30 days until my half marathon!

I can't believe it's been so long since I've last posted! If you follow my other blog, you might have noticed I have had a LOT going on! Plus that, my family has been sick the last week or so.

Needless to say, it was definitely time to check in! My half marathon (the Seattle Rock 'n Roll Half Marathon) is exactly one month today. So am I ready? In a word, no.

My longest run to-date has been 8 miles and that was a couple weeks ago. I am definitely behind schedule. My workouts and healthful eating have been erratic, at best. In spite of all the craziness, I'm pleased to say that as of today, I weigh 143 pounds! That is 19 pounds down and only 7 more to go to reach my goal weight!

I was able to head out this morning for a short run. Um, it was bad. REALLY bad. I figure I have two more good weeks of trying to make some fitness gains before I'll need to taper off to avoid injury. Later tonight, I'm going to come up with a 30-day plan to get me to the starting line and across the finish line successfully.

I'll share my plan in the next couple days.

Current weight results!

OK, so I've not been as consistent with my weekly weigh-in results. At this point, my weight loss has slowed down and I'm getting closer to my goal, so I'm thinking I might do a monthly or twice-monthly weigh-in at this point. Some weeks I'm staying the same or losing about .5 pound.

As of today, I'm at 145 pounds! That's a total weight loss of 17 pounds, and a total body loss of 10%! I'm super excited to be moving closer and closer to those 130's. I'm now less than what I weighed just prior to my last pregnancy. I've really done something here! I'm also less than 10 pounds to my goal of 136, which will be a weight loss of 26 pounds.

My next mini-goal will be to reach 140 pounds. It's been a good 3+ years since I was at that weight. I'm at the point in my weight loss journey now where I'm completely convinced I will reach my goal. It's not an "if," it's a "when," and that feels amazing.

Later today, I'll have my husband take some updated pictures of how I look. I can't wait to see the progress I've made since early December.

Weigh in Monday: I forget what week it is!

Oh goodness, it's been a couple weeks since I posted a weigh in! I don't know how many weeks I've been at this now, but for those just joining me, I started first of December. So that's about 4 months.

Lest you think I'm jumped off the bandwagon, let me tell you that as of today, I weigh 146 pounds!! Yes, you read that right! I'm down a total of 16 pounds since I started my weight loss adventure - I've lost a whopping 9.8% of my body weight! How awesome is that?!

This morning, I had a GREAT 5 mile run, too. It was my perfect running weather, too: slightly chilly, overcast, but not raining. It felt so good to breathe in the sweet, fragrant air of spring. It was a pretty hilly run, and I finished it in 59 minutes. Not fast by any stretch, but for endurance runs like these I'm just focused on getting used to the distance.

It's time to transition into marathon training now. I've dropped substantial weight, I've achieved some fitness these past few months, and I have a half marathon on the calendar for June! Time to get cracking!

To avoid injuring myself or over-training, I'm simply going to be adding a second day of running per week. I'll also keep up with 2 days of weight-training focus and a 3rd cardio session as I'm able. In a few weeks, I'll replace that 3rd cardio session with another run. But I don't plan on running more than 3 days per week - even in the height of my training season.

Here's the plan for the week ahead:

Monday: 5 miles - DONE!
Tuesday: Jillian Michaels' No More Trouble Zones (this is a 50-minute workout)
Wednesday: 45 minutes cardio
Thursday: Jillian Michaels' No More Trouble Zones
Friday: OFF
Saturday: 3 miles
Sunday: 30-Day Shred, any level

Overall, I'm pleased with my progress. I have 10 more pounds to go and am confident I will reach my goal as I train for my races!

Weigh in Monday: week ten (the late version!)

I'm feeling the best I have on this journey! My size 8 khakis - which were completely unwearable even a month ago - not only fit, they fit perfectly!! That horrid belly bloat is melting, folks. MELTING.

As of this AM, it looks like I weigh about 147.5 pounds. I don't have a digital scale, so it's hard to gage the exact weight, but it looks like that ticker is directly between 145 and 150 pounds! And so my descent down that scale continues! Yeah!

As a reminder, I started this journey in early December at an all-time high of 162 pounds. I've since lost nearly 15 pounds...can you believe it? My goal is to reach 136 pounds - a total weight loss of 26 pounds.

I'm really excited about tomorrow's workout...it's something I've had in the works for awhile now. I'm calling it the 30-Day Shred Challenge workout, and here's how it's going to go down in case anyone is interested in killing themselves with me:

Do 30-Day Shred, Level 1
5-minute water break
Do 30-Day Shred, Level 2
5-minute water break
Do 30-Day Shred, Level 3
Collapse in heap on floor

I'll be sure to let you know how it goes!

1st weight goal met!

I am 149 pounds! That was my first goal and to-date I've lost a half-marathon of weight (13 pounds). This is a total body weight loss of 9%!

Let me tell you, there was something very empowering about seeing that line drop below 150. I haven't been below 150 in three years and it feels really, really good.

So I'm officially half way to my goal weight of 136. My next mini-goal will be 147 pounds, my weight at the start of my second pregnancy.

Weigh in Tuesday: week nine

Maybe...maybe....maybe?

As I stood standing on the scale this morning, it felt strangely like the time I thought I was looking at a faint - very faint - positive pregnancy test about three years ago. Was that a second line? Maybe.... If I held it to the light? I remember actually opening up the darn thing and taking the paper out, scanning it into my computer and trying to jimmy with the lighting. I went to bed that night still not certain if I was pregnant or not. Sure enough, a couple days later I tested and that second line popped right up. And that second line meant my daughter would soon be joining our family.

So today I'm craning my neck to see if the scale's line is on or below that 150 mark. I'm pretty sure it was a nudge below, but it's SO close! Like the pregnancy test that turned out to be positive, I'm hoping when I re-weigh myself in a couple days that it will be clear I've met my first milestone of 149 pounds. Here's hoping!

Two month results photos!

I have yet to post any decent current photos of myself, so I decided to do just that today!! Let's start with before. My weight was 162 pounds and it was early December. I was in size 12s (and snugly at that!)

And here I am today, 12 pounds lighter at 150 pounds and wearing my size 8 pre-pregnancy jeans! This took about two months to acheive. I mainly did this by doing the 30-day Shred and incorporating at least one running session per week of about 3 miles.

Now I'm going to share a new "before" photo. I asked my friend Susan to take this profile shot of me. I was really horrified how bad it looked...what's worse, I realized how frumpy I'd let myself get with the long hair. Check it out.

Here is my new profile. Oh please someone tell me that they notice some changes!!

I can tell I still have a ways to go, but overall, I'm liking the results I've gotten so far! I really feel much slimmer in my midsection and my arms are feeling more toned, too. By the way, like the new 'do?

Weigh in Monday: week eight

Today I weigh...150 pounds! Finally, the scale is continuing its descent! That's down 2 pounds from last week's 152 and a total weight loss of 12 pounds. I am now only ONE pound away from reaching my first goal of 149 pounds. I am hoping to crush that this week.

I realize it's time for an updated picture, so I'll see if I can get my hubby to take one of me in my SIZE 8 JEANS later today!

By the way, I had the BEST run yesterday. I mean, it was a really, REALLY good run. One of those runs you remember for a long time. My husband encouraged me to run out near this golf course in University Place (Washington) and man, was it ever beautiful! Water, nice trails, golf course...very scenic, and VERY challenging. I bet this one hill I had to run up was a good .4 - .5 mile. And after running that huge hill, I ran a pretty hard mile. I ran a total of 40 minutes and I felt very strong and fast.

The goal this week - keep up a couple gym workouts. I think the cardio is really important in dropping this weight. I want one of these to incorporate running - I'll choose Wednesday.

Monday: 45 minutes cardio, 20 minutes weights
Tuesday: Shred, Level 3
Wednesday: 40 minutes cardio (make some of this running), 20 minutes weights
Thursday: Shred, Level 3
Friday: Shred, Level 2
Saturday: OFF
Sunday: 3 miles

Here we go!

Weigh in Monday: week seven....REALLY?!

I am *trying* to be a patient gal and keep motivation high, but today guess what? I am STILL at 152 pounds. That's two weeks running and not a pound dropped. REALLY?!

I did a pretty good job keeping up with my workout schedule last week - Shred, cardio sessions, and my run. I'm wondering if I need to step up my nutrition efforts (I try to avoid the word "diet" on this blog.) I'll make the following two modifications and see if they do anything:

- no cereal for breakfast; only protein-based meal (I really need to grab some protein powder)

- no late night snacking whatsoever

Overall, I think I'm doing a good job of making healthier choices, water intake, and all. Hmmm. I just REALLY want to get under 150 pounds already.

As far as my workout plan, I'm sticking with last week's.

Weigh in Monday: week five + weekly workout schedule

Today I'm sitting (or standing?) at 152 pounds. So that's 1 pound lost from last week and a total weight loss of 10 pounds! I had wanted to reach my first goal of 149 pounds by my birthday, but seeing how that's 2 days away, don't think it's gonna happen.

Incidentally, I had a GREAT 3 mile run yesterday! I can totally see an improvement in my place. My splits actually got FASTER by the lap and I was able to sustain a 9-minute pace for my last lap around the track! What's more, I was able to do my run wearing my favorite running shorts - size medium - that I wasn't able to fit in even 3 weeks ago!

The plan this week? I'm going to drop one of the cardio sessions. The last couple weeks I've realized I've only been able to manage 1 at most, so I'm just going with it. I figure 5 out of 7 days of working out is working for me A-OK! Remember, my goal is to come up with a sustainable lifestyle here.

Monday: Shred - Level 3
Tuesday: Cardio - 45 minutes
Wednesday: Shred - Level 3
Thursday: Shred - Level 2
Friday: Shred - Level 3
Saturday: Off
Sunday: 3 mile run around the track

How's everyone else doing? Where are you at with the 30-day Shred if you're doing it? How about your running?

Weigh in Monday: week five

I am so excited! This morning I weigh 153 pounds! That's another 2 pounds down, and brings my total weight loss to 9 pounds (5.5% of total body weight lost)!

This means I'm only 4 pounds away from my first goal of 149. I was hoping to get there by my birthday (January 13th), but with only 9 days to go, I'm beginning to think that might be unrealistic. However, I'm pretty sure I'll be hitting my first goal sometime in January and I couldn't be more excited.

Incidentally, my "before" pictures were taken on December 7th. In order to be consistent, I'll do some updated photos on January 7th. I am curious to see if there's a noticeable difference yet...hoping so!

9 down...17 more to go!

Photo credit Gastin Thuavin

Weigh in Monday:week four

To clarify, week four is the week I'm starting - I've completed three weeks of working out.

Today I weighed in at 155 pounds! That's down 2 pounds from last week AND over Christmas week! That is exactly what I was hoping for. So far, I'm down 7 pounds (a total reduction of 4%). That means I have 19 to go to reach my goal of 136.

Why 136? That was my weight at my first prenatal appointment with my son. My starting point essentially.

Next week, I hope to have lost another 1-2 pounds - I'll be happy with anything below that 155 mark. If I can do that, I will end 2009 lighter than when I started it.

If you've been joining me on this quest to fitness, I'd love to hear how you're doing!

Photo credit Gastin Thuavin

Weigh in Monday: week three

Today I hopped on the scale to find I'd dropped one more pound. While I was hoping for 2, I'll take it!

That brings my current weight to 157, and my total pounds lost to 5. Not bad considering this is for about 2 weeks' of weight loss. (That's a 3% body loss.) In order to reach my first goal of 149 pounds, I'll need to lose 8 more pounds. I'm hoping to do this in time for my birthday (January 13th) - we'll see. It will for sure mean some hard work.

I would LOVE to be at 155 next week. While I've been at 155 since my daughter's birth, I sure haven't been there in a few months.

Unfortunately I woke up with a sore ankle today. I sure hope I didn't do anything to it. I'm going to play my cardio session by ear today. This morning, I'm going to try to put it up for awhile and then we'll see how I'm doing this evening. If nothing else, I might try the stationary bike or an exercise that doesn't put a lot of stress on it.

Photo credit Gastin Thuavin

Weigh in Monday: week two

Each Monday morning first thing I'll hop on the scale to chart my progress.

Today I am at 158 pounds! Hooray! That is 4 pounds down from my high of 162 a week and a half ago. I'm sure glad to be below that 160-line.

My first weight loss goal will be to get to 149 pounds. Why 149 and not 150? Because I haven't gotten below 150 since the birth of my daughter a year and a half ago. So partly psychological I guess. At 149 I should also start fitting into some of my old clothes again. 149 will also be 13 pounds down and halfway to my goal of losing 26 pounds.

I'm not too worried about dropping it all quickly - in fact I'd rather I lose it at a rate of 1-2 pounds per week in order to keep it off for good. So to reach my first goal, I should be there anytime in the next 4.5 - 9 weeks. I hope maybe somewhere near the 6-week mark.

If you started this challenge with me, I'd love to have you "weigh in" on how you're doing!

Photo credit Gastin Thuavin