Week 12 weigh-in: Breakthrough!

Beginning weight: 216
Last week's weight: 200.6
This week's weight: 198.4
This week's loss: 2.2 pounds
Total loss: 17.6 pounds
Left to lose: 32.4 pounds

Oh, it feels unbelievable to be under 200 finally. And not just by a little, but nearly 2 pounds under! I can't believe how long it took me - certainly much longer than I had expected. But I guess that makes it much more sweeter of an accomplishment. I'm very, very, very happy.

I was a little worried about today's weigh-in because I sat in my chair for about 16 hours yesterday, practically straight. I was on a proofreading marathon and the sitting combined with the eating (of normal diet meals, but still, calories), I was a little afraid of what that would do. After all, it's "calories in, calories out," and I don't think you burn many calories proofreading.

But yay!

We're also about to enter Month 3, which is a big step for me. It's been a very long time since I made it this far dieting. Onward...

10 miles: A history

So the Cherry Blossom 10-miler is in two weeks. You might recall this race: The photo at right on this blog is from last year's race, and it was a doozy for me. It had been a gorgeous day and a gorgeous course full of cherry blossoms and I had unexpectedly lost steam at mile 2. It was a miserable run for me and I vowed that "next year" would be better.

"Next year" is in two weeks. And despite much training, it will not be better.

A little history for you (and attention "real" runners: Yes, these times are mega slow):

Best official 10-miler: May 2009, 2:02:13
Worst official 10-miler: November 2007, 2:20:18
Last year's Cherry Blossom: 2:13:02

My 10-milers this past month: 2:25; 2:28; 2:24

I want to blame the weight but I don't think that's fully it. I've been heavier and done better. And I am trying so very hard. But I do suppose I need to add speed-work to my routine to try to get faster. If you're familiar with my history, though, you know it's not so simple. Whenever I add a day of speed-work to my week, I soon get injured. I'm a little gun-shy.

Yesterday's 10-miler wasn't awful. It was a gorgeous day, and thankfully, Greg convinced me we should go to First Landing. It was perfect. I did a wee bit better than other past efforts this month. But I am worried about the race. There's a 2:20 cut-off point. And I just want to enjoy what I swore last year I would enjoy this year.

I will taper next Sunday and hope that a little rest - plus the energy of race day - does the trick. And, despite my urge to do so, I will not start speed-work until AFTER the race. As they say, better to be undertrained and healthy at the starting line than overtrained and injured.

Hoping for the best.

OH, P.S. I had a wild dream last night, and I hope it signifies a turning point. You know how I would constantly dream of eating bad things? Well, last night, I dreamed I was at work, and someone dropped off these huge care packages from One Life Fitness (the old Gold's Gym -- yesterday, our waitress at D'Egg was wearing a One Life shirt so I guess that's where the reference came from). The boxes were filled with green peppers, lettuce, grapes, tangerines, etc. I was thrilled and said, "Finally, something given out at work I can eat!" Wild....

One step at a time

I am still sticking with my mid-shift stair-climbing break at work. The first night was 312 steps. The second night, my calves and hamstrings tight as can be, the first set of flights was painful, but I still managed three trips for 312 steps. Last night, my calves and hamstrings still tight as can be, I could only do it once, for 104 steps.

Today, I will give my little calves and hamstrings a break and hope they cooperate on my Sunday 10-miler.

But I do really enjoy the mid-shift break. I highly recommend it for anyone out there - if you don't have stairs, even a loop around the office just to get yourself out of the chair.

Now...off to work.

Mental energy

There really is something about seeing a smaller number on the scale that makes you feel lighter. I had a great 4-mile run today and I truly feel it's a result of seeing a happy number smiling up at me.

I wanted to do even more but had little time before work. So at work tonight, I decided to force myself to take a break and climb the stairs. There are 104 steps at The Pilot and I did the five flights three times. The stair-climbing challenge at the end of April is 580 steps, so I figure 312 is a good start. My legs are a little shaky and I'm sweaty but it was great to get out of my chair!

Week 11 weigh-in

Beginning weight: 216
Last week's weight: 203.8
This week's weight: 200.6
This week's loss: 3.2 pounds
Total loss: 15.4 pounds
Left to lose: 34.6 pounds

Weekend update

I just got back from D.C. and now it's time for work, so I can't write much. I just wanted to update you on things.

It was definitely a weekend of temptations. Greg and I went to one of our favorite Arlington restaurants...and it wasn't until then that I realized it was one of my favorites because practically everything on the menu is tasty bad for you. I found two things (well, Greg helped!) that I could eat: a bowl of fruit and a vegetable wrap. The fruit was wonderful. The veggie wrap was basically a spinach tortilla stuffed with gobs of lettuce. OK, there was some tomato and a few dabs of feta cheese. While I hungered for a steak salad or french fries or chips and salsa, I know I made a good choice. The meal definitely made me FULL. It was a lot of roughage.

Later, we went to Dupont Circle, which was awesome on a beautiful spring day. Awesome but....waaay tempting. A cupcake store. A fro-yo store. A Krispy Kreme WITH THE HOT DOUGHNUT SIGN ON.

I resisted. And I'm sure the pedicab guy who took us to the Capitol was glad I did. I already weighed enough for his skinny little legs.

On Monday, I bought a ton of candy at Target for work and brought jellybeans home for Greg. As he ate some, I was so tempted to eat a few. I even grabbed the bag and looked at the Nutrition Label. But I put the bag down.

Exercise-wise, I didn't do much after my 10 miles on Saturday. My leg has been hurting since the run and I was/am worried a bit. But in preparation for a star-climbing challenge, I made sure I bounded up all the Metro stairs in D.C.

I wasn't a saint, though. I bought some Kashi oatmeal/dark chocolate cookies at Target and ate one. Then another. Then two more. Yeah, I know. A total of 8 points, but I wrote it down and only went over by two at the end of the day.

So there's my confessional. Now it's time for work, where I must guzzle water to prep for tomorrow's weigh-in. :)

Summer temps

Loving the weather, though not necessarily the clothes that accompany it. Last time it was nice and warm, I was thinner. It's hard to believe that in the course of three months, I gained so much weight, but October, November and December really killed me. And now it's taking so much longer to get the weight off.

I pulled out a pair of shorts to wear -- shorts I bought the summer my dad died when I was on the larger side of my Virginia weight. I was hoping they'd be loose, but they fit just fine. Some room in the waist. But I guess it's better than them being tight!

I had a nice 10-mile run today, though I really need to stop writing "run." I walked a lot. And I really haven't gotten any better over the past three months, which is quite aggravating. I'm just not showing progress. Granted, it was in the high-70s when I ran today, but still. I hate that my Cherry Blossom time is going to be tons worse than last year (and last year was pathetic). I'll also have to live with the fear of being pulled off the course, because it has a time limit. I think I can make it, but...well, you never know.

I had my biggest temptation this week, and it was my own fault. I actually really, really wanted some peanut M&Ms on M&M Thursday. It was a huge struggle to avoid them. But I did. I'm really proud I've made it nearly 11 weeks without one piece of candy, one bit of fast food, real pizza, real ice cream, cake, etc. It feels good. It can still be a fight, though. When the night desk ordered Chinese food yesterday, I was almost tempted to join in. But just thinking of the sodium content helped.

I'm going to take a quick trip to D.C. on my weekend (I have another proofreading job so I need to get a visit in before it gets crazy) so my weigh-in day will need to be Wednesday. That might be better anyhow, after this past week!

Thanks to you all for your support and love and kind words. You keep me going.

Can you amend a weigh-in?

So, yes, I was pretty upset yesterday. I was this close to posting "Don't read this blog anymore; it's not worth your time; I obviously don't know what I'm doing." But I erased it.

I weighed in again today. And I'll be. The body is a weird, weird thing (forgive me body; I'm not making fun; please don't punish me later). Today I weigh 201.8 -- a full two pounds less than yesterday.

(And like yesterday, I weighed myself twice to make sure it wasn't a fluke.)

Actually looking forward to today's run.

Week 10 weigh-in

Beginning weight: 216
Last week's weight: 204
This week's weight: 203.8
This week's loss: 0.2 pounds
Total loss: 12.2 pounds
Left to lose: 37.8 pounds

I don't know what to say anymore.

What a week

It's been an exhausting week. I had to finish proofreading a 400-page hardback novel, and it was a lot of work. Also, my work schedule was out of whack last week, as I did different shifts that had me starting earlier, which derailed my running and morning proofreading.

So I was pretty proud of myself when I was able to run/walk 10 miles on Sunday, then finish proofing 150 pages, all the while losing an hour from Daylight Saving Time. I was tempted to skip the run because of all the work I had, but I knew I needed to get out there. It was a good run, for the most part, though toward the end I was hurting.

Barely got any sleep last night and finished up today. Just mailed the book back. And, typically, that's where I end up gorging on food. In the past, after I ship off a book, I'll get a treat of some sort, and usually it's very bad for me. This time, however, I opted for a semi-treat. I got a Teeter sub (that's a 6-inch sub from Harris Teeter), which is not as healthy as Subway, more filling but not horrible for me. Whole wheat bread, turkey, lettuce, tomato...but, yes, also 2 slices of cheese and oil & vinegar. I hadn't had one for months and thought it would be a way to have something different without totally derailing my efforts. At least I hope it hasn't.

All morning I had been tempted to eat bad. But what I was craving wasn't sweets. It was pizza and Indian food, etc. After working out so hard yesterday and eating 4 points under my allotment (yeah, not smart when you do 10 miles), I was frustrated when I stepped on the scale today and saw the same number that's appeared all week. I really wanted to go grab a pizza. And while it might not be smart to eat a Teeter sub the day before my official weigh-in, I decided to do it anyhow. It was very good. And I don't regret it. I also bought Baked Ruffles, which in the past, I'd eat from the bag with my Teeter sub. Today I portioned out my 1 ounce.

So I'm happy overall. My one pair of jeans is starting to have room in them, whereas before you couldn't slip a piece of paper in. I'm nowhere near where I wanted to be at this point (my calendar says I should be at 196; I'm not). But I realize that if I quit now, I'll never get there.

In much need of a nap right now. And then I need to clean this disaster of an apartment (the day after a book is due, it's at its worst). Perhaps I can burn some calories vacuuming....

Temptations, Part 1

I thought I'd share with you Part 1 of 3 regarding Temptations Diana Has Resisted at Work.

Here's how the first two months broke down (this list does not include the weekly M&M Thursday temptations I create for myself nor the multiple times a week the night desk orders out and tempts me with the amazing smell of Chinese food):

15 days of temptations at work: Jan.-Feb. (and part of March)

1. Birthday cookie cake
2. Dessert party leftovers
3. Birthday cookies and cake
4. Krispy Kreme on a Saturday
5. Brownies, etc. from work meeting
6. Business Dept. cake
7, Goodbye cake
8. Goodbye cookies, cake
9. Pizza on Snow Day
10. Pizza and hot blueberry muffins on Snow Day II
11. Cookies
12. Cake, cookies, more cookies for a birthday
13. Pizza from Photo Dept., muffins and cookies for copy desker's first day
14. Cupcakes galore for intern's last day
15. HOT Krispy Kreme doughnuts

So looking at that, I feel good I've managed to resist thousands of calories over the course of the past two months. I know that while my weight-loss is insanely slow, at least I haven't gained weight, which I would have done had I not resisted.

While I'm really busy this week, I made a promise to myself yesterday that I would work hard proofreading on Tuesday so I could enjoy a beautiful day outside today. And so far I've done just that. I just got back from a three-mile run that went well and then did a series of strength workouts with the window open and a nice breeze and sunshine coming through. I'll get back to working like crazy tomorrow and then try again Friday to take a break and get outside for a run.

Week 9 weigh-in: Inconsolable

Beginning weight: 216
Last week's weight: 204.4
This week's weight: 204
This week's loss: 0.4 pounds
Total loss: 12 pounds
Left to lose: 38 pounds

Spring has sprung (I hope)

It sure was a nice day for a run. But it took me forever to get my act together, and I didn't leave the house until 12 p.m. Didn't get out to First Landing and start running until 12:45. But it was nice and warm and I wore a new shirt I like and I was determined to enjoy myself.

The first few miles were nice. I forgot how soft that trail is, and I know my legs appreciated it. But I soon tuckered out. I did complete 9.6 miles but they were slow, I walked a lot and ... well, it's just proof I don't think I can even walk the Shamrock half marathon in two weeks. I'm just not ready. The Cherry Blossom 10-miler is in one month, and even that seems scary.

Earlier in the day, I started thinking more about the scale and it really got to me. In the past, when my weight got high, it didn't take long (maybe a week, maybe two) to get back below 200. Now, two months later, I'm still not there. And my endurance is shot. I feel like I'm really not making any progress.

So after the run, when I dashed into 7-Eleven to get some water, I spied a box of doughnuts. A bag of cookies. And I wanted to buy them. Then I drove to the Office Depot to get some editing pencils, and there, oh, there, was a Sonic and a yummy Mexican restaurant. I wanted to order double.

I haven't been that tempted to eat bad in awhile. I think I just was so frustrated. I also think of all the previous diet attempts and how they failed and how this one may too and ... just eat already.

But I know that's not the answer and it will get me nowhere. I have to keep trying and keep hoping for the best.

I'm back

Sorry I've been away for most of the week. It was a busy one, with not much time to sleep let alone type. I only got in one run after Sunday -- a decent 4-miler on Thursday, followed by a 2-mile walk b/c it was so nice out. I'm worried about tomorrow's run, as it will be the last chance to run long before the half marathon. Not looking good.

The diet is still going great. I'm still not losing like I want to, but I've managed to not succumb to temptations (the worst was HOT Krispy Kreme doughnuts at work...and not just a few but dozens and dozens). I still cringe when I look in the mirror, but clothes are starting to feel a little better.

Not much to report: I just keep on keepin' on.

Week 8 weigh-in

Beginning weight: 216 (old scale)
Last week's weight: 206.6 (new scale)
This week's weight: 204.4
This week's loss: 2.2 pounds
Total loss: 11.6 pounds
Left to lose: 38.4 pounds

Etc.

Random thoughts:

1. It appears my baby talk with the scale in my last post backfired: For the past two days, it's shown a higher weight. Whatever. Guess it likes to be a big strong scale, not a good little scale.

2. I tried running yesterday, only to discover a total lack of energy. I ended up running/mostly walking 7.5 miles. I even sat down on the curb at one point. I think it's clear I won't be able to do the Shamrock half in three weeks.

3. The lack of energy (and maybe even the weight) may have a reason: I developed a horrible, sharp-pain sore throat last night. Who knows what's going on. Trying to rest today and drink lots of liquid and take lots of Airbourne, etc.

4. I dreamed of something chewy and caramel-y and chocolate last night.

5. Have tons of work to do today, so ... I'll be back after tomorrow's weigh-in...