Run For The Wild 5K - DONE!

Today was the big day - the Run For The Wild 5K run/walk at the Bronx Zoo. I feel bad that I hadn't trained for it the way I wanted, I haven't walked in about two weeks except for last night. I did 1 mile last night - I do 7 30-second running intervals for 2 miles, and that's how many I did for 1 mile. I was very proud of myself. I only did 1 mile because I didn't want to be sore for today.

We got up bright and early today and got there, parked, got our T-shirts, and were ready to go 10 minutes before the casual run/walkers started. The regular runners started at 8:30, we started at 9. I had every intention of doing some jogging intervals, but there were so many people that it just wouldn't have worked, it was too congested for most of the walk. I'm kind of glad I didn't do any running though, the course was much more difficult than my usual flat, straight line. Very twisty-turny, and a few uphill areas. The worst part was a little bit after the 2 mile mark (with 1 mile to go) we had to walk right by the finish area where they were serving breakfast and had music and activities. I was honestly surprised at how many people "cheated" during this - they crossed taped-off areas to shortcut around a loop, etc. The biggest thing was when we went past the finish area, suddenly there was a lot less congestion. I don't want to think about how many people just stopped there and called it a day without finishing the full 3.1 miles. It makes me sad that people would do that at a fund-raising event.

They didn't have a digital clock at the finish line for the walkers, but by my cell phone, I walked further than I usual do, a harder course than I usually do, and I still beat my best 3-mile time! My best time before this was 1 hour 15 mins, when I finally thought to check my phone, it was exactly 10:15 - and this was after a slow start through the starting line with so many people, and we wasted a few minutes at the finish line taking pictures and such before I finally thought to check the time, so I would guess my actual time was at the very latest 1:12, probably a few minutes faster. Either way, still faster.

We stayed and enjoyed the zoo after the walk and probably walked another 1 or 2 miles. We had planned to go see more at the zoo, but our favorite exhibit was closed down due to budget cuts so we were disappointed, and we were getting too tired to keep going, so we went home earlier than expected. I DID get to meet Jeff Corwin though, which makes me very happy, I respect and admire that man so much. He was there for his own book promotion event and not for the run, but it was an awesome coincidence.

70 Pounds!

374 on the scale this morning, 70 pounds gone for good! The Run For the Wild 5K run/walk is in three weeks. Yesterday we went to the Bronx Zoo just for fun, it was a gorgeous 70+ degrees. We got memberships so we can go anytime we have some time off together, which I'm very happy about. Lots of walking. Two of my favorite exhibits were closed yesterday, though (World of Birds and World of Darkness). I felt a little lethargic yesterday, my legs didn't feel like moving, but I never had to stop to rest and I still kept going. I'm a little sick right now, possibly with Mono, but that won't stop me.

Last time I wrote, I did end up walking another 2 miles the next day. I was sore as hell after walking over 5 miles in 3 days, after not walking for months, but I got over it. Even though I was still a little tired from yesterday at the zoo and still feeling under the weather, I did another 2 miles today. The cool thing is that, even though it was probably a bad idea, I did my jogging intervals. I even upped the duration of a few intervals. Usually I do 30 seconds at each 1/4 mile mark. Here's what I did:

1/4 mile - 30 seconds
1/2 mile - 30 seconds
3/4 mile - 45 seconds
1 mile - 30 seconds
1 1/4 mile - 45 seconds
1 1/2 mile - 30 seconds
1 3/4 mile - 60 seconds!

The full minute is a big deal for me, even though I could barely walk after it, I DID IT. Right now I don't know if I'm going to do any running at the 5K, I'm afraid of tiring myself out and I really don't want to be the last person to finish. I only walk about 2.5 miles/hour so I'm hoping families with little kids and strollers will still be behind me.

My full time today from the car to the car (so a little more than 2 miles) was 48 minutes. My average walking time for 2 miles last summer was 51-52 minutes, I couldn't find what my run/walk time was. Ah well. It can only get better.

This week is supposed to be pretty nice weather, except, of course, my birthday on Friday. We're going down to Manhattan for the Museum of Modern Art (Tim Burton has an exhibition right now that I really want to see) and I was hoping to go to the Central Park Zoo for a little bit. Of COURSE it's supposed to rain. Just my luck that it's the ONLY day it's supposed to rain this week.

Keep It Going!

I got my lazy, procrastinating butt into motion last night and went for a walk around our new neighborhood. I walked about 1.25 miles. I was hoping to find a 2 mile route, but I'm horrible at judging distances, so I still need to figure that out. Over 1/4 mile of that was completely uphill, so I'm very happy even with what I did walk.

Today, I went back to my normal walking trail and walked 2 miles. No excuses, just did it. It was absolutely gorgeous, 70 degrees, sunshine, with a breeze that was just bitter enough to keep me cool. All I had before my walk was a little bit of Crystal Light, so I made myself hold off a little longer and weighed myself before having lunch. I lost 4 more pounds this week! I thought I would have gained since I ate like crap a few days, but I'm not complaining.

I'm also proud because on my way home from walking, I stopped at a deli and got myself a turkey, muenster, tomato, and mayo sandwich. I avoided ALL other temptations - my two absolute favorite sodas, loads of sweets, chips, etc...and just got the sandwich. You can tell me mayo isn't great for me either, but still better than what else I would have gotten if I didn't hold myself back. It was like a sub sandwich, and I only ate half of it. Very very happy with myself today.

So now I'm just relaxing for a little bit and watching the cats enjoy the open windows. More walking tomorrow! Monday and Tuesday are supposed to be crappy so I'm going to get moving while I can.

Slowly But Surely

Last time I posted (3 weeks ago), I had lost 8 pounds. The next week, I had gained 3 back because I was eating TONS of cookies and sweets and stuff. I didn't get a chance to weigh myself last week, but this week, I lost 5 pounds again, so a net loss of two more pounds. I'm down to 380 and I've lost 64 pounds total so far. It seems like so much weight but I still can't really tell a difference. I have so much extra skin that in my torso, I'm losing weight especially in the area under my bust, like the area where my natural waist should be. The problem is that as I'm losing weight, the loose fat is sinking down more around my lower stomach so that I look like I'm actually bigger there. I don't like that side effect at ALL. It means that none of my clothes still really fit any differently. Oh well, eventually it will all shrink down as I lose more.

I have started trying to get more involved in my eating problems though. One of the blogs I read, Fatty Fights Back, has been talking about this book called The Rules of "Normal" Eating. Since DH works at a bookstore, I picked it up. I think it's exactly what I need. It's not a diet book, it's all about how "normal" people eat, when they know to stop eating, when they're actually hungry, things like that. You know, the stuff that is COMPLETELY dysfunctional with me. It's actually written for both under-eaters AND over-eaters, so I like that the focus isn't about losing weight, it's about paying attention to what your body really needs.

I'm only in the second chapter of the book, but I've already learned some important distinctions, the biggest so far being FULL vs. SATISFIED. Full means you have had enough food and you no longer feel hungry. Satisfied means that you feel like you've had enough of a certain taste. You can feel any combination of these two. I think MY personal problem, especially with the Lap-Band, is feeling full without feeling satisfied. My stomach doesn't need (nor really can handle) more food, but I really want to eat more of it. This is where I get myself into trouble, because I could be truly full from just a few bites of food sometimes, but I really like the food so I keep eating and pushing food through the band to make more room. I think this might be a sign I might need a fill though, since the food DOES go through the band when more food is pushed in, instead of me just getting sick and PBing.

The only aspect of the book I don't like and don't need is that it also has a very strong angle about emotional eating, since that is what drives a lot of people to overeat. I have thought about this issue long and hard and after several discussions about it, I really am NOT an emotional eater. The only "emotion" I ever eat because of is boredom, and I don't consider that as part of emotional eating. It's okay though, because the rest of this book is so valuable to me that I still feel like it is worth it for me to read.

In other news, the weather is slowly coming out of winter. It's been in the 40s and 50s most of the week (pushing 60 some days!) and Daylight Savings begins tomorrow, which means soon I will be able to go walking again after work. I've been waiting for this for awhile, my body is ready to exercise again! Plus I have the Run for the Wild 5K to get ready for in April :)

That Was Unexpected

We moved to a new apartment this past weekend, so for the last two weeks or so, we've been having fast food a lot and I've been pigging out on sweets and crap like crazy because I need to get my Depo shot. I hadn't weighed myself in a few weeks, not really because I've been avoiding it, but just because I didn't have a good time to do it on an empty stomach, we've just been really busy.

Because I've been eating absolute crap and a LOT of calories, I finally got on the scale today and fully expected to gain like 5 pounds. My last weigh-in was at 390. Today, I weighed 382. I thought that couldn't be right, so I did it again. 382. Maybe the floor is crooked or something? Took the scale into another room. 382. Well okay then.

Why is it that when I'm eating hardly anything and sticking with my fill proportions, I don't lose anything? But now, I'm eating a hell of a lot more, but lost weight. I don't exercise, so I thought that would rule out "starvation mode" but now I'm starting to wonder if my body needs more calories to lose weight than I give it when I'm being good. After a fill, I lose a nice chunk in the week afterwards, but then, even if I'm eating the same amounts, I plateau. Maybe it's just too little for me since I still weigh so much, but I don't know. I'm really just trying to explain this weight loss.

Not complaining, though! I'm down 62 pounds now, which is officially the most weight I've ever lost - last time I got stuck at 55 pounds.

First 5K?!

Nothing much has changed since I posted last. I ate kind of crappy for about a week and I only lost about half a pound, but nothing I'm going to record yet. Thankfully, my fill was over a month ago and my restriction is still going strong. I haven't had much heartburn lately, just a little bit yesterday.

If I could just actually stop eating when my band says I'm full, I'd be dropping weight like crazy. Instead, I have a bad habit of continuing to eat when I feel full, because I know it will push the food down the band and I can eat more. VERY bad habit. I still just can't get over my addiction to food and if something tastes good, I want to keep eating it. A few bites of something good isn't enough yet, though I'm trying to work on it. This morning I actually listened to myself and stopped when my band said I was full, which was about 1/3 of the Jimmy Dean D-Light breakfast sandwich. Normally, I would have went until my 1/2 was gone (which is what I usually eat) but today I just stopped. We'll see if I can carry that philosophy into lunch, where yesterday, I was full after just a few bites, but continued to finish my cup or so of food. And I want to get out of my new afternoon habit of eating SF pudding/yogurt/whatever snack I have a few hours after lunch, not because I'm hungry, but because I know I have it.

I'm also trying to drink more fluids, which is still really hard for me at night at home because I eat dinner then just forget about drinking. If I'm not hungry then I usually don't get thirsty unless I'm doing something physical and not just sitting at the computer. The problem with drinking more fluids is that it actually makes the full feeling go away faster, since it washes out my pouch. I'm trying to find a good balance there.

I still need to at least find a dietitian, if not also a psychologist, but our company insurance is switching over in February so I'm waiting until then, but that's okay, because I don't need a fill yet (and my requirement to get another fill is that I HAVE to see a dietitian).

So anyway, my big news is that I'm going to participate in my first 5K Run/Walk at the Bronx Zoo - and it WILL be a run/walk for me, because I definitely can't run that yet. But the point is that it gives me something to train for, a motivation to start walking again as soon as the weather gets nice. The 5K is on April 24, plenty of time for the weather to come around. My husband is also going to do it with me, which is awesome :) If you're curious about the event, route, etc, here is the website: http://e.wcs.org/site/PageServer?pagename=RFTW_homepage. I'm actually pretty excited. I love the zoo, the event benefits the tigers, and I think this will be really good for me. Wish me luck!

Whew! So Much For Worrying!

The scale didn't move at all last week. I was starting to get really nervous, because everytime I've gotten a fill, I'd lose a few pounds within the first week/week and a half, then I'd either stay there or gain a few back until my next fill. I was so afraid the cycle was back and that I already hit another plateau.

Nope! I got on the scale this morning (fearing the worst - gaining) and I lost 4 more pounds! I'm down to 390 with 54 pounds lost. I have 15 pounds to go by Valentine's Day for the LBT challenge. I'm praying I can do it.

I've been eating more at my nightly dinners than I do any other time of the day. Lately I'd have either half of a Jimmy Dean Delight sandwich (130 calories) or a small yogurt smoothie (140 calories) for breakfast, I pack my own lunches in these little 1-cup Tupperwares, so I really control my portions for lunch - either 1 cup of something, or 1/2 cup of like meat/chicken and 3/4 cup soup, and if I have two things I spread them out about an hour apart, that way if I'm NOT hungry after my first item, I just don't eat the other. If I AM hungry, then at least enough time has passed that I know it's hunger and not just 'shove it down because it's there'. I still haven't been eating a LOT at dinner, but much more than I eat at breakfast or lunch.

At least my plan seems to be working, though. I really want to keep this up!