It's Week 3 Day 1 of my Couch to 5k program. This morning I was joined by my sister Tara for my run. It wasn't bad. I was a little nervous to run more than 90 seconds at a time. My knees have been threatening to begin the overwhelming pain they gave me last year when I tried running. But I did pretty well. Tara did really well, especially since it was her first run in a while. We made it back and survived. If you can imagine that.
I kept to my goals this last week. I kept running like I was supposed to. I worked out twice during the week. And I kept my food journal. New challenge is to make sure I'm getting enough food because I've noticed that I'm starting to cut too much out. Sometimes finding that balance is tough. The good news: I lost another 3 lbs.
This week's goals: Continue running and keeping the food journal. But I think I need to step it up with a new goal. Something I don't think about all the time. (You don't know this because you're not sitting here next to me as I type this, but I had to stop and think about this for a minute.) I think I'll have to add the goal for personal scripture study. We do family scriptures, and I was doing really well with my personal scripture reading, but with my routine changes it got overlooked. So that's got to be put back into my day.
What are your goals? How did you do last week? Did you get your short term goal taken care of? What do you want to do this week?
I've got a suggested goal for anyone wanting to do the Bloggest Loser, which begins next Monday. Take this week to begin your new eating or exercising regimen. That way next week you can continue doing it (or tweak it to something that works better) and it may be easier to get the results you hope for. I think that was my downfall over the summer. I wanted to suddenly do a lot of things differently and demanded results that first week and just got bummed when I couldn't do it all. I lost steam and gained weight instead of losing it.
So I've been on this kick to cut certain things out of my diet. No sugar, chocolate, simple carbs, etc. You know, all the things I've always convinced myself that I could never live without.
It's been nearly a full three weeks now and I'm doing fine. I'm alive. In fact, I'm now trying to ponder what kind of cake I can eat for my birthday in a couple of weeks. I may not be able to enjoy a traditional cake after going about six weeks without baked goodies. So I've still got to figure this one out.
But I can't help but wonder if I'm cheating on the chocolate end. I haven't eaten anything I'd traditionally consider "chocolate". No candy, cookies, brownies, or anything like that. However, I needed an afternoon snack and bought some Kashi TLC fruit and grain bars. It didn't even register with me that they had chocolate on them. I was more concerned with the fact that they had no high fructose corn syrup, higher fiber and protein, and low fat. It's dark chocolate and it does taste really good. Also, I drink a chocolate protein shake after exercising. It's also higher in fiber and protein, no bad sugar, and lower in fat.
Am I cheating? I can't help but think of it like chewing gum on Fast Sunday. Am I chewing gum for the taste or am I chewing it to keep from burning the faces off of the people around me? That may be a controversial subject, not the point I'm trying to make. But I think that if I'm consuming these things for the health benefits and not the chocolate benefits, it still counts.
It's the end of my second week of the c25k program. I've begun shaving time off my runs and that makes me happy. But as I was running today I thought of running that 1/2 marathon and thinking to myself, "I don't know if I can run for 2 to 3 hours." Then I reminded myself that I've been running/walking for 2 weeks. Of course I can't run for that long. Not yet, at least. I've just got to keep going and it won't be too long until I can run and not be weary, as the scripture says.
I saw a different version of this on Facebook, but it inspired me.
Derek Redmond couldn't compete in the 1988 Seoul Olympics due to an Achilles tendon injury. He underwent five surgeries and couldn't wait to compete in the 1992 Barcelona Olympics. He was favored to win the 400 meter (he had shattered the British 400-m record at age 19).
Sometimes we're the son -- in dire need to finish but unable to do it alone.
Sometimes we're the father -- in dire need to help, no matter how many people try to stop us.
Thank you, everyone, for you support. And thank you, Mom and Dad and Josh, for always encouraging me. No matter what.
Thank you, Derek Redmond, for inspiring me to never give up.
It's Monday. Time to evaluate the goals we've made this last week and look forward to a fresh, new week.
Last week my goal was to begin my running regime and keep up on my food journal. Did it. Woo-hoo! And I lost two lbs this week. Bonus!
Plus, Cindy sent me an early birthday present. I got to use my new mp-3 player for the first time today. It was so nice to have someone else keep track of my time to run or walk. And who can turn down some good tunes?
This week I want to continue my running. I want to make sure I get at least two days of a workout as well. I'll keep up my food journal and stay away from the sweets.
I'll tell ya. I had some major temptations this week. I wanted some really good and gooey brownie batter. And ice cream. And chocolate in any form. Our church choir practice is held at the choir director's house and she always has some warm, homemade goodies to share. Yesterday were no-bake cookies. My mouth watered and I almost gave in. But if I had, I would've taken her up on her offer for two cookies. Then I probably would've snuck a third one. But I didn't. My will power to stop is not completely developed yet and I don't need the opportunity it test it. I won't always have to say No. Someday I'll be able to say, "Just one, thanks" again.
How did your goals go this week? We all have some good and admirable long-term goals. What is one short-term goal that you can complete this week that will help you with your overall goal? Mine is to keep running. It's getting to be something I look forward to everyday. That makes me happy.
Tonight I went to a presentation about body image by Rachel Stewart and April Price -- More Precious Than Rubies, Truth About Body Image in a World Full of Lies.
I hope this doesn't come across as preachy. I heard a lot of info that I just had to share.
Images of women in the media (movies, TV, magazines, etc) are deceptive. A lot goes into creating the ideal woman.
I had no idea that $60,000 can be spent airbrushing the front cover of a magazine. Many actresses and models have their own airbrush artists.
In 2007, the money spent on ads for products designed to "fix" you equaled $500 billion.
$55 billion a year is spent on diet product ads.
A lot was said tonight about the way children respond to their parents' obsessions with their appearance. Kids pick up on what they should and shouldn't believe from their parents. Makes sense. My kids love to please me. Of course they're going to do what I do.
I also learned that in 2004, more than 300,000 teens (18 and younger) had plastic surgery.
The thing is this: Satan gave up his chance to have a body. Now, he'll do anything in his power to make sure that we mess ours up. Elder David A Bednar said that the tool Satan cannot have or use is his major target: our bodies.
So what do we do?
We fight. The purpose of this blog is to create an atmosphere to share health-related goals. Elder Jeffery R. Holland said that we need to eat right, exercise and find our optimum health. He said, "There is no universal optimum size."
We need to gather our armor and fight this war that is banging on our door. We need to gather our breastplates, no matter what sizes they are. We need to sharpen our swords and shine our shields.
And more importantly, we need to don our helmets. Because this is a mind game, more than anything else.
Here's our strategy of attack:
1. Remember your divine worth and the reason you came to Earth. We came to this Earth to gain a body and be tested. We use our body to take that test. We have to remember that our body is not the test.
2. Forget yourself and serve others. You can't focus on yourself if you're helping others.
3. Fight "Fatism." We can't judge people by their shapes and sizes. It just promotes unhealthy images.
4. Remember bodies have power. "All beings with bodies have power over those that do not" -- Joseph Smith. We have the ability to overcome Satan and his temptations.
5. Question media messages. So many of the messages we see are an illusion.
6. Affirm your body is perfect the way it is. This was the greatest point made, I thought. 70 - 80% of your body is determined by genetics. You didn't come to Earth to get a body, you came to get this body. Your body is the one Heavenly Father wanted you to have, flaws and all. "Therefore, my body is perfect. Heavenly Father does not make mistakes."
I had to stop and think about why I'm making the goals I am. It comes down to this: I want to be healthy. Of course, I also want to be comfortable with how I look. And I know Heavenly Father wants that for me too. He wants me to be happy, but He has also entrusted me with my body. It's my responsibility to care for it. I need to nourish it, exercise it and keep it medically sound.
I need to don my helmet and keep myself in check. I have power and control over my body, whether I recognize that or not. It's up to me to know what I need and not let mainstream media tell me what I need.
I don't need to be stick thin. I don't need to have perfect hair or skin. I've been deceived by the media before. Here's me at age 19:
My eyes have been airbrushed to be more open, my loose strands of hair have been erased, as well as the red birthmark under my right nostril. My lips were added to. I had gone to an acting agency and this was my final headshot. I soon realized that the agency didn't want to promote me. They wanted to promote what I could be after being computerized and altered.
I'm not falling for that again. I'm going to get healthy, but I'm not going to lose myself in this war.
It's beginning to cool down a bit around here. Today's high is only supposed to be 104*. This puts the temperature somewhere in the low 90s when I run in the morning.
Today sweat poured into my eyes. Ugh. It was gross, although my main concern was how much it burned!! Note to self: Sweat in eyes = "Ahhhh!!! It burns!"
But it was my 5 lb t-shirt afterward that shocked me (and made me throw up a little bit in my mouth).
Am I seriously writing a post on the internet about how much I sweat while I run?
I guess so. But all this sweat is making me a lot more mindful of drinking more water through the day. So that's good. And I'm actually enjoying getting out and just running. It's a bit liberating. I'm still at that walk/jog phase, but I'm doing it.
The only other time I ever really ran was in gym class in high school. We had to run a mile and a half as part of our grade. I remember groaning about it because it was hard to do. But once I got started, I liked it. I found my pace and finished at a decent time. Of course, our whole class got yelled at by the gym teacher for not finishing the 1 1/2 miles in 10 minutes like her star basketball player. Still bitter about that one.
I'm trying to get myself in order. I think I've reached that Ah-Ha Moment. My body is stuck in a rut. And although my husband (who is the greatest man in the world) loves me no matter what, I want to love that way I look. I'm sick of rockin' Mom Jeans.
In case you missed it, here is the worst line, "Get the jeans that says, 'I'm not a woman anymore. I'm a mom.'"
It's sooo wrong!
What??? Moms can still be women? They can feel beautiful, and happy, and maybe even (dare I say it?) sexy??
I'm going to step out on a limb here and say: Sure. Why the heck not?
Last week I established the routine of walking the kids to their bus stop and then taking Millie for a stroll through the neighborhood. It's helped me get into a good mindset that I'm going to use that time from 8 - 9 am to exercise. This week I'm alternating between my c25k program and my Biggest Loser workout. Today was the workout. It went fine, but I was kind of halfhearted. I let Millie distract me a bit. It wasn't that I didn't want to do it, because I actually did. I think I'm off my game a bit because I only have my 8 lb weights (I left my 5lb ones at my parents' house in MT) and my muscles are a little scared of those heavier weights.
I'm also trying to stick with my No Sweets Policy. Last week, with just my walking and my no sweets I lost 3 lbs. That's right! So, I'm very nervous to let myself have any sweets. Because I'm afraid I'll go overboard. I don't know how many years it's been since I didn't go more than two days without some form of sugar. Probably why it's been so hard to lose weight!!
You may be thinking, "Shelly, you're so adorably ridiculous!! 8 lbs isn't much to lift! And no one in their right mind would be that addicted to sugar."
My reply to you is this: Yes, I am adorable. Thank you.
Also, I'm discovering that I've lost control over my body and habits. I let it go and didn't worry about it. Now I'm taking it back. It's really hard and I don't always want to do it, but it's necessary. I can't stay in the weight bracket I'm in. It's not healthy. And it's not going to be easy to not gain the old weight back if I don't change. I'm already 30+ lbs less than I was two years ago. I'm not going back to that weight again!! Not unless I'm pregnant. And then I'd like it to be baby weight, not:
Today was my first day of the Couch to 5k program. I think this is going to go well. I've been home from my walk/run for about an hour and a half and I think my face is finally back to its original color and not flushed anymore.
The idea of this program is to slowly get your body used to running with a walk/jog combo. This week I run three days using a combination of jogging for 60 seconds and walking for 90 seconds.
Today's song that I sang over and over again (because I needs me an mp3 player or ipod) was "You Look Good in My Shirt" by Keith Urban. Mostly because I hoped my t-shirt was long enough to keep my booty covered. I'm sure I got people thinking of Jell-o as they drove past me. A bit too much junk in my trunk!!
Veronica and I are trying this new fad called, uh, jogging. I think it's jogging, or yogging. It might be a soft 'j'. I'm not sure but apparently you just run for an extended amount of time. It's supposed to be wild.
--Ron Burgundy, Anchorman
Josh talked to a coworker who is a seasoned marathon runner. She suggested to stick with a program to slowly work my way to running 3 miles (about 5k) and then start running for time, an hour at a time or so, until I can run for 3 hours. I only have a few months to train for this, but I want to do it.
My goal race is called London's Run. It's local and affordable. Some of these races are kind of pricey, but this one is do-able. Plus, all the proceeds go to local children's charities. You can't beat that!! And to add to the fun my sister, my brother-in-law, and my cousins plan to join me. Awesome!
In addition to my new exercise regime, I've begun trying to watch my food intake more. Last week I gave up refined sugar. Hardest thing I've ever done!! I'm a self-proclaimed choco-holic and giving up chocolate is rough! This week I want to focus on keeping my food journal. That should help with several aspects of my diet.
Please feel free to comment, but also join in. What is your fitness goal? We'll begin Bloggest Loser, Season 2 on September 5th. The person with the great percentage weight lost wins.
It didn't even register with me that they had chocolate on them. I was more concerned with the fact that they had no high fructose corn syrup, higher fiber and protein, and low fat. It's dark chocolate and it does taste really good. Also, I drink a chocolate protein shake after exercising. It's also higher in fiber and protein, no bad sugar, and lower in fat. 
