Heather

First off, don’t you just love my $5 word? Yeah, I pulled this one out of the archives. I used it a lot when I used to high jump. The penultimate step – the next to last. The power step.

Which is what this weigh in is…the final being on Saturday.

So, is this my ‘power’ weigh in? In a word, NO. But I still lost, a bit. Which I shouldn’t have.

I didn’t do terribly with food, but I was bad (again) about tracking. But where I really lost it was exercise. I try to get at least three thirty minute runs in per week, as well as some EA Active.  This week? Two half ass runs.

The first run, I had our 100 pound golden retriever, Carl. Who I realize now does not like running and should be joining the Sisterhood. Cause he’s a WEE bit overweight.  Anyhow, Carl made it a bout 1/2 mile before he began lagging behind me. About two miles in, I gave up and walked with him – which he took as an opportunity to sit down on the sidewalk and not budge. I almost had to call my husband to come pick us up.

The second run, well, I’m pretty sure I was having an anxiety attack.  Chest pain. Couldn’t take a deep breath. Normally I’d attribute that to being out of shape, but I’ve been running for some time now and can normally make it through a half hour easily. So, I only ran about 15 minutes, then decided I didn’t want to have a heart attack on the side of the road.

So, excuses, excuses. Oh well.

Like I said, somehow I managed to lose this week.  Probably due to stress, most recently added to by a run-in with a certain corporate entity that sells home improvement products. But that’s another story entirely.

So, today, three days before final weigh in, I am down .7, which I will gladly take.

That puts me at 168.9.  I know that unless I shave my head or lose a limb, I won’t hit my goal of 10 pounds for this challenge.   What I am hoping for is to drop the.9 and be squarely at 168.  Seven pounds for this challenge is fine by me.

See y’all Saturday!

All I can say is that running is the ‘thing’ that works for me.

That, and stress. And the fact that I’m using running, rather than food, to deal with my stress. This is a HUGE breakthrough for me. Cause usually I’m the one driving through fast food, cramming the food down, and then hiding the evidence deep in the garbage can. And living with the stench of deep friend guilt on my hands.

I was not great at all about counting points this week, but was conscious of what I was eating.

So, today, good scale news. Very good.

I’m down 2.4 pounds.

169.5. Hollah!

I am FINALLY into the 160’s. Now, to stay here…I mean, get into the 150’s.  Woot!

Am I going to hit my goal for SFG challenge? Hmmm. Probably not. I’d need to lose 4.5 pounds in the next week. Which, while it is possible, I do enjoy eating from time to time. And I’d basically need to starve myself.

Let’s not do that, m’kay?

This last week I’ve been secretly kind of freaking out about my Community Leader status with EA Sports  (yes, we’re starting a new challenge on Monday – go read Christie’s awesome post to catch up) – because I couldn’t find an actual race around here on World Run Day. Yeah, I could map out my own course. But, honestly, I really wanted to participate in an ACTUAL race, with a race clock, and a bib, and lots of people. Because for some reason I seem to run faster in big races (that’s the Type A super competitive side of me).

Yesterday, I went onto Active.com one last time to see if I could locate a race scheduled for World Run Day.

And what do you know – I found one.

But not just any race. Like, literally, the PERFECT race for me, right now.

The Free to Breathe Lung Cancer 5K.

You’ve probably noticed my mother in law is fighting cancer through reading some of my previous posts, and is staying with us while she undergoes treatment. I probably haven’t mentioned that she has lung cancer.

To find this race, well, it is just too perfect. I’d seen lots of races for breast cancer, leukemia, lymphoma. Nothing specifically for lung cancer. Seriously? This race, being on just the right day, well, I kind of cried. Just a little.

So, I know when I’m running.  Do you?

P.S. If you’re in the Seattle area and want to join me, please contact me at heather@shrinkingjeans.net for more information. Even if you’ve never run or run/walked a 5K before, you can TOTALLY do this. I know you can! Go to the EA Sports site  for a training plan, or you can use the trusty Couch to 5K program, which is what got me started back in July. I promise, three months ago I couldn’t even run for a minute straight. Now, I’m running the whole way and not even barfing! I KNOW!

Truthfully, I did NOT want to hop on the scale this morning. I put it off as long as possible.

This week was not good. I didn’t log into the Weight Watchers site once. I’ve fallen behind on the 30 day challenge.  People have been filling our house with fatty, high calorie foods. As I type, I am looking at a pack of Little Debbie Brownies, a tray of cinnamon rolls, and tapioca pudding snack packs. In the fridge? Half and half for coffee, tons of butter, and a pasta dish someone brought for us that contains – wait for it -  butter, cream, and three kinds of cheese. And they brought enough to feed the Duggars. I KNOW.

Unfortunately, no one else in the house seems to want to eat any of it. So here I am, with temptation staring me squarely in the face. I have literally had my hand in the box of brownies more times than I can count. But, somehow, I haven’t eaten any. For me, this is a miracle. I keep telling myself those calories are for my mother in law. I DO NOT NEED THEM.

Still, I didn’t eat great this week, and didn’t track my food properly. My water consumption was almost nonexistent. I only ran twice (once was my race on Saturday).

Clearly, everything this week should have added up to a gain. And after my 2.9 pound gain last week, well, I was feeling pretty down on myself.

So, back to the scale. I weighed myself.

And, somehow, I lost .9 pounds.

Whew. I know that I totally dodged a bullet this week. I know I need to make a huge recommittment or all my previous hard work will be for naught.

And with that, I make a promise to myself to really try this week. More than a brownie, more than a big dish of cheesy pasta, I really need to feel positive about myself right now. That,  more than anything, will help me be strong and keep a positive outlook.

I hope everyone else had a better week! If you had one like me, let’s get back on track. WE CAN DO IT!

Left to Right: Megan, Heather (with my crazy kiddo, George), Melissa & Joie

If  you’ve been following my blog for a while, you probably know I’ve been killing myself training for my first post baby 5k using the Couch to 5K program. My friend Melissa turned me on to it back in July and we’ve been virtual running buddies (meaning we never actually run together, but check in and encourage/commiserate every few days) ever since.

Last Saturday, we ran our first 5k since starting the program.  We chose the Race for Fetal Hope in Kirkland, WA, and ran with our Stoller Strides buddies.

WE PUSHED STROLLERS.

Yes, we are crazy. As if running 3.125 miles isn’t hard enough, I decided to add 30 pounds of hyperactive toddler to the mix.

And you know what? WE HAD SO MUCH FUN.

Melissa brought along her handy little Ipod boom box and we rocked out for the entire race. Black Eyed Peas, Lady Gaga, and, of course, Def Leppard.

The entire first half of the race was a long hill. Yes, I almost had to kill Melissa. She promised no hills. But the good thing about hills? You get to come back down.  The last half of the race was a nice descent down to the waterfront. The weather was incredibly perfect, mid-sixties, clear and sunny. Atypical for Seattle in September.

The best part for me? Running with a buddy and talking each other through the run. Encouraging each other. And at the end, a sweaty high five for a job well done. The mommies who could HARDLY RUN A MINUTE when we started ran for almost 40 minutes straight. WHAT?

My official time was 37:53.  About 12:40 (if my math is correct – unlikely – I was an English major) per mile.

I am SO excited for my next race. I’m training for a speed now. I want to pull an 11 minute mile with a stroller. If I can do that, I will somehow paint flames on the sides.

For reals.

Not happy with the scale this morning. Up 2.6 lbs.

Way to kick a girl when she’s down, scale. You suck.

Simply stated, I did the wrong things this week, food wise. I didn’t log my points every day. I ate a little chocolate and a few too many butter cookies. Too much salt. A dangerous run-in with a calorie and fat laden veggie soft taco. Probably too much garlic bread last night.

Live and learn, right? Except how many times to I need to make the same mistakes before it finally sticks?

Whatever.

Exercise-wise, things are good.

So this week we’ll work on the food, and get rid of this new poundage – and hopefully then some.

These last few days I am facing a new challenge: fattening someone up whilst I’m trying to slim down.

My mother-in-law is staying with us while she undergoes cancer treatment and she is under doctor’s orders to either gain or maintain. Preferably gain.

My fridge is an interesting dichotomy:  heavy cream for her coffee, skim milk for mine. I’ve got butter, Snickers Bars, Ensure, instant breakfast.  Her white bread versus my double fiber.

I have figured out how to concoct a super calorie shake – 700 calories per drink.

Basically, I look at how I eat and do the polar opposite.

I know she needs to eat healthfully as well, but honestly, at this point, it’s about how many calories she can pack away in a day.

She’s a trooper…as much as I want to eat everything in sight, she can hardly choke it down.

You know what? If she can do it, so can I. She will eat to gain, I will eat to lose.

Now, I’m off to make her a Snickers Milkshake. With a side of bacon

Here are my sins for the week. Could be worse, could be better.

1) I went through a drive through this week. I needed something fast, so I scanned the area I was in and saw a Taco Time. I figured a Veggie Soft Taco would be okay. It TASTED great. But then I came home and found out that bugger was 510 calories and 21 grams of fat.

Oops. Lesson learned. Fast food = evil. The end.

2) I took two rest days instead of one from the EA Active 30 Day Challenge this weekend. I’m not sure now if I can get all 20 workouts in the allotted 30 days now and I’m kind of pissed at myself. Maybe if I take NO rest days from here on out, I can catch up.

3) I had a couple of fun sized Snickers yesterday. And not only did I feel bad about eating them, my teeth ached from the sugar. That was probably a good sign they’re not something I should be eating! Teeth say NO!

4) My final confession? My first post baby 5k is next Sunday and honestly? I’m kind of scared. I measured out my running route a few days ago and figured out that while I can now run for 30 minutes straight, I’m only averaging about 14:30 a mile.  However, I am pushing a 30 pound toddler in a stroller and considering I couldn’t even run a few minutes back in June, I’m doing pretty well. My goal is to fully run this 5K, then work on speed for the EA Sports Active 5K Challenge.

That’s the nitty gritty for this week! How’d you all do?

As a child I spent several summers with my Grandma, Step-Grandpa (they have since divorced), and my cousin Amber – who is almost exactly one year older than me – in a remote cabin on Lake Couer d’Alene in Idaho. Amber and I used to have colossal fights (we’ve since outgrown our animosity) and I spent a lot of time being moody and sullen. One summer when I was about seven, my Step-Grandpa sat me down to talk to me about my moodiness – he, being manic-depressive, was an expert on the subject.

He sat me down to talk about depression. I don’t know if he actually thought a seven-year-old could fully comprehend the concept.

The ‘talk’ started out with, ” I was born with some bad genes.” And that’s all I really remember. Why? Because my seven-year-old brain was stuck on the fact he was born with JEANS. And bad ones at that – obviously not cool acid washed, pleated jeans – tight rolled, please. Yes, I was a child in the 80’s. Shut up. I’m sure the speech was very heartfelt but I’ll never know for sure. I got hung up on the jeans.

As a grown up, I think about genes a lot (I think about JEANS a lot too).  Fortunately, the mental illness gene is one that passed me by (I think). What didn’t pass me by is the crappy metabolism gene. I ask myself, did I get the short end of the stick, metabolism-wise? Why is my cholesterol through the roof? How come I struggle so much with my weight?

It gets REALLY easy to throw your hands up and say, you know, screw it. These are the cards I’ve been dealt. This body was not designed to run a triathlon, or wear a bikini, or be felt GOOD about. Some days, I find myself sliding perilously down that slope.

But you know what? I get to decide how I treat my body. Yes, my freaking genes may fight me every step of the way, but I decide what I eat. I decide how much I move. I make the conscious decision to love my body and treat it with respect.

So yeah, bad genes are the pits.

But bad genes don’t have to mean you are stuck in bad jeans. I choose cute jeans.

What do YOU choose?

I can’t complain this week, I had a great loss. Again. I’m kind of stunned. Finally, FINALLY, I’ve figured out what works for me. Exercising and eating less. Not rocket science, but I honestly have a very hard time getting that through my thick skull sometimes! Especially when I’m surrounded by people who do not exercise and eat McDonald’s almost daily. *Sigh*.

But I’m doing my EA Active, even though I hate kick backs – actually, hate isn’t strong enough a word…loathe? Despise? I literally have to insert my foot in my rear end to get the darn things to register. I’m sure it’s user error, once again.

I’m running. The weather right now is PERFECT. We’re hovering in the high 60’s right now, and the air has a nice autumn crispness.

I’m still pushing the fiber.

And I’m down two pounds this week, to 170.2.  That is .2 pounds from five pounds.

Five pounds of food, in a neat little pile in the corner of my kitchen. Five pounds that someone else can use – I DON’T NEED IT.

We’ll see what this next week brings. I am preparing our home for my mother-in-law to stay with us while she goes through chemotherapy. I’m scared, but I’m so happy that we are able to do this for her.

Usually I cope with stress by eating, but to be honest, I’ve (very luckily) never been under this type of stress before. So, maybe weight loss is a side effect. I suppose I should take it and embrace it. The better I feel physically (and mentally), the better caregiver I can be.

Hope everyone else had a successful week, or if not, is all fired up for this coming week!