Day 33 and 34: Faster and Stronger

Naughty blogger. No cookie.

Sorry I haven't posted my 1-month progress pics. Husband has been busy and I keep forgetting to ask him to take the photos. Ah well. Will do it this weekend.

I just came home from the most amazing run. I went after Baby Girl went to bed so it was quite dark out, which was a bit unnerving (I live in the middle of downtown Vancouver), but other than that, night running is where it's at. I am so proud of myself; I am really enjoying running now and can run for what seems like forever without getting winded. It actually feels really good the whole time. It's amazing how fast improvement happens. To think that only one month ago, I could barley run for 30 seconds and now, I can run for at least 40 minutes and I'm loving every second of it.

Hot yoga is also going well. In one of my classes last week, I really felt like I was starting to "get it". And the best part was that after class, the instructor pulled me aside and said (and I quote), "You have a beautiful yoga practice." What a compliment! I pretty much walked home on a cloud.

The Plan is going great. I am sticking to it like glue and the weight continues to come off. Slowly. Very slowly.

I have written far too much about Cheat Day over the last few weeks so I'm not going to get into it again in this post, save to say that I am still finding Cheat Days challenging. I look so forward to them all week but once I get to Cheat Day, I am just not finding them satisfying. It's really weird and I don't understand it.

Anyway, nothing too exciting to report! Oh, except for this: None of my bras fit me properly anymore! Haha...

Day 11: Rock and Roll

Wow! I woke up this morning with SO MUCH ENERGY! I had a great sleep, and couldn't wait to get rockin' and rolling today. Baby Girl and I had a nice breakfast together - I had a big bowl of oatmeal with banana and cinnamon (I'm sparing you the pics - you've seen enough oatmeal for awhile) and then you know what we did? We went for a RUN! Well, I ran and Baby Girl sat in the stroller while I pushed her along.

Okay, we don't actually have a jogging stroller per se, but I'd say we did pretty well all things considered. I didn't go for a long run - just 15 minutes to the park, stopping to let Baby Girl have some fun on the swings and the slide, and then 15 minutes back. I worked up a nice sweat and it felt great. I am excited to know that I can now go for runs with Baby Girl, as opposed to being dependent on Husband's schedule so he can watch her while I go. My only complaint is that my upper arms are kind of sore, I think from holding the handlebars of the stroller. But I'm sure that will fade in time. All in all, an AWESOME morning.

I absolutely certain that my energy and mood today are thanks entirely to yesterday's yoga. In fact, I was feeling so great this morning that I didn't even freak out when I weighed myself and discovered that yesterday's Cheat Day resulted in a weight gain this morning of 0.8 pounds. Whatever. I'm not even thinking about it.

And because today is Sunday, I've updated my "Numbers" in the sidebar to the right (as I will do every Sunday). As you can see, I'm officially down 3.5 pounds. Not bad. But I've fluctuated so much over the last week, I'm starting to wonder if I'm ever going to get out of the 160's! What a great day it will be when that happens.

Anyway, I'm feeling fantastic, energized and healthy today. I think I'm going to make a big batch of homemade vegetarian chili for dinner tonight, even though it's Canadian Thanksgiving this weekend. Yes, it's a very un-Thanksgiving meal indeed, but I'm cool with it. We're just gonna take it easy.

Monster hunger is starting to set in. Must go forge for lunch!

Laden

I was unpleasantly surprised to discover today that my biggest, fattest, fat pants actually fit me again. Uncool. But not undeserved. I have been hitting the sweets pretty hard over the last few weeks.

I am feeling oh so ready to get started on my plan. I am just feeling so bloated and flabby and yuck today. The next 10 days can't go by fast enough. Seriously.

And for that reason, I'm glad I'm doing it this way. Rather then starting right away like I usually do, and feeling unprepared and deprived, I am feeling totally willing and ready to start on my journey to get fit. Plus, I am truly exhausting my cravings for sweets; as I type this I am eating a peanut butter cookie sandwich (2 glorious peanut butter cookies sandwiched around even more glorious peanut butter creme) AND a vegan spelt brownie - both treats from Whole Foods. And while they are beyond delish, I am starting to feel like I've had my fill. Now, and in general. I just feel so... greasy. Heavy. Laden.

We are lucky to have a great community centre about half a block from our condo. Husband, Baby Girl and I popped in today because I wanted to find out what time the baby playgroup drop-ins happen. I discovered that our community centre offers a ton of 'baby and me' fitness and yoga classes! I think I'm going to check them out and add a couple of days of this to my workout schedule.

I am brimming with inspiration right now. And anticipation for what lies ahead. Time for a change.

Runner Up

T minus 12 days until I start The Plan! Much to do! (Can you tell that I am the kind of person that needs to feel ridiculously prepared?)

When I used to run 8 years ago, I remember getting started by using Hal Higdon's Website. He has a great beginner training program that worked beautifully for me, and I'd like to employ it again.

Speaking of running, Husband surprised me this morning by going for a run himself! Anyone who knows my husband knows that he never runs unless chased. But this morning, he just went for it - and made it a whole mile and a half! I am seriously so proud of him right now. Proud and inspired. And happy! My own weight loss regime will be a lot easier with Husband doing his thing.

I just ate TWO Klondike Bars. Sick, right? I told Husband that I am allowing myself to indulge in anything and everything I love to eat for the next 12 days and I refuse to feel bad about it. I am living it up with no limits until midnight of September 30th.

I hear you, I know what you're saying, you think I'm being stupid and borderline detrimental to my health by going on what is essentially a two-week binge. Relax. I'm not being insane or anything, I'm just eating a some extra sweets here and there. And maybe some chips. Limits or no limits, I can only pig out so much.

And it's weird, every time I feel like I've indulged a wee bit too much, it seems to strengthen my resolve to get healthy and lose weight. Isn't that strange? The more I eat and couch, the more I want to cut back and get active. I am starting to crave the feeling of having a body that's treated like a temple and functions like a well oiled machine.

Anyway, Happy Friday all! This weekend, I'm going to buy my new water bottle, an iPod shuffle and we're going out for dinner at one of my favourite Italian restaurants!

On Having a Plan

Yes, yes, I have a plan!

But before I get to that, I must interrupt this post with a little confession (and if you can't be totally honest in your own blog than what's the point). I just finished polishing off a medium half Oreo / half Reese's Dairy Queen Blizzard. It was heaven and I felt entitled to it. It was a long day. Just had to get that off my chest.

Anyway, so about this plan...

The big fat question: How am I going to get healthier, stronger and lose all this weight?

There are so many options out there, it does feel a bit overwhelming. I've never been much of a dieter - honestly I've never believed in them. However, recently my belief system is starting to crumble. I have seen a few friends experience amazing success on Weight Watchers. I have another friend who counts calories and runs like a madwoman; she's lost 66 pounds so far. I know another woman who has embraced the low-glycemic thing and has seriously BANGED IT OUT. She went from a size 12 (I know because I got all her hand-me-downs) to a size 2. She looks fabulous. They all do!

Baby Girl went for her 1 year doctor's appointment yesterday and while we were there, I mentioned to our family doctor that I was ready to lose some weight. I asked for her doctorly recommendations. She said, "There's only one thing that really works and that's counting calories - calories in and calories out." I also asked her about Weight Watchers and she said it also works very well but pointed out that in essence, it's just modified calorie counting.

So, based on her recommendation, I think I'm going to start counting calories. I've already downloaded several calorie counting apps for my iPhone, including this one that I'm really excited about.

I've decided on a plan start date of October 1st. I don't really have a great reason for not wanting to get going on this right away, except to say that I would like a couple of weeks to prepare (mentally), and enough time to get some meals planned and the kitchen stocked with everything I need. I also want to buy an iPhone arm case that I can exercise with.

Speaking of exercising, I've chosen running for my cardio and lifting Baby Girl for my strength training. Running just feels right, and I used to really enjoy it so I hope I can get that groove back again in time. And I figure I lift my daughter about a million times a day anyway, may as well tweak it a bit and make it an official exercise. She is 22 pounds right now, and loves it when I toss her in the air and swing her around when we play. Crazy?

I plan to purchase a nice new water bottle (I like those BPA-free Nalgene bottles) as a commencement gift to myself and will drink at least 64 ounces of H2O a day. I know the whole 8-glasses-a-day thing has recently come under debate but I just know that when I'm hydrated I really do feel better.

I am also going to give myself one weekly "Cheat Day". I've never done this before in all my attempts to lose weight. It's always been all or nothing for me. And I can't help but wonder if perhaps a "Cheat Day" is just what I need to keep me right on track. I mean really, everyone needs a break, right? It's exhausting feeling deprived all the time. I am old enough to know that weight loss success isn't borne of perfection, it comes from consistency.

So here's my plan in a nutshell:

• I will count calories (number and expenditure to be determined by my iPhone app).
• I will run 6 days per week, ideally working up to about 45 minutes per session.
• I will do at least 15 minutes of purposeful resistance training daily (lifting and playing with my daughter).
• I will drink 64 ounces of water per day.
• I will allow myself one Cheat Day per week where I can eat and do anything I want. The only thing that will not be allowed on Cheat Day is guilt.

There you have it. My grand plan. Henceforth known as "The Plan". I am really happy with it. It feels great just writing it down and clarifying it in my own head. The first step is done, only about 40 more to go...