Monday mix tape

 

How is it Monday again already!?!? Another exciting weekend and it FLEW by!!

Friday was the big day - Fox 5 was coming to my house to film at noon! I woke up early and spent most of the morning cleaning up the house and myself. Thankfully, my hair stylist was kind enough to squeeze me in for some emergency highlights! I was more nervous than I thought I would be and started sweating the second they arrived.

 

They set up a little spot in my back yard for the interview - it was a bit of a mess back there after storms but hopefully that won't show up on TV! It was strange being in front of the camera but I think I did okay - I love telling my story and I got more comfortable after talking a while. I wanted to keep my answers short but at the same time I wanted to make sure I said everything I wanted to say.

  

Beth Galvin is the reporter doing the story - LOVED her! She immediately put me at ease and is the kind of person I would totally hang out with.

After the interview I ran on camera up and down my street. I tried to smile and not sweat too much. SO WEIRD running with a camera in your face. Luckily, I also loved the camera man so it got (a little) less weird as we went along.

After the run we went to my trainer Karen's studio to film us working out together. We did some kicking on the bag, planks, pushups, butt lifts, etc.  - all exercises we thought would look both bad-ass and figure flattering at the same time :) At that point I just gave up on trying not to sweat. People want reality and it doesn't get much more real than me dripping wet - it's how I spend most days. One of the most beautiful girls I know once said "sweat is body fat crying". I try to remind myself of that when I'm feeling miserable!!

They interviewed Karen after our workout which made me all verklempt - Hearing her say such wonderful things about me is as great as all the pounds I've lost! I wish I had taken a few pictures there but we were going on 2 and a half hours and I was about to drop!

The segment will air Monday, July 1st at 5:45 pm. I will post a link here the second it's available!!

What a fabulous day I will NEVER forget. I had to go to yoga to calm down and come back to earth! I dedicated my practice to my father - who art in heaven - and smiled the whole time knowing that he would be so proud of what I've done.

I had to get back to reality quickly because, Saturday was another big training run. In fact it was the "official" training run at 7:30am and I knew there would be a thousand people on the sidewalks so I was determined to get ahead of them and have some space. The alarm went off at 5:30 (this is how you know when you've become a real runner) and I was on the train speeding north by 6:20. I stopped to pee at my favorite Marriott and held the door for two ladies in VERY short skirts and VERY tall shoes stumbling out of the hotel at 6:45 am. Just then someone I knew from my yoga studio was also coming in to use the bathroom so luckily I had someone to laugh about those girls with :)

I was running by 7am and was flying! I felt even better than last week, there was water every mile and it was (dare I say) fun!?!

When I look at this I can't quite believe it. I've never run this fast in my life! The best part? It's only going to get better!!

Sunday I did a full 90 minute super sweaty Bikram class to "stretch out" after Saturday. After all that work over the weekend we had a fun night out and a cocktail or two.

I love my husband and my NEW collar bones!

And then it was Monday. Running every other day is difficult because when I woke up this morning it was time to do it again! I rocked my super hilly Monday morning 5k with a little soreness left over in my quads and sweat dripping from my elbows.

Now that I've written another super-extended Monday mix tape I should probably get back to my real job. Weigh-in this Friday will be 5 months post-surgery so look for updated progress pics and measurements!

Have a happy, healthy week everyone!

Friday weigh in

Happy Friday!! Where is the summer going?!?! I can't believe it's almost July and my race is a week and a half away.

This is going to be brief because I have some BIG NEWS to share but first the weigh in....

Jan 14 - Start of liquid diet - 250
Jan 29 - Surgery weight - 237 -13
Feb 8 - 231 -6
Feb 15 - 222 -9
Feb 22 - 220  -2
Mar 1 - 218  -2
Mar 8 - 216  -2
Mar 15 - 213 -3
Mar 22 - 209 -4
Mar 28 - 208 -1
Apr 5 - 206 -2
Apr 12 - 199 -7
Apr 26 - 196 -3
May 3 - 193 -3 
May 10 - 190 -3
May 17 - 187 -3
May 24 - 186 -1
May 31 - 184 -2
June 7 - 177 -7  
June 14 - 177 -0   
June 21 - 175 -2           
 
75 pounds total! 

Yay for 75 pounds!!

Okay so now for the BIG NEWS. Fox 5 Atlanta is coming to MY house TODAY to film ME for a story on inspiring people running the Peachtree. I'm totally honored, nervous and excited. My heart is filled with a desire to inspire others and this is a great opportunity to share my story. Of course I will keep you all posted on when it will air etc. and I'm hoping to have a clip to share on the blog.

In the meantime, I still have to do my 6.2 course run tomorrow. It's the official training run day and it's open to everyone so I expect some crowded sidewalks but I'm excited for it. Let's hope I do as well as last week!!

Have a great weekend everyone!!!

Monday mix tape

Hey y'all! I'm happy to report I had a great weekend after my not-so-great week.

Friday (after my zero pounds lost weigh in) I decided I was going to return a top I bought at lululemon and treat myself to a new tank top. Of course I'm never going to make it out of there with just one thing and I couldn't resist these

These pants have 5 pockets! My phone fits in the side pocket, the cord for my headphones is long enough to come up under my shirt, money, ID and MARTA card in the back zipper pocket.

The best part? Size 10?!??!?!

Do not judge me for how much money I spent on these. Focus on the size! :)

Saturday morning I was up at 6am determined to get to the train by 7:15 for my 6.2 mile run back. The weather was SO much better than last week, I made sure to remember my water, I didn't drink (much) the night before and I really worked hard on my attitude.

The train was early so I was at the start and ready to run by 7:30. I even found the nicest public bathroom on the way from the train station to the start which will come in handy over the next couple weeks! I set out feeling great and stayed that way for the entire 6.2. I even ran about 1/4 mile of cardiac hill but had to walk the 2nd 1/4 mile. The rest of the time I ran and ran and ran.  

[Funny story: I was LOVING my new running pants and I kept thinking "people in size 10 lululemon pants can make it up these hills." My $90 pants kept me going. Whatever works right!?!?]

1:32 was my time!! 20 minutes ahead of last years time. It almost seems like a "normal" amount of time for a 10k.

I felt awesome ALL day - plus, I burned 800 calories! We piled the dogs in the car and headed up to North Carolina to visit my mom and step-dad for fathers day. The weather was gorgeous and it was nice to see my girls enjoying the creek.

We spent the night up there and it was a little difficult to control my wine and Rice Krispie Treat intake but luckily I have the sweetest and most supportive mother who made sure I had organic chicken and plenty of fresh fruit and veggies. 

Sunday I took the day off except for a couple of miles of walking. My quads were so sore after powering up those hills the day before and I knew I needed a recovery day. We ended up spending the afternoon in our local bar eating and drinking and watching golf. I ate grilled buffalo chicken so aside from the tequila, I did pretty well.

This morning, I woke up to rain and quickly realized my Monday morning 5k was going to have to be on the treadmill. I wasn't really sore at all anymore except for some tightness in my hips. Again I had an AMAZING run. Dare I say it was easy? I even cranked up the incline and my speed for the last 3/4 mile. I wanted to keep going after I got to 3.1 but I really needed to stop and get some work done. I felt totally unstoppable. Yep, my mojo is back!

Have a happy, healthy week! Thanks for all the support on Fridays post. I thought about every one of your comments as I was out there on the route. I feel so lucky to have so much support!

 

Friday weigh in

Happy Friday everyone!


Heat, hills, humidity and hormones - it's been a little bit of a rough week.


I knew it was coming - the humidity came on quick and it was tough to handle. I thought I was a bad-ass runner and suddenly I'm not! I've been dragging all week and can't seem to shake it. It's been hard to get up, even harder to get myself out for a run and then even harder to move through the thick, rainforest air. I tried the treadmill and I still wasn't feeling it.

Though my bad weeks are very rare, I feel like it's important to share them so nobody thinks it's all rainbows and unicorns in my world. I ate more chocolate than usual, I had a few drinks during the week, I only ran 25 minutes of my long run yesterday.

The scale was not kind either. I got down to 176 then popped right back up to 177 just in time for my weigh in today.


Jan 14 - Start of liquid diet - 250
Jan 29 - Surgery weight - 237 -13
Feb 8 - 231 -6
Feb 15 - 222 -9
Feb 22 - 220  -2
Mar 1 - 218  -2
Mar 8 - 216  -2
Mar 15 - 213 -3
Mar 22 - 209 -4
Mar 28 - 208 -1
Apr 5 - 206 -2
Apr 12 - 199 -7
Apr 26 - 196 -3
May 3 - 193 -3 
May 10 - 190 -3
May 17 - 187 -3
May 24 - 186 -1
May 31 - 184 -2
June 7 - 177 -7  
June 7 - 177 -0             
 
73 pounds total! 

This is my first "zero" week it doesn't really bother me (well maybe a little). Last week was a ridiculous loss and I certainly wasn't expecting a repeat of that.

Tomorrow is my 6.2 course run (again, already???) and I would really like to shake this before then. I'm hydrating all day today, NOT going to hot yoga tonight, NOT drinking bourbon tonight. NOT forgetting my water bottle tomorrow. Hoping that will all contribute to a more successful run than last week. God willing.

On a positive note, my number for the race came in the mail yesterday...

I moved up from starting corral X all the way to R! I will start 53 minutes earlier than I did last year - 8:37am. That will make a HUGE difference in the heat and I will take every bit of help I can get!

I'm done complaining now and off to enjoy my Friday. I'm going to go get a new running tank at Lululemon. Surely spending $50 or more on a tank top will make me a bad ass runner again!!

Monday mix tape

Weekend wrap up
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Hey peeps! Hope everyone had a great weekend! Mine centered around my 6.2 mile course run and not much else!

Saturday, I woke up early and set out for my adventure. I laid out everything I needed the night before so I would have time to have a cup of coffee! My legs feel like lead if I don't have coffee before running in the morning.

It was already pretty humid and I broke a sweat on the walk to the train station from my car which was about a mile. I love Midtown in the morning. All the cute gay boys running with no shirts on and assorted relics of debauchery from the night before - some pink feathers, a condom, empty cocktail glasses and beer bottles. Just as I was coming up on the station I realized I left my water in the car. Major dilemma because the car was already a mile a way. I figured it was best to proceed without it because going back would add another 2 miles to my already big day.

I got off the train and walked a mile to Publix to pee and get some water. There was no way I was going to able to carry a Dasani bottle for 6 miles so I had a few sips and left it behind. That wasn't my best idea.

By the time I got started it was 8:30 and the sidewalks were starting to get a little full. The biggest obstacle at that hour? SMOKERS. Barf. I can't believe people still smoke much less at that hour of the morning. One guy had a cigar and I thought I was going to keel over. Next issue was people pulling out of shopping centers and fast food restaurants not looking at all. I ran into one car palms first and was so mad I smacked her trunk on the way past. It's not that hard to look both ways is it? - oh except for when you're on the phone. Pardon me! Other than that, the first three miles were GREAT.

Right at mile 3, at the base of THE hill, I needed water so I ran into Starbucks dripping wet. I asked someone for a glass of water and she pointed to the line and said they can help you. No way was I standing dripping in line so I ran to the bathroom and drank straight out of the tap. I would never have done that if I weren't desperate! When I came out there was the same lady standing with a lovely glass of ice water. God bless you woman. Whoever you are. Little did I know the Atlanta Track Club was 2 minutes ahead giving out water. God bless them too. (now I won't be so panicky next weekend and will be able to fill my bottle that I will remember to remove from my car I swear)

I got back out on the route with my water and knew I had to walk Cardiac Hill. (They call it that because it's one of the biggest hills in the city and the hospital is at the top) This hill is so steep that at times it's hard to even walk it. In complaining about it to my husband I said "it's like the freaking Himalayas. You need a Sherpa to get up it." One thing I can't wrap my head around are the people who use the other side of the street to SPRINT up it. It seems impossible but then again so did my neighborhood hills . We'll just keep taking it one hill at a time.

The biggest problem with this $%&#! hill is that once you reach the top, you have the length of the Chick-Fil-A parking lot to recover before the next 2.5 miles which are also up hill. With about a mile to go I was getting chills (not good) then ran by a outside brunch place and the big plates of food and people shoving it in their faces made me even more queasy so I just took it really easy for the rest of the way.

(I have to digress here for a second - whenever I run this route there are always at least one pair of random girls that run by me and look like they haven't been running  - or even outdoors for that matter. Perfect hair and makeup to go with tiny Lululemon ruffle skirt and sports bra. They are chatting and bouncing along like it's nothing. Was that perfume? They even smell good? My shirt is soaked, my pigtails are dripping and I'm trying to keep breathing for living purposes. Oh and I KNOW I don't smell good. In yoga we are not supposed to compare ourselves to others but I feel like it's not so bad if you are looking at someone who you aspire to be?!?! Maybe someday it will be that easy for me.)

I walked/jogged the last mile and finished in 1:37 including my stops. That's over 10 minutes faster than last years time of 1:49. I felt pretty good about that and was so happy to see my car. I just sat and drank water for a while. I didn't even care that someone was waiting for my parking spot nor did I care that that someone watched me change my t-shirt. (at least I had on my cutest sports bra!)

To sum it up it was OKAY. I thought it would be easier because of how hard I've been training in my neighborhood. Maybe it was lack of water, maybe it was lack of food, maybe it was the bourbon the night before. I learned some things that I will take with me when I do it all over again on Saturday. I'm going to work on my attitude the most :)

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I'm ending the Monday mix tape here because it's already way too long and I doubt anyone cares to hear me talk about how I laid around the rest of the weekend and ate 4 Dove chocolates to cure cramps. I did run a treadmill 5k this morning (still with cramps) and it actually helped. I was fast and furious and finally feeling a little bit less snarky.

Have a happy, healthy week!

Friday weigh in!

Wow what a week! As you know, I hit the 70 pound mark on Monday and it's just kept going! I'm THRILLED with this weeks numbers though I'm not expecting that all the time :)

Jan 14 - Start of liquid diet - 250
Jan 29 - Surgery weight - 237 -13
Feb 8 - 231 -6
Feb 15 - 222 -9
Feb 22 - 220  -2
Mar 1 - 218  -2
Mar 8 - 216  -2
Mar 15 - 213 -3
Mar 22 - 209 -4
Mar 28 - 208 -1
Apr 5 - 206 -2
Apr 12 - 199 -7
Apr 26 - 196 -3
May 3 - 193 -3 
May 10 - 190 -3
May 17 - 187 -3
May 24 - 186 -1
May 31 - 184 -2
June 7 - 177 -7          
 
73 pounds total! 

On Tuesday it will be 10 years since I met my husband and I will be roughly the same weight as I was when I met him. I still have the size 12 pants I was wearing that day and I plan on wearing them out to dinner that night. It won't be as romantic as a train station in Scotland but not much is :)

Never in my wildest dreams did I think those pants could be worn again - they hung in the closet so long they got dusty - a constant reminder of my failure to lose weight. Now I'm probably wearing them for the last time before they are too big and go to Goodwill. 

Tomorrow morning I'm getting up early, parking my car where the finish line will be and taking the subway to the start of the course for the Peachtree. It's such a weird feeling to leave my car behind with only and iphone and my own two feet to get me back there!

I plan on running the whole 6.2 for the rest of the month. Last year I started at dawn but this year I promised myself I'd start a little later and run a little more in the intense heat. My start wave is 9am (I moved up from 9:30!) Maybe some day I'll start at 7:30 with the Nigerians :)

Have a great weekend everyone!!


 

Monday mix tape

Happy Monday y'all. This Monday is a happy one because I just hit the 70 pound mark this morning! Stall be damned! I know this kind of ruins the "surprise" of my Friday weigh in but I just had to shout that from the rooftops so to speak. It just seems like such a huge number. So much more than 60 :) I hope to add another pound or 2 as the week progresses!

Saturday I ran 5.1 miles which what probably caused a few pounds to fall off! The Peachtree is only a month away (worlds largest 10k!) and I usually do a long run every Saturday in June to get ready. Next week I'm going to do the course and get that extra mile in. Running 70 pounds lighter is nothing short of miraculous - it's roughly the weight of a 10 year old that I'm not carrying up those hills anymore. I wonder how I ever ran at all. So far, I'm 20 minutes faster than last year!

Sunday I did the full 90 minutes of Bikram yoga. Again, doing things there I never thought were possible. My instructor said how fun it is to watch me do so much more. It's so gratifying to finally be able to do ALL the poses after practicing for almost 3 years.

---------------------------

In other news, I found out a couple of weeks ago that I made this list of the top 100 inspirational weight loss bloggers along with a few other fabulous blogger friends! I'm totally honored! If you haven't seen the list you should check it out - there are few blogs on there I've never heard of and will be checking out!

Have a happy, healthy week everyone!

Friday weigh in - 4 month update

4 months already and things could not be better. Although the weight loss has slowed some, it's still coming off and so are the inches. I'm wearing a size 12 Gap jeans, working out just about every day, (sometimes twice), and eating about 600-800 calories per day. I'm rarely hungry but I do have my moments. I'm still logging everything in My Fitness Pal every day without fail - Including tequila and dark chocolate.

So, here are the numbers for the month:

Jan 14 - Start of liquid diet - 250
Jan 29 - Surgery weight - 237 -13
Feb 8 - 231 -6
Feb 15 - 222 -9
Feb 22 - 220  -2
Mar 1 - 218  -2
Mar 8 - 216  -2
Mar 15 - 213 -3
Mar 22 - 209 -4
Mar 28 - 208 -1
Apr 5 - 206 -2
Apr 12 - 199 -7
Apr 26 - 196 -3
May 3 - 193 -3 
May 10 - 190 -3
May 17 - 187 -3
May 24 - 186 -1
May 31 - 184 -2    
66 pounds total!  
 
Starting BMI = 48
One month post surgery BMI = 42.6!! - 5.4
Two month post surgery BMI= 40.6 -2.0
Three month post surgery BMI= 38.3 -2.3
Four month post surgery BMI= 35.9 -2.4

Inches for May
Waist: - 2.5"
Chest: - 1.5"
Hips: - 4"
Thigh:  R - .25"
Arm: R - 0"
Calf: R - .25"
- 11.5" for this month
38.25 total inches!

Maybe a little more of a dramatic difference this month than last?!? I don't even know who that person is in the first picture anymore.

To remind myself how far I've come (and to make my husband laugh) I pull out "the big pants" every once in a while. Since I'm about half way to goal, I thought it might be time to share.

I wore these jeans on New Years Eve and almost cut myself in half. They were so tight and I was miserable. (I may or may not have unbuttoned them halfway through the night.) I can get into one leg but we'll save that photo op for goal weight :)

Y'all are so awesome. Thanks for all the encouragement and the sweet comments. Blogging through this whole process has been SO good for me and I truly appreciate everyone who keeps reading.

Monday Mix Tape - Holiday edition

Happy Memorial Day everyone! We've had LA quality weather here in Atlanta which made for a fun and active weekend.

Weekend Wrap up
-------------------------------

Saturday was a gardening and cleaning day so I "rested" from exercise to take care of all of that. I probably burned more calories from that than any purposeful exercise!

Sunday morning I got up super early to get to Whole Foods and Trader Joes before the masses and that ended up being a great decision for two reasons - 1: the stores were empty and 2: I saw STEVIE WONDER in Whole Foods. No joke. I tried to be all casual shopping but it was difficult not to gawk :)

When I got home I set out to run a 5k - outside without stopping to walk. I've only ever done this one time before and I was hoping it wasn't a fluke. Sure enough it wasn't! I ran the whole thing - horrible hills and all. One of my favorite things on my route now is passing all the places I used to have to stop and walk. I get a huge smile on my face and it makes me go even faster. I have come so far!

The craziest thing about my running right now is that I want to do it every day but my body just won't let me. My legs need a day in between for recovery now that I'm running these huge hills. The non running days are when I get in my yoga and weight training but I still have the urge to run.

If that wasn't enough, I still had a huge meal to cook - all the neighbors were coming over for a bbq! I cooked for the rest of the day and really kept myself aware of my tendency to graze and taste everything while cooking. I got through an entire afternoon of cooking with only having one hard boiled egg white which I even logged in My Fitness Pal. Then I decided exactly what I was going to eat for the rest of the evening and logged it all!

The best thing about my life post surgery is that I can cook like this:

and eat like this:

This was about 200 calories over my usual dinner but still a success. A typical calorie count of holiday cookouts in the past were probably close to 3000. I got to try everything I made and was totally satisfied. The only thing I really couldn't have was hamburger bun - they smelled really great too but I knew if I ate it, I wouldn't have room for everything else so, everything else won.
 
The week ahead
-------------------------------
Wednesday will be 4 months since surgery and time for measurements and pictures again. The time is going by so fast! I'm struggling with a bit of a stall at the moment - I keep going up and down a pound. I've tried more calories, less calories, more exercise, less exercise. I'm REALLY hoping I break through this before I update again on Friday. The good news is it's only driving me a little crazy. Not out of my mind crazy like it was in the beginning :)

See y'all Friday! Have a happy, healthy week!

Friday weigh in

This one is going to be super quick because it's too nice outside to be inside blogging! This week was a busy travel week for me. It was successful though I had some moments where I really thought I wanted something I really couldn't have. I plan on doing a post about when I have some more time.

Travel is tough when it comes to food and exercise - that's all there is to it! My numbers this week reflect that but I'm happy for any loss!

Jan 14 - Start of liquid diet - 250
Jan 29 - Surgery weight - 237 -13
Feb 8 - 231 -6
Feb 15 - 222 -9
Feb 22 - 220  -2
Mar 1 - 218  -2
Mar 8 - 216  -2
Mar 15 - 213 -3
Mar 22 - 209 -4
Mar 28 - 208 -1
Apr 5 - 206 -2
Apr 12 - 199 -7
Apr 26 - 196 -3
May 3 - 193 -3 
May 10 - 190 -3
May 17 - 187 -3
May 24 - 186 -1    
64 pounds total!  

Have a great holiday weekend!! More to come on Monday!