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KARVY09's Recent Blog Entries
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Monday, March 08, 2010
Weekends are so much better now that I have the energy and optimism to face them head on. I don't feel like a moment is wasted, even those times when I'm deservedly chilling on the couch and watching TV. The high temps and sunshine in the Northeast this weekend certainly helped too!
In the old days, our weekends consisted of cleaning the house in one big go, shopping for food and essentials, and basically gorging ourselves in front of the TV. Now we try to pick up a little at the time and use our energy for other activities when we can.
Saturday morning, I began my day with a two-mile run around the neighborhood. For my first run outside since November, it didn't go too badly. I made sure my course was flat/downhill and went pretty slow, about a 13:45 minute mile. So nice to have the sun on my face, the cool breeze in my hair and my iPod playlist setting up the run:
When our time is up,
When our lives are done,
Will we say we've had our fun?
Will we make a mark this time?
Will we always say we tried?
Standing on the rooftops
Waiting till the bomb drops
This is all we got now
Scream until your heart stops
Were never going to regret
Watching every sunset
We'll listen to your heart beat
All of the love that we found!
--Rooftops, Lost Prophets
I still felt fairly spry, so I popped in No More Trouble Zones, because my strength training has been lagging lately. Jillian ripped me a new one. I still couldn't do the "surrenders," which are fairly grueling, but I made it through everything else, took my shower and headed back out. I bought a great little gray fall/spring jacket with a yellow sunflower lining in a 14 a couple of months ago. It was too tight then, but it fit perfectly now, so I threw it on for the warm spring-like day! I'll have to take photos to show all of you guys for my upcoming Onederland blog...
Then my grandmother, aunt and I took my great aunt out to lunch and shopping for her 80th birthday. It was fun, but also a little sad, because her son doesn't treat her very well and is basically locked up in the house all day. She is getting senile, and I'm sure the lack of human interaction can't be helping. I had a garden salad, sirloin steak tips, broiled scallops and half of my french fries. Very tasty!
Onto TJ Maxx and its lovely clearance rack! I bought my very first sweater in a L (not XL or XXL!) since high school for $3, Kenneth Cole sunglasses for $6, and some size 14 gray dress slacks for $10.
Then holy grail of grails, I found a terrific pair of Calvin Klein black dress paints for $5 (I guess it was part of a suit), but they were a size 12. I tried them on, and they actually zipped up most of the way. So they're hanging up and waiting for me when I finally hit that size 12 for the first time. Oh, and a great little dress in an XL Juniors! It'll be perfect for summer! $5.
When I got home, I cleaned up a little, did some laundry, and rested from the busy day. My husband had ordered Pizza Hut while I was gone: a stuffed cheese crust Meat Lovers' pizza and some boneless chicken wings. I tried one of the chicken wings and was NOT impressed. Definitely not worth all the fat and 110 calories for just one of those things. I was still pretty full from my big lunch, so I had some Kashi cereal and almond milk for dinner and treated myself to some Breyers ice cream for dessert.
Sunday morning, I couldn't sleep at all, so I made it over to the grocery store at 7am. I was in PAIN. My abs and hammies were on fire from the run and Jillian's ass whooping from the day before. Grocery trip was successful: I found a kabucha squash which I haven't seen or tried since my Japan days! More cara cara oranges, apples and bananas. A honeydew melon I'm looking forward to cutting later in the week. I made it my mission to avoid the middle aisles and stick with the dairy, grains, produce, and lean meat with the exception of some frozen veggies and more Kashi stuff.
The weather was still gorgeous, so it was time for a great walk in the outdoors. I love doing this because my husband and I always plan future trips and have a great time patting the dogs that are being walked. We started getting excited about our April weekend in NYC! I used my heart rate monitor, but we didn't do our usual long trail because DH's knee was bothering him. My legs were still sore too, but it was a nice leisurely time outside.
I cooked a nice supper of roast chicken, potatoes, carrots, and parsnips and treated myself to two glasses of merlot, which definitely had me feeling lightheaded and romantic and it was just a fun evening at home. We watched a bit of the Oscars, but it really doesn't interest me anymore. Here's what I took home from what I saw:
1. I don't care what Sandra Bullock is wearing.
2. George Clooney, who I once thought was a funny guy, looked like he wanted to kill someone.
3. I still cry at that opening sequence of Up with Carl and Ellie. Love that movie!
Anyways, I enjoyed my weekend so much that I wanted to share it with all of you. I might leave work a little early today to go run outside again while the weather holds up. My muscles still ache though! That No More Trouble Zones is NO JOKE!
Happy Monday all!
Friday, March 05, 2010
YAY! The weather is supposed to be sunny and in the low 50s tomorrow! I'm going to start my 10K training outside! I'm going for a 2-mile run tomorrow, my first run outside since November!
 
As you can tell from my last few blogs, I've been all about the goals lately. I realized that this isn't all about weight loss, but should be about changing my life and accomplishing the things I always thought were out of reach.
So along with joining the MaryMacker challenge (slightly modified to fit my own situation) in order to spend my summer as "overweight" rather than obese, yesterday I made a list of 30 things I want to accomplish before I reach my 30th birthday... now in 270 days.
 
Yes, there are some overlapping goals on there, like the running goals. But there are some fun ones like "make my own mojito" and "spend the whole day in my bathrobe" too. I'm going to be ticking them off on my SparkPage as I accomplish them this year.
Onto running...
I really want to run a 10K this year and it seems like the last available 10K in these parts before races dry up in the summer months is in June, so I'm going to have to work at building up my endurance and speed this spring. So I picked out my 10K. It's on June 12th, right after I celebrate my first year on Spark and right before my one-year running anniversary! That will also give me 14 weeks to train. I'll be doing a 5K race in March, April, and May as well.
I love summer and part of the reason I love it is because we spend our weekends on the NH seacoast where I will be running my 10K and half marathon this year. I really don't want to give up chilling out and other outdoor activities during the summer months. I want to be active, but I also want to enjoy myself and have some downtime as well.
Looking at my ambitious list, I've decided to put off a triathlon until next year and focus on my running and doing family-friendly activities this summer like hiking and kayaking. I think it's the right decision. Recently, I've realized:
1. Since dipping below 220 pounds, I can no longer float as well as I used to. Swimming used to be wicked easy because I was so buoyant (one of the few benefits of fat!). Now not so much. I think I need to work on my form a whole lot more before I attempt an open-water swim in the Atlantic Ocean.
2. Biking is really tough on my ass and it will be no joke. Since trying the video bikes at the gym that simulate real courses, I realized that cycling can be some serious work. Also, there are other things I want to spend my money on this year than a raceworthy bike.
3. I really don't want to burn out and ruin my summer. Also, if I do everything this year, what's to look forward to in 2011?
 
I'm not giving up. I'm just refocusing. This year is all about the running and doing all the things I couldn't do when I was obese. Next year, I'll focus on the triathlon and maybe even a marathon.
So many possibilities.
Wednesday, March 03, 2010
It's my 9-month Sparkversary today, and this morning I finally moved my wedding rings over to my middle finger. They weren't just loose, but dangerously loose, and the last thing I want is to lose them! So I'm giving everyone the middle finger salute in triumph today! Don't take it the wrong way!
In 9 months, I've lost 71 pounds (279 to 208) and 4 pant sizes (24 to 16)!
  
So, today I feel like doing something special.
Three of my amazing SparkFriends have challenged themselves to lose 18 lbs by June 12, 2010, putting them at their goal weight of 165 lbs.
Mack (ANEWMACK): June 12th is her wedding day! www.sparkpeople.com/mypage_public_jo
urnal_individual.asp?blog_id=2947356
Mary (TREBLE02): www.sparkpeople.com/mypage_public_jo
urnal_individual.asp?blog_id=2946288
and Carolyn (CAROLYN1213): www.sparkpeople.com/mypage_public_jo
urnal_individual.asp?blog_id=2950925
When I first started this journey, I gave myself until April 1, 2010 to reach Onederland or 199 pounds. It seemed reasonable. 80 pounds in 10 months. I'm 9 pounds away now, so meeting this goal will be difficult, but I'm still going to go for it, and if I make that goal a couple of weeks late, so be it. I'm still going to push and try my hardest!
My reward for reaching Onederland is something I've always wanted to do: take diving lessons and get my scuba certification. I want to be able to scuba dive in the Carribean and Oceania someday!
But I'm also inspired by Mack, Mary, and Carolyn, and I want to set another goal for myself. I won't be near my goal weight by that point, but there is another milestone I'd like to reach: being non-obese for the first time in my adult life (heck, even in high school!).
THE GOAL: -23 lbs, putting me in an "overweight" weight category at 185 lbs.
I want to do this by June 21, 2010. Yep, that's the first day of summer! It is also a year from the week I started the Couch to 5K program in 2009. One full year as a runner!
So I'm calling it my personal "Overweight Summer Challenge," since this will be my first (and hopefully last!) summer as an overweight woman. It means losing a little less than 1.5 lbs per week in about 16 weeks, which is getting more and more difficult as I inch closer to 200, but I believe is completely doable.
How do I plan to do this?
1. I'M RUNNING ONE 5K ROAD RACE EACH MONTH: MARCH-JUNE
Along with training for a 6.2 mile (10K) distance, I'm pledging to run a 5K road race each month until summer. If you're in the Greater Boston area and you're interested in running my races with me, send me a msg and I'll let you know what races I'm doing and maybe we can meet up!
2. EAT CLEANER!
  
Eating clean has worked wonders on just making me feel more relaxed and healthy after a long day. I sleep better and I look better! I think I've progressed to the point where I can start making the majority of my meals be non-processed and better for me. I'm never going to be 100% on this, and that's fine. Banning food and deprivation has never been for me!
3. STRENGTH AND ABS
 
I'm kind of a cardio nut. I like that concrete evidence of calories burned. But like that dailySpark article from yesterday noted, "Don't Skimp on Strength Training!" www.dailyspark.com/blog.asp?post=the
_secrets_of_success_dont_skimp_on_stre
ngth_training It is so important to keep toning and getting our muscles ready for that thinner body.
Also, abs! Once I get rid of that stomach fat, I want to look fabulous. Luckily another SparkFriend, MANDA097, has started a Toned Tummies in TwentyTen group to keep us doing our abwork! www.sparkpeople.com/myspark/groups_i
ndividual.asp?gid=40885
3. KEEP SPARKING!
When I first started here, I was the biggest skeptic going. This whole goal-setting thing just sounded so "feel good" and completely against my all-too-sarcastic psyche. Now I'm the biggest proponent of challenging myself and keeping track of my progress on my goals. I think that almost all of the "success stories" made an effort to keep accountable and share their ups and downs with the Spark community.
SO WHADDYA THINK? YOU IN? HOW ARE YOU CHALLENGING YOURSELF?
ONLY 110 DAYS TIL SUMMER!
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