Week 35: Angel Basin

I went to bed late last Sunday (so…10ish days ag) and decided to skip my Monday morning workout to sleep. Usually if I decide to skip a morning workout it is because I am too sore, too tired, or just flat out do not want to work out (so, an excuse...), not this one. I know that sleep is important, especially if you are trying to lose weight, which is why I make sure I am in bed 8 hours before I have to wake up. I didn’t get to control my bed time on Sunday, so instead I slept on Monday. Instead of hitting the gym on Tuesday night I met Mandy at a local community college and ran/walked about a mile on the track, did the bleachers once, and suicides twice. We were going to spend more time on the bleachers but the security guards closed the track. We’ll go to a high school next time where fancy security guards with fancy bikes and fancy locks on their fancy gates don’t exist. Instead of calling it a night we grabbed Mandy’s basketball ball and shot some hoops/pretended to do drills (at least I pretended…) at the LDS Institute. I skipped the gym on Wednesday night to hang out with a friend, and did some p90x kenpo on Thursday.

So..

Monday: Physical Therapy/Personal Training

Tuesday: Track/Bleachers/Basketball

Wednesday: Morning Cardio

Thursday: Kenpo

Friday: Morning Cardio & Physical Therapy/Personal Training

I still skipped workouts, but at least I was active every day! My nutrition was…not perfect, but not awful. One of my coworkers happened to bring in bagels on my high carb day. On a low carb day those are an ABSOLUTE NO, but on a high carb day…I can justify my way into eating one….or two. I KNOW they are not good for me, but they taste good! And then you crave more. I think my total was closer to 1.5. I know I did something else I should not have done, but I don’t remember what it was. Either way, I weighed in Thursday morning at 227.2 – HIGHER than the Saturday previous. I was upset, but there was nothing I could do about it. I knew that at most I could lose 1.5 lbs.

I was excited for Saturday morning because I was going on a new hike – but approached the weigh in with some trepidation.   

So I am SURE you can imagine my absolute joy and amazement when I saw 224 on the scale!!!! What a way to start my morning!! I was not expecting a 3 lb loss, so I was quite excited. Oh gosh. So excited. I was excited and SO ready for my hike.

Angel Basin. We left for the hike at 6:30am and BOY was it cold. We drove 30 minutes to the mouth of the “canyon” and another HOUR to drive the final 12 MILES. You have to have a high clearance vehicle to traverse the climb. It was bumpy, there were sharp turns, and I felt like I was on an Indiana Jones ride the whole time.

By the time we got there the temperature had dropped (higher elevation) to 37 degrees.

My cold weather friends may not find this cold – I was frozen. I had a light jacket and was wearing capris. THANKFULLY my bishop brought extra jackets and David had an extra beanie and gloves.

After a quick prayer we started on our hike and within minutes my pants were soaking wet. The rain from the night before mixed with the morning dew on the trail vegetation created an excess of moisture for the plants – moisture that found dry capris appealing. Cold air aside, this trail is BEAUTIFUL. And the day we went was just perfect. We crossed a little river 10 times (though by the time we returned it was more of a stream), the trees were covered with orange leaves and the ground was littered with them. 

The smell of autumn was in the air and I was in heaven. This trail is PERFECT for trail running, so I did just that, for 45 seconds at a time J Hey. I’ll get there.

At the end of our 4 mile trail we climbed into some Indian ruins. Their doors were very small. I don’t know if the residents were just as small or if their doors were made that way because it was easier to build. Either way, we had fun. And the view was breathtaking.

This was such a good group and such a beautiful hike. Most of the hike was covered with trees and other vegetation - this happened to be the only open spot (and a great spot for camping!) on the whole trail. 

It is now a new week and while I am excited for Saturday's weigh in, I know I have not done as much as I could have to get a good number. I had Monday off for Veteran's Day observance and it threw me off a bit. I skipped my Monday workout and instead of hitting the gym tonight I am going to take my bike to the shop. We'll see. I am hoping for at least 2 lbs, but 3 would be nice :)

What do you do to lead an active life outside of a gym?

My Support Team

I know this is an out of the ordinary post - but I could not find a way to fit it into another post (without it being ridiculously long). So here goes...

I have a lovely family. Both my mother and my grandmother encouraged me to lose weight while I was growing up, I just didn't care enough to listen. My older sister was a health nut. I remember her going for runs and refusing to eat "unhealthy" food while she was in Junior High. She tried to rub off on me, I mean REALLY tried. I know now that she cared about me and wanted to see me be happy and healthy, but I really did not want to hear about my bad decisions. She is probably the reason why I got gym membership after gym membership - she made working out seem "normal". Eventually she learned that unless she wanted me to be angry with her she should refrain from speaking to me about diet or exercise. It took some time, but I came around.

When I decided to start working out my mom and older sister were my first phone calls and became my first cheerleaders. When I told my sister about my desire to participate in the Bisbee 1000 she mentioned that it was still odd to hear me so excited about exercise and physical activity :) Shortly after making the decision to try and get healthy I spoke with a friend of mine about my goals; she had recently lost 50lbs and was still working on losing more. She became my 3rd cheerleader. My little sister was eager to go on hikes with me and she still never fails to tell me how small I look. She was my 4th cheerleader. I talk to ALL of them on a weekly basis and they push me, encourage me, inspire me, motivate me, and cheer for me. Four people is a GREAT support team, but I have been so lucky and so blessed to have my team grow.

About a month after I made the change to be healthy I was referred to Rehab Arizona for Physical Therapy. I continue to be AMAZED at how supportive they have been. Chris, Mandy, Josh, and Jared have helped me so much. They push me, challenge me, teach me, train me, and celebrate with me. I am always excited when I hit a new goal because I know that my success is their success. They are not just my cheerleaders or my support team, they are an integral part of my journey. They have become part of my family.

I am a proud member of the Mesa Caledonian Pipe Band (MCPB) where I play the bagpipes. I took the first three months of my journey off and by the time I went back to band rehearsals I was 30lbs lighter. They made me feel so wonderful about what I had accomplished. MCPB is already a family, and will forever be part of my family, but they now join the ranks of my cheerleaders. When I am frustrated or discouraged they NEVER fail to give me the  motivation and determination I need to press forward.

I have support through the Relief Society ladies at church, my Bishop and his counselors, the gals I work with, my roommates, the students I teach bagpipes to, friends I haven't seen in years, and so much more. I am so blessed to have so many cheerleaders I can turn to for support and motivation! There are definitely times when I need to be reminded that the hard work, the dedication, the sacrifices, are all worth it. I depend on you and THANK YOU so much for being a rock I can depend on!

THANK YOU

Mom, Jessie, Emily, Sarah, Chris D, Mandy, Josh, Jared, Chris H, Debra, Lois, Kelly, Adrienne, Betsy, Kathy, Kristen, Maura, Brother and Sister Ostlund, Bishop and Sister Nicholls, Clara, Brother and Sister Haynie, Mo, Krisjana, Erin, Nichole, Kimberly and SO SO SO many more. 

YOU keep me fighting. This is so important to me and I absolutely could not do it without your love and support. THANK YOU.

Week 34: The Dieter's Plateau

I apologize for not having a post last week. I noticed my weight starting to plateau, so I did a few slingshot days and did NOT want to weigh in during the middle of it.

A "slingshot" week (or in my case, 4 days) is when you change up your diet for a bit. Our bodies get used to our diet the same way our minds get used to schedules. Once my body has fully adapted to my diet it stops losing the weight and instead stores extra fat. You can only consume less than your daily calorie expenditure for so long until your body hits that "starvation" mode and decides it needs to store the energy. During my slingshot days I eat high carbs and up my calories for 4-7 days straight - which then causes me to retain water and the scale to be a bit deceptive - hence the lack of desire to weigh in. However, these "slingshot" days basically tricks my body into releasing stored fat instead of storing more fat.

Unfortunately, many people trying to lose weight will hit a plateau and instead of giving their body what it needs (energy) they try to eat less and exercise more, doing exactly the opposite of what they should be doing. When this doesn't work they might give up. Plateau's can be the end of a weight loss journey, that is why many refer to it as the "dreaded dieter's plateau". It is not so much the physical battle of getting over the plateau that is challenging, but the mental battle. Have you ever tried to lose weight and plateaued? What did you do?

So....last week.Mentally, coming off the plateau was difficult. I had spent a week not losing weight even though I worked incredibly hard. I was looking forward to Saturday's weigh in, but was terrified for it at the same time. I changed my diet, then changed my diet again, and my body was not responding well. I was already tired by Tuesday morning and it just got worse and worse as the week went on. By Friday I was exhausted - physically, mentally, and emotionally. Yes, I wanted to keep fighting for my goal, but I just did not have the energy to do it. My desire and will-power was there, but my fight and energy were gone. My older sister called me on Friday - to check in and to chat. I told her what was going on and she recommended that I take the evening off. I have no idea why that felt so foreign to me. Could I actually do that? So I did...kind of. I went to physical therapy but skipped band practice. I focused on me for the rest of the night. I woke up on Saturday feeling refreshed and got out the scale for weigh in...

3.4 lbs is a GREAT loss for one week. I would love to have seen a bigger number for 2 weeks, but honestly, I am just so happy that I finally got past 228. I'm nervous/excited for this Saturday's weigh in as well. I hope I am under 225, but I'm nervous/scared that I'm not quite over this plateau. I am not a very patient person and weight loss requires patience. Ugh.

After my 6am weigh in I met up with my Bishop and some guys from my stake for a hike. I expected a few more people to be on the hike, with at least one more girl, and I was hoping for someone close to my fitness level. Nope. I got 3 super fit guys and my super fit bishop. As soon as we started the hike two of the guys took off. It turns out there is some awesome climbing on the side of the trail and they wanted time to climb, so they raced to the rocks. David and my bishop stuck by my side and allowed me to set the pace. The hike was about 6 miles and it was so fun. The worst part wasn't the uphill climb, it was the descent! We hiked up for about 3.5 miles and down for 2.5 miles, so you know the downhill was steep! I was super sore the next day but SO proud of my pace. I may have slowed them down a bit (especially on the downhill..) but I was still SO proud of what I accomplished.

I love hiking.

I'm going again on Saturday.

I can't wait.

Week 32: Lose Yourself

I have become a bit obsessed with music recently. I am starting to run  jog (what? 3 minutes counts...) and I want upbeat music to listen to. I have never enjoyed rap music....until recently. Eminem has a few songs that I love, one of them is "Lose Yourself":

Look, if you had one shot, one opportunity
To seize everything you ever wanted in one moment
Would you capture it or just let it slip?

When this song plays I think about everything I am working towards -- my weight loss goals, my fitness goals, my career goals, my dating goals, ALL of it. In that moment, if THAT was my one opportunity, would I slow down? Would I take a break? Would I give up? NO. I would push through. So that's what I do. When this song comes on, I don't stop. It doesn't matter how tired I am, how weak I feel, or how close I am to collapsing, I don't stop.

We all have moments when we want to quit. Moments when we think we could not possibly go a step further. Moments when we are so fed up with trying so hard for so long that we no longer care about the consequences. Those are the moments that define us. Those are the moments that we get to show our strength. Those are the moments that we get to reach out to someone ELSE and help them with their moment. 

My point in this is that reaching your goals (ANY goals) is never going to be easy and there will always be obstacles, but obstacles are not an excuse to quit. Instead, they are an opportunity to get stronger. 

Now for my week :) 

If you don't know who TOM is, read the hints. I'm fine when TOM stays for a few days, but I'm not fine when he's just on his way. Being a woman is hard enough without trying to lose weight when your body is retaining water for no other purpose than to retain water. You cramp, you feel bloated, and you are ridiculously tired. I could BARELY get out of bed on Wednesday, AND it was a 4:30am morning AND I had a 45 minute cardio session calling my name. I reluctantly got up, went to the gym, and managed 30 minutes before I nearly collapsed. I worked 1/2 a day, went home, and SLEPT. These days will happen. They suck, but they happen. I also missed Thursday evening's workout because I got super busy with church stuff (and I may have had a LOT on my mind) and went to a haunted house instead... So, I missed a total of 2.25 workouts.

I'll put the spreadsheet totals up on Monday (I don't have access to excel till then). I was a little nervous for this mornings weigh in. My goal was 3 lbs. 

Last week: 233.2. This week: 230.4. Equals: -2.8.

I'm pleased with that! For missing 2.25 workouts, I will accept this. I still need to average 3lbs/week to hit my big goal, but I can make it up this week. HOWEVER, I get a mani/pedi when I'm under 230 and I BARELY missed it. AND 2 of my friends were going for mani/pedis today. After my 6 mile hike, a subway sandwhich, and some chicken, corn, and pineapple, I decided to weigh myself in again. This does NOT count towards this weeks weigh in, but....

229.6........AAHHHHHH!!!!!! So yes. I got a mani/pedi. 

BUT the most EXCITING part is that I have now lost 60.0 LBS. Honestly, I was terrified that I would get caught in the 50's and wouldn't find a way out. But I am already at 60 LBS. 70 - watch out! I'm on my way!

Week 31:Tight Schedule?

For the next 11 weeks I will be working out 9x/week. I understand that I may have the occasional interruption, but I am hopeful they will be rare.

Monday/Wednesday/Friday
4:30am: Wake up!
5:00am: Cardio @ LA Fitness
6:15am: Shower
7:30am: Commute to ASU
8:00am: Work
5:00pm: Physical Therapy/Personal Training (PT) (Cardio/Weights on Wednesday)
7:30pm: Teach Bagpipes (Band Rehersal on Friday)
9:30pm: Sleep

Tuesday/Thursday
6:00am: Wake up!
7:00am: Commute to ASU
7:30am: Institute
8:00am: Work
5:00pm: Cardio @ LA Fitness
6:00pm: Errands :(
7:30pm: Foam Roll
8:30pm: Sleep

Saturday
5:30am: Wake up!
6:30am: Pick up sister (Thanks for hiking with me every week!)
7:00am: Hike
11:00am: Cinderella (errands, clean, cook, etc..)
4:00pm: FREE TIME!!! HALLELUJAH!!

Sunday
8-9:00am: Wake up :)
11:00am: Church
3:00pm: Prepare food for the week
5:00pm: Relax.

REPEAT.

Last week was my first week on this schedule. While I am not a fan of waking up at 4:30am, I am a fan of working out in the morning.

My nutrition was GREAT this week. I even logged my food on MyFitnessPal. I started to get dizzy during my workout on Friday night and realized I had only consumed 713 calories for the day....oops. Fridays are always hard, but this one was even worse. If I did not have good options for lunch in the past (no fridge/freezer, nothing prepared, etc...) I would just grab a burger, now I just have a protein shake. Unfortunately, protein doesn't have the calories I need.

I never track what I eat on the weekends. I don't go totally off plan and eat whatever I see, but I allow myself two days of not planning. I've started a habit of getting a subway sandwich after my Saturday hike, eating my normal breakfast meal a few hours later, and working in lean protein during the rest of the day. Sundays I depend on protein bars, protein powder, and whatever I am preparing for the next week (usually turkey tacos). I'll allow myself to have things like chips and guac or a lean cut steak, and whatever fruit sounds good. This past weekend I made some no sugar pumpkin spice cookies and they turned out SO good. I also made Chris Powell's Peanut Butter Power Bricks. They are DELISH. The only bad thing about the peanut butter bricks is that they have honey and peanut butter in them, so you have to be careful to not indulge too much.

4 LBS. YEAH!!! I want SO SO badly to be under 200 by January 1st - that gives me 11 weeks to lose 34 lbs. This is an average of just over 3 lbs a week. That is a LOT. I have averaged 1.8 lbs a week. That is why I will be working out 9x a week for the next 11 weeks. I am skipping Thanksgiving. I am skipping Halloween goodies. I know Christmas is going to be SO hard, but I have to keep my goals in mind. I know this goal might be too much of a stretch. If I can't hit 199 by January 1st I will at least get there before January 31st.

But I'm going to try for January 1st.

Many of you have asked for progress pictures. I have put these on the page "pictures" and will continue to update this monthly. I was pleasantly surprised at the physical change since 282 lbs. I hope 190 will be just as great :)

6 Months is a Long Time

I sprained my ankle on my hike last weekend, so I decided to take the fitness side easy this week. I put in less than an hour of cardio and less than 90 minutes of weights. In hindsight, I could have done more weights. I guess cardio has become such a staple of my routine that I don’t think about doing weights without it. My nutrition, however, was pretty close to perfect. I ate at my ward’s FHE on Monday (I usually skip all food related activities) and although I tried to stay healthy and on plan, I probably ate more than I would have if I had prepared it myself.

One small nutrition mishap (really, it was miniscule) and a week of low physical activity, and I still lost 1.8lbs. That makes me feel…..wonderful. I know that my weight loss last week had almost nothing to do with my fitness and everything to do with my nutrition; this is SUCH a motivator to stay on track with food. I really do enjoy the fitness. It may be difficult to wake up at 4:30am or spend my evenings at the gym instead of vegging in front of the TV, but I enjoy fitness more than I enjoy not eating out with friends, preparing every meal, and skipping the dessert. I needed this motivation to stay on track with what I eat.

I threw away 4 bags of clothes this weekend. Some days I feel smaller, other days I don’t, but those 4 bags prove that I am. I have lost 6 dress sizes, medium shirts (although they are tight) fit better than extra-large shirts (which now drown me), and workout clothes I bought over the summer are becoming too big. I know this is all great, wonderful, fantastic!, but I keep looking at the future and it makes this so much harder. I have lost 50lbs in 6 months, which means it will take at least another 6 months for the next 50lbs, and then I’m still not done. I know I need to take this one step at a time, one day at a time, one pound at a time, but 6 months suddenly feels like a check point that gets farther away the faster I run.

On a more positive note, I have some new goals. I currently hate running. Really, HATE it. Absolutely not a fan. HOWEVER, I want to love running and the first step to loving running is to run. I want to run a 5k before I hit my one year (April 19^th), a 10k before my birthday (July 13^th), and a half marathon in 2013. I believe that this is 100% possible, but I do need to get to work. I am also hoping that working towards fitness goals will help me to take this one step at a time instead of trying to tackle 6 months’ worth of work overnight.

Finally, my short term goal is to be at 215 by December 8, 2012. This means that I have just over 8 weeks to lose 22 lbs. I need to be losing 3lbs a week to meet this goal. So, if any of you try to tempt me with sugar, fat, fried greasy food, etc… you may get smacked in the face with a fish. However, if any of you want to hang out at the gym, the trail, the track, or take a quick 5 mile walk to discover new fun, you may become my new BFF.

Week 29: 16 miles

I walked the long way home from my ward's softball games on Tuesday (3 miles), my roommate and I walked to the grocery store for some bananas on Wednesday (2 miles), and I took the long way to the mall and then Whole Foods on Thursday (5.6 miles) for a grand total of more than 10 miles. And that was just during the week. I wrapped it all up with a 6 mile hike on Saturday. I was getting sick of the gym and loving the weather. I wanted to be outside but I still need to be careful with my knee so my activities are limited. I did a small amount of jogging during my walks, but I learned that running outside is much harder than running on a treadmill. I like walking. A lot. I wish I could like running as much as I like walking.

I also like sugar. A lot. Cookies especially. Chocolate chip, peanut butter, butterscotch, shortbread...yum. And I really like the holidays. Pumpkin EVERYTHING. Pumpkin bread. Pumpkin pie. Pumpkin hot chocolate. Pumpkin crepes. Pumpkin muffins. Pumpkin cookies. Cookies.. and TOFFEE, and caramel, and homemade candies, and peppermint, and those peppermint kisses.. Okay. You get the idea. I love sugar and I love all the sugary treats that come with the holidays. I also love that I am more active, that I can move easier, that I have lost 4 dress sizes, that I look and feel better. Oh the dilemmas. I have decided that I will enjoy the holidays next year MUCH more if I have met my goals. So this year, I am going to enjoy them a different way. I will not eat sugar (like cookies, muffins, cookies, pies, cookies...) until January. I feel like this is a BIG commitment. I am A-OKAY with sugar alternatives (like stevia and xylitol), and this will help me stay on my goal. My WONDERFUL friend and healthy side kick Emily turned me onto sugar free chocolate. It is perfect for my sweet tooth. I can do this. It's just three months. Heck, maybe it will turn into a lot longer then that. But for now, it is at LEAST three months.

Last week was my first week without sugar. I also drank a lot of water. And as you have read I did a lot of walking. I weighed in on Friday morning and I was 0.6 lbs away from hitting my halfway mark to my first big goal. I was PERFECT on Friday. I did NOT want to screw it up. I drank so much water. Ate perfectly. Worked hard. And was EXHAUSTED by the end of the day (it was an exhausting week). Drum roll please.....

I'VE LOST 50 LBS!!!!!!!!!! Wow. Typing that felt so much better than saying it did. It just feels so much more real. I have lost 50 lbs. 50 LBS!! My first big goal is 190 and I am MORE than HALFWAY there. Do you know how long I have dreamt about losing 50 lbs?! If I would have started then...maybe I'd be done now. But if I didn't start when I did, I probably wouldn't even be halfway. 50 lbs..

It took me 45 lbs for me to find a way to cook salmon that I actually like. I still don't have the chicken down (at least not without adding absurd amounts of cream). I want to cook my chicken fast and the good chicken recipes seem to take TIME to prepare. If you know of good recipes that are quick and EASY (I'm a horrible cook..) please let me know!

I am so excited for the next 50 lbs. I have huge plans for when I hit that goal. I will make it through this holiday season without getting off track. I hope to hit my goal by February. I'm a rockstar. I can do this.