but this week was a lot harder for me mentally since I really had to be conscious of my choices.  

My workouts for week 6 are:

• Monday - rest day 
• Tuesday - 40 minutes walking 
• Wednesday - 25 minutes walking 
• Thursday - 40 minutes walking 
• Friday - rest day 
• Saturday - 30 minutes walking 
• Sunday - 4 miles 

As I've done for the past 5 weeks, I will continue to do at least 5k on non mile days.  My goal for Sunday is to beat my previous 4 mile time of 1:12.

Christmas came early!

Last night I had Christmas dinner with my mom and sister and we also had a gift exchange.  It's a bit early to be exchanging gifts but both my mom and sister are going to Mexico City for the holidays next week.   Dinner was delicious.  We went to a restaurant in Corte Madera called Brick & Bottle and the menu is described as classic comfort food with a fresh and modern touch.

I had the roasted beet & green lentil salad to start with.  For my entre, I ordered two side dishes - smoked gouda orzo "mac & cheese" and the bacon brussels sprouts.  I ended up ordering the rum cake and shared it with my sister.  Everything was so good and best of all was that I did not go over my points for the day.  We also exchanged gifts at the restaurant and I got some great goodies. 

I finally got a Fitbit.  If you want to friend me on Fitbit, here's my profile. I've been wanting one for a long time and I made it a reward for myself if I could track my food consistently for 60 days.  That wasn't happening so when my mom asked me what I wanted, I knew exactly what I wanted to get.  She also gave me two workout DVD's and my sister gave me a gift card.  I was really happy with my gifts.

Today's workout scheduled said that I needed to do a 40 minute walk and tomorrow a 6 mile walk.  Tomorrow morning I have brunch with some friends so I switched the schedule around.  I drove to Blackie's Pasture this morning and started walking.  

Last week, I was going to walk my farthest distance which was 5 miles and for some reason that morning I was freaking out.  That was not the case today.  I mentally prepared myself and set a time goal (1:45 since I walked 5 miles in 1:28 last week) and hoped for the best.  I was struggling a bit after the first mile.  I just felt like I was going slow.  I knew I wasn't going to beat yesterday's 5K time because this walk was more about endurance for me.  After a while though, I just stopped worrying about it and kept going.  Last week when I hit the 5 mile mark, I was exhausted and my body instantly slowed down.  This time when I hit the 5 mile mark, I knew I still had one more mile and it was like my body knew it too.  I looked at my Runkeeper app and saw that I could potentially make my time goal.  The last 1/4 mile my feet felt so heavy but I made it and reached my goal (even my Fitbit was happy).  

Now it's time to take a bubble bath and relax.  Whew!

My numbers don't lie

Earlier this week I posted that I had walked my fastest 5K on the treadmill.  I was really excited to see the time going down so I kept pushing myself to see how fast I could go.

The top number is Tuesday's time, then Wednesday and then today. I look a bit crazy in my picture (oh my hair!) but I was ecstatic with my time.  I may sound a bit overconfident but my goal for December is to try to see if I can walk it under 50 minutes. That's what I will be striving for during the next 15 days. Wish me luck!

I looked at MyFitnessPal and so far I have worked out 461 minutes & if I continue to follow my workout plan for the remainder of the month, I will surpass my monthly goal of 1,000 exercise minutes.

Now off to get ready for a Christmas dinner.  My mom and sister are leaving next week to go to Mexico for the holidays so we are doing our gift exchange tonight.

Bay to Breakers

At the beginning of November, I decided that I would start training to participate in Bay to Breakers (12K race) by following the half marathon walking training guide on Hal Higdon's page.  I started following it so that I could build up endurance and speed. I am on week 5 and so far I feel as I am doing pretty great.  Yesterday I received an email from the organizers of the event and if I registered within the next 48 hours, the registration fee would be $48 which is the cheapest it's going to be.

I was excited.

I was nervous.

I had butterflies in my tummy.

How could I even think of signing up for a race that long when it was only Sunday that I walked 5 miles?

Anxiety set it.

Did I mention that there is a a huge hill in the course that's about a 1/2 mile long?

I started to doubt myself but then this happened...

I am so excited & terrified. But I can't wait.  I only have 158 days to think of a costume for that race.  Squee!

When I registered for the race, I picked the 16 mile run/walk corral which would have me finishing the race right at two hours.  I now have a set time goal that I will be working on for the next 6 months.  Today at the gym I was feeling optimistic and decided to push myself.  My fastest 5k time is 53:07.  Or rather it used to be that time because today I beat my time.  

I’m feeling very motivated lately & hope to continue to feel this way. I think eating cleaner has definitely helped with my mood. Not poisoning my body with excess food is paying off.

SELF RESPECT

When I got on the scale this morning & weighed in, I felt like...

I lost 5.2 pounds. Booyah! I was so happy to see that loss today.  So so happy.  I worked hard this week.  I ate according to plan and worked out 5 days this past week.  

I completed week 4 of the half marathon walking training guide and I was scared for yesterday's workout.  I had to walk 5 miles and I've never walked that distance.  But I did it!  And I did it faster than I thought I would.  I had set a goal of an hour and a half & I walked it in 1:28.

My workouts for week 5 are:

• Monday - rest day
• Tuesday - 35 minutes walking
• Wednesday - 25 minutes walking
• Thursday - 35 minutes walking
• Friday - rest day
• Saturday - 40 minutes walking
• Sunday - 6 miles

As I've done for the past 4 weeks, I will continue to do at least 5k on non mile days.

I posted this on my Tumblr yesterday but it worth repeating.

I must remember this feeling of accomplishment whenever I doubt myself. I CAN DO IT!

Wordless Saturday

Well almost wordless :)

Registered for my first 10K (EVER!!!) for 2012.  I am excited/nervous/scared all at the same time.

Non-scale victory.  Oh yeah!

My new favorite treat - iced venti Americano with 1 pump of sugar free mocha (1 PP+)

Had some pumpkin puree left over, so I made some pumpkin, black bean & poblano pepper tacos.  So yum & 6 PP+ for two tacos (if you follow the recipe).  Mine were 7PP+ since I added cheese.

I spent my Wednesday with friends doing some wine tasting.  Life is good.

RaceEpic & tried a new recipe

I've been looking for a 5K for December and last night on Tumblr I came across an virtual race for New Years Eve - RaceEpic.  I decided to sign up so on December 31, I will be walking at least a 5K.  Who knows, I may surprise you (and myself) and decide to do a 10K.  For $25, you can get a shirt & if you prove that you completed your race, you also get a medal.  Part of the funds will also go towards charity. How cool is that?  I can't think of a better way to end start the new year.

I worked out today (W4D2) and completed another 5K on the treadmill.  Burned 561 calories & by the time I left the gym, I was starving.  I decided to make Mary's recipe for Pumpkin Black Bean Chili.  Oh...Em...Gee!  Talk about delicious.  You can find the full recipe on her blog.  I calculated the nutritional value and a cup of this amazing chili is 10 points per cup.  It was definitely filling enough for me. I shared some with my mom and the rest is in the freezer.

Tomorrow is my rest day and am meeting up with friends and we are going wine tasting.  I told them that I would be the designated driver that way I won't be drinking my points.  Oh yeah and also to drink responsibly.  

Remember, life is all about making good choices.  

Listening to my body & facts about me

After a week of unhealthy eating habits, I faced the scale today and it reflected a 1.6 pound gain.  I'm honestly surprised, not by the gain, but by the amount.  I was prepared for more.  This shouldn't be an indication that it was ok to eat the way that I have the past week.   In fact, it's time to be more diligent and stay on track.  As mentioned in my previous post, the way I felt truly reflected how I ate last week and that's not a feeling I want to have again.   I prepared a healthy breakfast/pre-workout meal (steel cut oatmeal, brown sugar, banana & some walnuts) and am mentally preparing to go back to the gym to do at least 5K on the treadmill.

With my actions from last week, I feel like I don't deserve the following award but I will graciously accept it and hope that my efforts from now on will reflect the spirit of the award.

The awesome Tim from Fat.Boy.Thin gave me the Blog on Fire award on his blog.  He is such a cool dude & if you haven't read his blog, you should.  His blog cracks me up, he is doing awesome job in getting fit and he has reached 5,380,037 steps in his quest to walk 15 million steps.

The rules of this award are to pass this on to someone who has been doing incredibly well and then write 7 things about myself that you may not know.  It's hard to pick just one but I decided to award this to Emily from Big Life, Little Blog.  She may or may not know that she is an inspiration to me.  She chronicles her successes and struggles and currently is training for the Disney half marathon.  Definitely check out her blog & cheer her on.

7 things about me:

1. I don't want to have children.  I love my nieces & nephews and most kids (not the bratty kind) but I don't see myself having them.  
2. However, when I was diagnosed with PCOS 10 years ago & told that I could potentially have infertility issues, I was devastated that if in the future I ever did want kids that it wouldn't be an option.  
3. I don't like wearing dresses.  When I moved from Mexico to California 22 years ago, I had a different idea of what kids in the US dressed like.  While living in Mexico, I attended a private all girls Catholic school so I wore a uniform every day.  We moved to California in the summer so I really didn't see that many kids in their school outfits. My first day at a public school I wore a flower print dress & my hair in a ponytail.  Could I stand out even more?  New kid who barely spoke English wearing her Sunday's best surrounded by kids who were all wearing jeans & tshirts.  I think since then I've only worn a dress once and that was to a wedding I attended.  
4. I like helping people but I don't like asking for help.
5. I can watch some shows over & over and still laugh at the silly joke.  Some of those shows include Friends, Will & Grace, Everybody Loves Raymond & The Big Bang Theory.
6. I've always thought it would be cool to be a pink lady.
7. I heart my iPhone.  Seriously, it's a bad addiction.  Been an addict since 2007. 

And now you know...

Since my workouts haven't been consistent the past two weeks as per the half marathon walking training guide, I am going to pick a starting point & begin in week 4.  That means that my workouts for the week are:

• Monday - rest day 
• Tuesday - 35 minutes walking 
• Wednesday - 25 minutes walking 
• Thursday - 35 minutes walking
• Friday - rest day 
• Saturday - 40 minutes walking
• Sunday - 5 miles

Even though today is a rest day, I plan on working out since I may be going wine tasting on Wednesday and won't have time to go to the gym.  I hope that by continuing to follow this guide I will reach my December goal of 1,000 minutes of exercise.  

Moderation was on vacation

It's eerily quiet in my house right now.  The only sounds heard are those of the keyboard strokes & the Dubstep record that I am listening to.   Aaah peace... After 10 days of family visiting & playing tour guide, it's nice to be able to just sit and relax.  I love my family but 9 people in a 3 bedroom home is chaotic.

With the stillness and time to think, I've also had a time sit back and examine how I've been doing the past two weeks.  Let me tell you, it's been quite a disappointment on the getting healthy front.

Chocolate cake, ice cream, parmesan truffle fries, chili cheese fries, bit size milky ways, pistachios, enchiladas, chinese food, hot flaming cheetos, massive amounts of diet coke, mexican candy, cream cheese dip with crackers, bread and cupcakes... 

The main reason why I like following Weight Watchers is because I can eat anything I want.  But just in moderation.  Moderation has been on vacation for the past two weeks or so and it took away fruits & vegetables with it.   This list of foods is something that I can eat while following WW but in moderation.  Not the massive amount of qualities I've been eating.  I was worried about what I would eat on Thanksgiving dinner that I forgot that it isn't just that one meal.  It's the rest of my life that I need to be mindful of what I eat.

I can feel my body rejecting this treatment too.  I feel swollen, bloated, lethargic and am in a pissy mood.  I had the opportunity to go to the gym yesterday & today but instead decided to sleep most of the weekend. My body needs to detox and it's demanding that I stop treating it this way.  My plan last night was to take a bubble bath and write up this blog post.  Instead, I had a massive headache and went to bed early.   I know the headache was a reflection of how I've been treating my body.

I've got no one to blame but myself.   I made the choices and they weren't good ones.  My plan for December  is to concentrate on getting back on track again.  I know the scale tomorrow will reflect a gain but it's time to work on getting that number lower.

I've realized that I lack control with my food intake.  I can't have "bad" food in my house.  I just can't resist it.  Time to clean the cupboards & fridge again and donate everything I can and throw away that which may affect my control.  Sorry Mom but those hot flaming cheetos have got to go.

I also realized how much reading healthy living blogs motivates me.  I haven't been reading them lately since I haven't had a chance to but seeing how others are doing motivates me.   I need to get back on that.