100 LBS GONE, but not forgotten

In 47 weeks, I've shed 100 lbs (well 102.6 to be exact). That's 5 dress sizes (as I mentioned in my Sunday Funday blog). This means I've lost 31.25% of my body weight and that I'm just over 2/3 of the way to meeting my weight loss goal.



Here is a BEFORE picture of me. This was taken at younger sister Linda's pre-wedding Luau on March 20, 2009. I was quite the chunky monkey!

Here is an IN PROGRESS picture of me taken on May 31, 2010. Note that I did not say AFTER because I'm not done yet. =)

Big difference, huh?

How did I do it? Well if you are just tuning in, I started the South Beach diet on July 6, 2009. With the exception of the fact that I eat full fat cheese in restaurants or at parties (because God forbid I were to give up cheese when offered), I stick to the plan 24/7. I only swayed from my diet while on vacation in Playa del Carmen earlier this month - that was after 10 months of being a good little dieter...er...life style changer.

Other than that, I have incorporated a good healthy dose of exercise in my life. I started off trying a couple of Zumba classes, but alas...though an amazing workout, they kinda stressed me out since I never really could get the moves down. Next I moved onto water aerobics. I started off doing it twice a week and then moved on to three times a week. Occasionally, I would go to the gym and do the elliptical for 30 minutes, as well. Starting in January, I took up running and did a few local 5Ks and even a 10K. Now I'm training for my very first half marathon which is on August 1st in Chicago! Besides running, I've given yoga a try (and plan on going back when it works into my schedule) and I continue to workout at the gym on the elliptical and the recumbant bike. Once my half marathon has been run, my training will begin for the Houston Full Marathon (eeek)!

In my very first post, I discussed how many times I had tried and failed on the dieting front. There really is something to be said about *finally* being in that right state of mind to embark upon that journey...successfully. I was miserable with the way I looked and the way I felt. Carrying around an extra 100 lbs is no laughing matter. I still have aches and pains, mind you - but those are from intense exercise and there is a certain feeling of pride that comes from that kind of hurt.

I never ever preach about what diet plan any person should be on, it is just important to pick a HEALTHY one that works with your life style and then to be FAITHFUL to it. I specifically chose South Beach for me because I wanted something that did not require me to keep track of calories or journal my food, but that would rid this body of cravings. With the exception of that whole Chocolate Stat incident last month, it's done just that for me! It is also of great importance to just MOVE - whether it be walking around the block, taking a class at the gym, or doing an exercise DVD in the comfort of your own home.

I've been asked how I plan to celebrate this 100 lb. mark. I didn't have any specific plans...probably because I know I'm not done. Though I know I shouldn't reward myself with food, I did allow myself to indulge *slightly* on this Memorial Day. I went to lunch with my Amy. We decided to be adventurous (for us, this means we went to a restaurant we have never been to before). I had a margarita. It was amazing. The rest of the meal (fajitas, no rice, double beans) was South Beach friendly. After lunch, I went to my Meliska's house for a BBQ. There, I had a little bit of crockpot mac 'n cheese. It was just a taste, definitely not on the diet, but mmmm...it was good. Thanks to Greggy-D for that bite of heaven! Later in the day, I had a scoop of dirt cake that Greg's cousin Amanda made. She told me she made it with sugar free pudding, South Beach approved Cool Whip, reduced fat oreos, and some gummy worms. So, with the exception of the oreos and the gummy worm, it wasn't soooo bad. haha!

I guess I will just start planning my REAL reward for when I reach my goal weight - which will hopefully be by the end of the year. In the meanwhile, I will continue my healthy eating and my exercising (with a strong focus on running) and fully enjoy my increased energy and rejuvenated spirit.

I'm going for a French look.

I don't like to wear shorts. I never have, actually. It sounds cRaZy in the summer heat of Houston to avoid them, I know, BUT still...I do. I wear capris, skirts, dresses, and jeans...anything and everything, BUT no shorts. I won't even run in shorts. I run wearing uber awesome Nike capris.

I was out handling my business during my lunch break yesterday which translates to running errands (big shocker, I know) when I decided to pop my head into Old Navy. I have never been able to fit into anything they sell in that store. I've always had to buy from their on-line PLUS size catalogue. I wore a blue dress many-a-times last summer that I bought through those means. It was a 3X and fit me perfectly. I needed a new summer dress (or at least something to hold me over for now until I need the next size down), I tried on this cute little number (in the biggest size they carry, but still...) AND IT FIT and so I bought it:
So, up above I'm wearing it with a red flower in my hair and going for a French look - maybe more of a Gondolier, but hey...humor me!!!


How cool is it to finally start fitting in clothes in normal sizes?!

come what may

I picked up a graduation card for my double cousin, Nicole the other day (my mom's sister married my dad's brother - no, it's not incestuous). It said, "As you look ahead to where you're going, take the time to appreciate where you've been and to enjoy where you are, right here, right now." It had a picture of a rear view mirror on the front.

Honestly, I set out to buy her a funny card. I'm kind of a funny girl who appreciates humor over sap any day of the week, but this card called to me. I'm thinking it was because I never took the time to appreciate where I was in life as I always wanted to be two steps ahead.

It started in junior high - couldn't wait to be in high school. Then in high school - couldn't wait to be in college. Then in college - couldn't wait to be in the real world. Then once in the real world - couldn't wait to be married and have kids. As the years have marched on and I've grown older, I think how silly I was to think that at 22 I was in any position to be someone's wife when at 29 I wasn't even capable of establishing boundaries within the various relationships in my life, not to mention recognizing a bad relationship when it was staring me in the face. There is a long lesson-filled story there, of course, but all for another post if/when I decide to share. Basically, I was almost wishing away the present for some unforeseeable future with this misguided confidence it had to be better. BUT...better than what? Life wasn't so bad...it just wasn't what I wanted and yet I didn't do anything to improve my happiness. That's just plain dumb. We don't know what the future is going to hold, but we can definitely live, learn, and find a way to love our present state of being.

That's why at 33 (well, to be fair, I said it at 32 and it has carried on into 33) I say that my journey is about mind, body, spirit, and soul. It's not just the weight I have dropped so far and will continue to shed. It is about how I have challenged myself. It's about how I have stepped out of my comfort zone on many different occasions even if I didn't like the outcome, but just to say I did it. It's about establishing those boundaries and maintaining them. It's about conquering the demons that have haunted me. It's making mistakes, learning the lessons, and finding a way to forgive myself and move on. It's accepting fault in others. It's accepting failure in myself. It's being at peace. It's my life and come what may...I'm gonna live it and enjoy it because I am not guaranteed a tomorrow. This does not mean I don't still have hopes or dreams. I have many. I'm just gonna take it all day by day and continue to do my part of self-improvement.

My mom once told me that God has 3 answers to prayers. Either He grants us the desires of our hearts directly or He does so indirectly or He tells us no because he has something better in store for us.

I think somewhere along a very difficult 4 years I traveled, I lost sight of that. I'm thankful to be back on the right path.

Sunday Funday

It was nice not to set an alarm. I just slept until I woke up...naturally...sorta. I mean Penelope has been on this 4:30 to 4:45am kick lately where she is just certain the green grass is calling her name, so we got up then. Then I flipped over a few times after that and with every flip Delilah was certain that meant she either got to eat her breakfast and/or go chase the squirrels. I nipped those dreams in the bud turbo fast. So, we slept until 8:45am. Not late by any normal person's standards, but for me...well it might as well have been 10:00am. Ahhhh....

The legs were (and still are) sore from Saturday's run, but I like it!

So here was what was on tap for Sunday:

Went to the gym for a little over an hour. Did 35 minutes on the elliptical and then 30 on the bike. Then I came home to rinse off, change into my bathing suit, grab the dogs, and head over to my parent's house. Younger sister Linda joined me. I didn't have too much time over there because of the LoSt Finale event, but more on that later!

Linda brought over her doggy, Coco, and I, of course brought over my two beasts. Since I got to the house first and my parents were nowhere to be found, I let Oliver, their pup, out of jail (their bathroom) and allowed blind Penelope and Ollie to roam the backyard with my supervision since there is a pool. After about 15 minutes and still no sign of Linda (but maybe a phone call telling me she was on her way), I locked both Penelope and Oliver up and Delilah and I went swimming. My parents have a grotto under the waterfall in their pool. There were apparently 3 frogs in the grotto and Delilah and I scared 2 of them into jumping in the pool. Delilah became obsessed with the frogs. Once Coco came over, she joined in on the crazed operation to capture the frogs. The thing about Coco is that she is perfectly content with getting on the first step in the pool, but that's where her comfort zone ends. Coco ended up in the pool twice - once having fallen from the rock waterfall while on the hunt of one of the elusive frogs. Delilah kept pawing at them and sticking her nose in the water along the edge. She, too, went head first once and then swam countless laps. Twice Coco succeeded in actually getting one - once she went so far as to physically remove it from the pool. I was so scared she killed it, but thankfully on closer inspection (Linda thought I was going to give it mouth-to-mouth, but I just wanted to flip it over right side up) it was just playing dead and after getting a false sense of security, leapt right back in the pool again. After about 30 minutes of this craziness, I finally saved the frogs by using foam noodles and putting them back in the grotto. Once I brought peace and harmony back to the oasis, my parents appeared. Apparently they had been golfing and could hear our screams from the golf course. Nice. Apparently they were not so thrilled I allowed the frogs to maintain residence in the grotto. Not so nice. =/

Here are 2 pics from their...ahem...heroic efforts. If you look closely, you can see one of the "culprits" in each picture in the water.

Next, went back home to shower and change. Fed the dogs (early) because I was going to be heading to the Fairfield area to watch the LoSt season finale at Meliska's parent's house. I left the house with enough time to stop at the Outlet Mall on my way because I wanted to pick-up some SMALLER JEANS. Yes, folks...looks like I have graduated...er...downsized from size 18 to size 16. Maybe the scale isn't showing the results as fast as I'd like, but I'd say the ol' body is definitely demonstrating the signs. This is a drop in 5 sizes in less than 11 months. How can a girl complain about that?! =)

After my very quick shopping trip, I headed to the Lost finale viewing party. Meliska's mom was so awesome and made us a brisket dinner and basically waited on us hand and foot throughout the evening. She is so sweet!!!

Thoughts on the finale - I'm still processing it. I had decided a few weeks ago that I was okay with not having answers to all my questions...what was most important to me was something else entirely and I don't want to explain it on this forum in case you haven't seen it yet. I found myself getting emotional throughout the 2 1/2 hour show last night - for several different reasons and overall, I found the whole thing to be...bittersweet.

I will also add that for the past 3 years of the 6 years the show has been running, I have joined together with my friends (Meliska, Greggy-D, Todd, Joe, and others on occasion) to watch it, so I will miss our comraderie, discussion, and confusion. I look forward to the next show we can all bond over! =)

Hope you, too, had a Sunday Funday (but maybe minus the frogs)!

a wink or a smile

Yeah...I know this is a totally unflattering pic of me trying to wink and smile. =/

I first accomplished 7 miles on March 28th. That was almost 2 months ago. It was a bit difficult to swallow that pride and do the whole back-track thing PUBLICLY, no less. In other words, owning it for all to see. Wouldn't it be great if my running training was just a continuous forward progression (with the exception of purposeful tapering, of course)? Yeah, it would, but that isn't the reality.

I looked back and read my 7 Mile Successful blog. I was 8 lbs heavier then, it was at least 10 degrees cooler, I don't have specifics on the humidity, but I KNOW it wasn't like this, and I had a running buddy (younger sister Linda). My point in telling you all this is that I did the 7 miles today, but it was HARD. The first 2 miles were easy breezy. This part was actually not the norm for me. I typically struggle through the first 2-3 miles, but I had a great attitude going into it and my muscles were nice and loose courtesy of the massage I got on Wednesday (or should I call it a steamrolling - lol). I think what also helped was that I had the massage therapist take care of my upper arms which needed some major work. I'm not gonna lie - it hurt VERY BADLY, but I understood it was a necessary evil for the greater good of my body and my running.

Post run, I came home to shower and then ice my right shin. It's always something, right?!

Anyway, That Pink Girl has several times mentioned her mission to create peace and harmony between runners and bike riders. I would just be happy if my fellow runners (or heck...even walkers) would acknowledge one another. I don't require words...a nice wink (I kid, I kid...a wink would be creepy), a smile, or a nod go a long way. Today, I got two "good mornings". That made my day! I'm pretty sure I ran a good mile or better with a huge grin on my face for that alone. It doesn't take much to make me happy, y'all!

So what's on tap for next Saturday's run - I'm thinking 7 miles again...since today's 7 miles felt rough. I'm also thinking I need to GET AN EARLIER START! Goodness gracious...what is wrong with me that I can't seem to get started before 9am? It's not like the freakin' dogs let me sleep. I'm always up when the sun rises, so what's the dealio?! It would feel so much better at 7am!!! That's my goal for next week - 7am START TIME for 7 miles. I like it!

Summertime, Fridays, and some Food

Summertime is officially here. You probably think I'm referring to the season, but nope...I'm not. I'm referring to my job. Summertime = STRESS. I would say every day it's like I take a jigsaw puzzle out of a box, dumping the pieces out in front of me not knowing where to start. I finally will begin to put together the framework and feel a false sense of confidence that everything is going to be okay and then someone comes along and scatters said framework all over the desk forcing me to start over again. Once I get the frame back together and start working on the inside, seeing the big picture start to form, another person comes along and knocks the whole thing to the floor. Discouraged, I once again start from scratch and work my magic. Then there is the person who comes along and steals one of the pieces...well that's when things get really interesting, needless to say. Secretly, maybe I even like that challenge because I can get *very* creative.

Anyway, not to toot my own horn, but I'm quite good at what I do as long as you let me do my thing. I don't welcome interruption. I don't like being told "no". I don't want anything to do with people who cause me undue stress BECAUSE all those things distract me from working the magic (and make me want chocolate, but that's a whole different issue).

So, basically by the end of a Friday I am drained...not physically, but mentally and emotionally (because I take everything VERY personally) and all I want to do is have some kind of enjoyable dinner, soak in my tub, listen to some tunes, maybe read a bit, and call it a night. I, of course, am not currently dating someone, so I *totally* reserve the right to amend my Friday night's desires if/when that status changes. ;)

That brings us to tonight. I went to H.E.B. to pick me up some sushi. I'm a total mcwimpy when it comes to sushi. Basically I can only handle those rolls with the avocado, pepper, imitation crab meat, and cream cheese all rolled up with brown rice. I don't even know what they are called. I just know they are delicious and make me happy.

Oh and you know what else made me happy? Flatout makes these Artisan Flatbread fold outs that I am obsessed with - there is a 5 grain flax one that is only 100 calories with all kinds of great nutrition and I used to always be able to find them at H.E.B., but then they became popular and I couldn't find them anymore UNTIL TONIGHT! I saw two packages and I became a greedy mcgreedy and bought both of them because the good Lord knows when I will find them again - I mean it's been like 3 months since I've last seen them, y'all. Can't wait to make pizzas and quesadillas and all kinds of awesomeness with these things (they are totally South Beach friendly)! I then came home to my pups. I took my bubble bath. Now I'm listening to music, relaxing, and thinking all kinds of successful thoughts for my 7 mile run tomorrow. I'm gonna get me a good night sleep and be refreshed, rejuvenated, and ready for whatever the weekend dishes out!

What are your weekend plans?

Shut up, Sybil!

I've been struggling with my running lately. It started with my failed attempt at 9 miles back on May 1st (and then again on May 2nd) and it's just gone down hill since then. The next weekend I was traveling, so I didn't get in any running and then when I returned from vacation, I felt like I was trudging through mud. Sure, I got some mileage in this past Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, BUT...the furthest distance was only 5 miles.

I know I have PLENTY of time before my August 1st Rock 'N Roll Half Marathon...it's totally self-induced pressure...I've overcome injuries...I'm dealing with humidity...blah blah blah....yada yada yada. The biggest hurdle of all is that little voice in my head (we will call her Sybil) telling me that I'm a poser...that I'm fooling myself...that I'm not cut out for this. It's defeating, to say the least. It's disappointing, to boot.

Here are the facts - the humidity isn't going anywhere. The heat is only gonna get hotter. Time is gonna march on. The only thing I can hope to do is silence Sybil (or at least sweeten her up a bit). The problem is that sometimes she is a screamer and it's just easier to give in to her negativity than to fight it.


Instead of going for 9 this coming weekend, I'm going to do 7. It's a more reasonable number at this point. Why set myself up for more disappointment unnecessarily?

I plan on running some throughout the week just 1 to 2 miles at a time (unfortunately on the treadmill since it's too dark (read: dangerous) when I work out in the morning for me to hit the pavement cuz I don't have a running buddy). Maybe all that will change mid July when I join my running group for the full marathon training...maybe I can meet a new friend who lives nearby and wants to get up at unGodly hours with me to run on weekdays. *sigh* Until then...I need to find a way to reel Sybil in. She doesn't get to be in charge of me.