5K was a Success!!!

Well everyone I have truimphed again and completed another 5K!!! I felt so great today running it was so much fun. And I learned a few things about myself along the way.

The race was to support Cause for Paws the animal shelter so there were lots of dogs there. I wish my dogs were well behaved enough around other dogs because they would have had fun!

First I was feeling very crappy yesterday and I am coming down with a cold. I was starting to doubt myself thinking man can I really do this tomorrow? Then there was the weather, it has been crappy outside, it was 50 degrees and very windy and chilly! The race was right on the ocean front so it was beautiful but very chilly! I woke up this morning feeling nervous and wondering if I was going to be able to complete the challenge I had set before me.

Well I woke up 2 hours before the race was supposed to start, actually I had been in bed for an hour I had woken up 3 hours prior because of nerves but I forced myself to stay in bed and try to rest. So I got up and made myself a piece of toast and a poached egg. I wanted to get in a little food but not too much to upset my stomach. Then I got suited up. I was glad I had purchased my Under Armor cold weather gear pants and shirt a few weeks ago because I definitely needed it today! It kept me so warm and comfortable during the
 race.

And we headed off to the race. I began to swallow my fears and just get my mind ready to run. Once we got there I was surprised it was so beautiful right on the ocean. It was probably the prettiest run I have gotten to do.

We got lined up after some stretching and got ready to go. I was feeling a little bit cold but I knew I would be fine once we got moving!

And then I got to running! Once I started running all of the fears and pain from my cold began to melt away. It was amazing running alongside all the people I felt so empowered and in control of my body. I was running in the wind and honestly it felt so good. I learned that I do not like to run in a big crowd though lol I was feeling claustrophobic in the beginning of the race because everyone was in one big pack. I tried to make my way forward and out to the outer edge. About 4 minutes into the race we evened out and I got into a steady rythm.

I learned that I truly do love to run. I love the feeling of hitting the ground and just moving through space with my feet carrying my body. I feel strong when I run and it makes me feel like I can do anything. When the race was nearing the end I could tell because my legs began to feel a little like jelly but I kept going. I was ecstatic when I was that clock at the end of the race and I saw 26 minutes! I think at that moment adrenaline took over because I was so excited I started sprinting into the finish line! The last 5K I ran (my first) I finished in 28:10. Well you can imagine my smile and surprise when I finished in 26:52. I was hoping to beat my time and get in the 27 minute range. I was not expecting to see 26!!!!  

I finished 32 out of 108 runners. My average time per mile was 8:40 and I placed 11th in the age group females 0 to 39 lol. I was the 14th female to finish the race. It was not a big race and it was not about that, for me it was just getting out there in a tougher climate and rock it and I think I did just that today!

I recorded it this time on my monitor :) I left it on for a little while after while I was cooling down and walking and stretching.

The Fit Bee - Exposed!

Well I must honestly tell you I cannot believe I am doing this. The challenge this week from the lovely Sisterhood was to expose our selves and truly pay homage to the beautiful bodies that we have Exposed Challenge. I have never heard of The Exposed Movement until the Sisterhood introduced it to me yesterday. When I was reading all of these exposed posts last night I was beginning to think long and hard about my own journey and how much at times I dislike my own body.

I have never been self confident in my past 6-7 years I have always hid my body under clothes, in the dark, and I never truly cherished the skin I live in. I have never worn a bikini, never even wear shorts in the summer time always skirts and capris. I do not wear tank tops because I hate my arms. I would never ever think to expose my body for exactly what it is. I am in tears as I write this because I am thinking about the shame and guilt I had always held towards my body.

When you develop a self hatred it is something that is very very hard to overcome. It is something that still I am struggling with. My highest weight was 272 lbs while I was pregnant with my daughter. At the start of the pregnancy I was 254 lbs. I was heavier then than I ever have been in my whole life. But after I had her I became more and more uncomfortable in my own skin. Having her changed my body for the worse and my stomach had ugly stretch marks and hung loosely. It was devastating to look in the mirror day after day and just cry. I would cry in a ball in my closet sometimes when I would look at it and think I was doomed to carry the weight around with me forever.

And then one day I just woke up and told myself no more. No more crash diets, binge eating, and self loathing. I told myself if I truly wanted to love my daughter and be around for her then I would have to learn to love myself and get healthy if not for my own sake then solely for hers. And so I began, on February 24th, 2010 I walked into a weight watchers center and attended my first meeting and thought wow I am not sure I can do this but i am sure as hell going to try. And this is me then:

I was confident enough then that this would be the last time I would ever look like this. I am not sure how I was so brave to take pictures then. Maybe I really deep down inside knew I could change and become better for myself. Whatever it was I am glad I did it because today taking the picutres of myself I was very happy. I was happy to look back at these in my album I keep with me and really realize I was making a difference and I am getting somewhere.

It is hard when you are losing weight for awhile because you see yourself all day everyday. For me anyways, I do not feel different sometimes. I feel like I am always standing in that mirror and picking at my love handles and wishing they would just disappear. I am still not confident in my body and I wonder if I ever can grow to become so. This movement is important to me because it made me look at my body for the good things it does accomplish on a daily basis. I have a new found appreciation for my body and the amount of weight I have lost thus far. I began at 252.6lbs that day in February, and now I stand before you 7 and a half months later weighing 188.8lbs a total loss of 63.8lbs.

That means I lost 25% of my original body weight. I never thought about or even calculated that number until now. I want to thank the Sisterhood for bringing the exposure movement to my knowledge and opening my eyes to a new form of self love and new hope for my future that I will keep meeting my goals and keep my committment to be healthy!
 

Weigh in Wednesday

Well no excitement this week. I am only down .2 lbs not exactly what I was hoping for. I know I should be happy I have lost 9 pounds since Shrinkvivor began but I feel like I put in a lot of work this past week and expected to see more like a 2 lb loss and not .2!

I will try not to let it get me down as I gear up for my next week. I just plan to keep doing what I am doing.

This week the challenge was miles and I managed to log in 24 miles between my running and elliptical machine workouts. I was happy with that. I drank 120 ounces of water each and every day. I did not eat any fast food. I did get in 5-6 servings of vegetables a day. I stayed well within my points range and only ate 15 of my 35 flex points. I think maybe I needed to use up more of them and will try to next week.

I am preparing to run another 5k on Saturday so that will be fun and I am looking forward to it!

During weight loss it is important to not always focus on the numbers on the scale. I know in my head this is true. I try to remind myself of it but still you cannot help but feel a little disappointment when you do not receive the results you were expecting. I am just telling myself that this means next week I will rock the weigh in and be down no matter what! I just hope I get to stick around in Shrinkvivor for a little while longer! I love my tribe :)

Miles at the Gym Instead of Binging

So tonight I was really stressed out. In the past I would always turn to food when I was stressed and go on a binge. I would be ravenous going through the cabinets and just chew everything I could get. It was ridiculous and I know that now but back then I did not care. I would eat and eat until I got sick and then feel more depressed than ever. That is the thing about binge eating it is very hard to control and stop.

I have been committed to keeping my promise to my daughter and getting healthy and for me this means no more binging. It has been the most difficult challenge to over come, I would say because for me binging was the only vice I had left, I quit smoking 4 years ago, cannot drink, etc so food was it. I did not cure this addiction overnight. I had to fight hard especially in the beginning of my journey to stop it. There were a few times when I did give in a start to binge. There were a few times when I lost control. But I have gotten better.

Tonight I knew I had a break through when I felt the urge to binge and instead I got changed and went to the gym. I stayed on the treadmill for 30 minutes and ran 3.3 miles. It felt amazing and I am glad I made the right choice! I then went onto the elliptical and set it to do 40 minutes. I got out my biology book and read the chapter that is due this week. It is all about multi-tasking when you are a full time working mommy and I tried to do that tonight. Then I came home and baked these  GF Cran-Oatmeal Cookies with my daughter! She loves them I am glad she likes my healthy creations :)

I got in 6 miles to end the Shrinkvivor challenge on a good note. I am still nervous for weigh in tomorrow even though I know i should not be! I do not think I will ever be comfortable going into a weigh in. I ate well within my points and drank 120+ ounces of water a day! In theory I have nothing to worry about but I seriously still get nervous before every weigh in!

OK enough of my rambling for one day :) Hope everyone is having a good week!

Logging Those Miles with my new running partner

Well it was a brisk chilly morning this morning but there will be no time to work out later so I had to get my miles in this morning. Its good because today is a more sad day for me it being my grandmother's birthday and she is no longer here with us. So I needed a good run to clear my mind and make the day begin on a positive note.

Well I was gearing up this morning and I saw my cocker spaniel Max just laying on the couch and I thought hey this guy can come running with me too hehe. I am sure it was not what he wanted to be doing since he did look so comfy but then again when do we ever want to workout in the beginning?

So I leashed him up and off we went. Much like me I think he was sleepy and cold because the first half mile we were both a little sluggish. Then the more we ran the faster we got. By about 1.5 miles we were both logging in a good pace and enjoying ourselves. We finished 3.1 miles in 28 minutes which is my normal time. I want to try for one more try of it tomorrow and then rest Wednesday and do light cardio Thursday and rest Friday because Saturday is RACE DAY!

Yes I signed up for another 5K! I am excited this one is to help animals in need. Cause for paws is a road race to benefit the animal shelter so I thought it would befitting for my new running partner :)

have a great day everyone!

So far for this week's shrinkvivor challenge I have logged in 17 miles! I hope to log in 5 more tomorrow before this week's challenge ends .

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Guest Post! Article: 5 Tips to Effectively Lose Weight

Well I am pleased to bring our first guest post. This post is from Rafi over at www.passionatefitness.com 
This website is a nice online forum for everyone at every level of fitness from beginners to experts! Check it out! 

Bio: Rafi Bar-Lev is a fitness fanatic and founder of the community fitness site, Passionate Fitness - Fitness Tips. He recently wrote about compound exercises. Check it out!

Article: 5 Tips to Effectively Lose Weight

Losing weight is one of those things that people who haven't yet succeeded at think is impossible, and people who have succeeded it know it's quite possible and just a matter of following a few simple tips. If weight loss has been this unreachable goal to you up to now, then this article is for you.

Here are 5 tips to effectively lose weight:

1. Exercise. While diet will be the ultimate decider of whether or not you are able to lose the weight, exercise is still extremely helpful. For one, it will help you feel in control of your weight loss journey and give you the mental fortitude for sticking to your diet. For two, it will tone your body so that when you do lose the weight you can avoid the "skinny-fat syndrome'. And for three, it can actually enhance your weight loss, which is why I've written a list on exercises to lose weight with.

2. Count calories. Counting calories might not be "in style", but it works. Find out how many calories you're taking in to maintain your current weight, and then eat 500 less to lose 1 pound a week.

3. Keep a journal. Keeping a journal will help you keep track of your weight loss, to see where you're going right and where you're going wrong. Ultimately, this is one of the most important tools in losing weight and will have you in control of your weight loss journey, without feeling like it's a guessing game.

4. Have a support group. Having a support group, whether online or with friends or with family, is a great way to keep you motivated even when you want to quit. Talking with other people who are on a diet is a great way to know that you're not alone and that people are going through the same challenges you are.

5. When you relapse, recover quickly. Relapses happen - the most important thing is not to let a one day or one cookie relapse turn into a year off dieting. If you do relapse, just get back on the bandwagon right away to where you started and don't look back.

Thanks for this post Rafi! I agree with all of these and do them all on a daily basis. It has allowed me to be successful in my journey and hope everyone can learn from these tips and be successful too!

Logging those Miles!!!

Well the challenge for Shrinkvivor this week is to log those miles! I was a bit sad because I prefer the minutes challenge but the miles was good for me because it will make me do more cardio!


I got out tonight and went for a nice 3 mile run with the baby in her stroller. It was so nice to finally get back outside and be running. I was tired of the treadmill :) We ran around the neighborhood for 3 nice miles.

Then I hit the gym. I wanted to get in 2 more miles on the elliptical and have some me time lol. I like having a little time each workout just for me to be able to relax and work without worrying about the baby. Yes it may sound a bit selfish but I think every mom needs some me time once in awhile!

After the 5 miles in total I felt so good when I got home that I went ahead and did Shred It With Weights with my kettle bell. I do wish I had an adjustable kettle bell because the 15 lb one which was so heavy in the beginning has become much easier to swing around. I did not realize how well your body adjusts to them! I love the kettle bell training it really is different than regular weights and more dynamic.

I ended the workout with of course my ISO 100 shake and some cool down stetches,

All in all a good workout!