Making Progress

59 lbs. down, 36 to go!

I achieved a major milestone this morning.
One of the many goals I had set for myself was to improve the time I could do a 5k (3.2 miles) in. Of the many 5k's Olivia & I have done over the past couple of years, we tended to average around 53 minutes. Pretty pathetic. The competitive runners usually finish the run in 15 to 18 minutes, right around the time we'd be finishing our first mile, and as a result of our pokiness, everyone would have to wait for us to finish before the awards ceremony would ever start (assuming we were the last ones to finish, which we frequently were). I always felt bad that everyone had to wait so long for us, so I wanted to improve my time.
I have absolutely no desire to be a competitive runner!!
But the first goal I set for myself was to get my time down to finishing in 45 minutes (or less). This morning I achieved that! I actually managed to do it in 44:26.
I walk for about the first 10 minutes at 3.5 mph, then bump it up to 4.5 mph and steadily increase it to 5.5 by one or two increments everytime a new song comes on, then start decreasing it again, and then finish walking for about the last 5 minutes.
Now that I've met that goal, it's time to set my sights higher (or lower in this case), so now I'm shooting for 40 minutes.
Of course, I find running on the treadmill a whole lot easier than running on the pavement, and certainly it's a lot easier when I don't have Olivia at my side, so I'm not sure how well my time will translate to doing an honest to goodness competitive 5k vs. by myself on a treadmill.
Perhaps it's time to go out and actually try pounding the pavement and see how well I can do. ;)

This & That

Okay, I don't know how I failed to post this big news, but I did (guess I've been a bit busy).
Drum roll please........

I won the 8 week challenge at our gym. Woo-Hoo!! My team didn't. No, my team members all dropped out before they even got started. LOOOZERS! And I don't mean that in a good "weigh". So I won the individual weigh-in and for my efforts, I get 3 months free membership. The members of the team that did win each get 1 month free. Congrats to them. :)
As for the national level, I wasn't even close, but that's okay, I'm still proud of myself. :)

On to other breaking news:
We have termites. **groan** Apparently several of our neighbors do as well, as I saw exterminators at their homes over the weekend. Unfortunately, because of our packrat/hoarding ways, we (and when I say "we", what I really mean is "I") have to clean out our front bedroom, which is nothing more than a catch-all for all our stuff. You know, camping gear, arts/crafts supplies/projects, collectibles, stuffed animals, wrapping paper, holiday decorations, mountains of clothing (95% belonging to my husband), and a whole lot of other crap. I purchased a dozen totes in various sizes over the weekend and spent many hours on Sunday sorting through things, putting stuff in totes or else in a pile for an upcoming yardsale, or in a body-bag sized trash bag to go to the dump. Even though I worked my butt off for hours and did accomplish a lot, it actually looks worse now because it's no longer organized chaos as before, now it's just chaos. I'll get back on it this weekend. **sigh** Until we (I) can get a path cleared over to the window where the little buggers are doing the most visible damage, I can't get an exterminator or repairman in to work on the place.
Our subdivision is having a yardsale on June 4th, I've got to get my butt in gear and get ready for it.

Last week I attended my first Tai Chi class. I had every intention of going back this week (and the rest of this month for that matter), but when this week got here, I just didn't have the desire to go. Too, the donation they expect you to make is more than I care to spend right now, especially if we're going to have to hire an exterminator. Also, I was a bit frustrated that there wasn't any individual attention given at the class, it was impossible to watch the hand movements as the instructors bodies usually blocked my view.

I almost jap-slapped a minister this morning. Or at the very least, very nearly cussed him out.
As I've said before, I'm not a touchy-feely kind of person. I know he meant no harm, but just the same...
This past Friday, I had another "suspicious spot" removed from my back, this one on my right shoulder blade, as well as an annoying spot on my leg. It wasn't a threat, just annoyed me whenever I shaved, so the doctor removed it. The spot on my back has stitches in it. I was sitting at the table in the lounge, helping a new employee fill out his time sheet when a minister walked up behind me and slapped me on the back several times (and not very lightly either), right on the very spot my stitches were located. I know he meant it as a good-natured greeting, but it took every ounce of my being to not jump up from the table and go-off on him.
I really wish people would learn to keep their hands to themselves.

Back to the whole weight-loss thing. Aside from finally hitting the 50-lbs. lost mark, I've hit a major plateau. :( So I've finally started tracking my food intake and my workouts on-line to help hold me more accountable and hopefully get me past this rut I'm in.

That's about all the news for now. Have a great week!

Quilting 101 - completed!

After countless hours, countless needle pricks to the fingers, countless seams that have been ripped out and redone, etc. etc. etc... this past Friday, I finally finished my quilting project.
After having taken it apart and redoing parts of it numerous times, I finally quit and left it "as is", chalking it up to a learning-lesson. I figure one of these years, I'll look back at it and say, "that's how I was in the beginning, this is how far I've come now". Obviously, that comment is far into my future.

Here is my spider web...



My bow-ties...


My Dresden plate...


My Ohio star...

Put it all together and this is what I've got...

Now, on to the next project!!

Before/after and gym tales

Okay, time for some visual comparisons of me "BEFORE" and "AFTER", or maybe I should say, currently, because I'm nowhere near being done.



This was taken a year ago, right around Easter.

And above was in Sept., below in October 2010.

Notice the double chin and thick roll of fat on the neck. The fat upper arms and well, the rest of me was just plain ol' fat as well. Sad thing is, I got even bigger by the end of January before I started losing it.

So here I am today. Still a big girl, but not nearly as big as I was.

The belly is much smaller.

Notice the double chin is gone, as are the jowls.

And I'm working on those biceps. If I could just get the "wings" that flap in the breeze to disappear, I'd be really happy with my arms.

For the most part, I pretty much have the entire gym all to myself when I go there. Not too many people want to (or are willing to) get up at that hour and go work out. But on occasion I see 1 or 2 others, never more than 4 other people. Some of these people I encounter are complete enigmas to me, for a variety of reasons.

"Uncle Fester" is the one I encounter the most. I don't know what his name is, but seriously, he looks like Uncle Fester off of the old Addams Family show. Seems like a nice enough guy, if not a little too chatty. I go there to work-out and want to be left alone, and for the most part, he doesn't annoy me, but every once in a while, like I said, he gets chatty. The man always wears the same outfit when he works out, so either he has an entire work-out wardrobe consisting of gray sweat pants/shirts, or else he just keeps wearing the same outfit. He pretty much only ever works on his upper body, and sounds like he's trying to pass a big turd with all the grunting and groaning he does.

Then there is the couple I encounter every Saturday & Sunday. I refer to them as "The Groaners". I believe they are married, just not to each other. At least, I know she's married to someone else, he might be single. He looks to be about 15 years older than her and walks around with his chest puffed out like thinks he's God's gift to women everywhere. He either has quite a bit of money or else is a used car salesman, because I've seen him driving at least 3 different vehicles. They always arrive separately, but leave together in whatever he's driving, returning later to drop her off so she can arrive home in her car. Their work-outs, if you want to call them that, consist of a lot of groaning in a way that makes ME want to smoke a cigarette when they are done. Seriously, the first time I encountered them, I had to stop what I was doing and look to see what exactly they were doing, it sounded like a hot and heavy make-out session going on.

I guess her husband is getting suspicious though, as a couple of weekends ago, Mr. Groaner wasn't there and she got a phone call shortly after arriving which she went in to the bathroom to take, but you could hear her screaming conversation about where she was and what she was doing. I just hope the day doesn't come when the jealous husband shows up to shoot the Groaners and I get shot in the cross-fire.

Then there is "Stinky". Of all the people I've encountered up there, he is the only one that has given me a bad vibe and made me nervous to be around. Much like uncle Fester, he too always wears the same exact outfit, except that he wears mis-matched scrubs and black shoes. To say the man stinks is an understatement, and it's not even b.o., it's the most horrid cigarette smoke/nicotine smell I've ever encountered in my life. He walks in the front door, and regardless of where I'm at in the building, I can smell him immediately. It's horrible!!! He creeped me out so much, I actually sent a description of him and his car to my friend and sister, in case anything ever happened to me, it would be a starting point for the detectives. Fortunately, I don't see him very often.

There is a petite woman that used to come in every so often, but I've not seen her in 6 weeks or more. Regardless of how cold (or hot) outside it is, she comes in wearing short-shorts and a tight t-shirt, a red winter jacket and Ugg boots, then puts her sneakers on at the gym. Jumps on the treadmill with a tv blaring overhead, her ipod cranked up in her ears and a magazine or book propped on the machine. Seriously, how much reading is she getting done with all that commotion and running at the same time? Come to find out, she's one of our neighbors, lives three streets over. I saw her as I was coming home one day, she was out cutting grass, wearing her usual short-shorts and red winter jacket. I'm guessing she doesn't own any long pants.

Then there is the inconsiderate asshole that comes in, turns on 2 tvs to different channels, turns them both up and then gets on either the elliptical or treadmill. One day, he turned the channel on the tv I was watching, didn't even ask. Asshole!! Seriously, 2 channels at the same time? And do they both have to be turned up loud? There are other people present that might not appreciate it (not just myself). I get the feeling he's a bit of a control freak. Fortunately, he usually arrives a few minutes before I get done, so I don't have to deal with him much.

The people that amaze me are the ones that show up, work out for all of 15 minutes, and then leave. How much benefit are they getting in that short of time? Why even bother? Sometimes I wonder if they just aren't trying to establish an alibi that indeed, they were at the gym at such-and-such time before going off to do something illicit elsewhere. Kind of like the Groaners, although they do stay for an hour each time before they go off to do another kind of work-out at some other location.

Ah well, what would life be without the strange birds? They give us something to blog about.

Today is the (not-nearly-as) BIG day!!

Okay, for those of you that have been following the big mystery blogs since the end of January with great suspense, I promised I would reveal the secret today, so now is the time to share.
As usual, I'll give you a warning, this will be a long blog, so consider yourself warned.

On January 29th, I drove to the Snap gym close to my home, walked in and told the trainer I needed to hire someone to follow me around and slap the potato chips out of my hands. And so began a change I needed to make in my life. I am (was) so sick and tired of being "sick and tired", of being fat and miserable, of not being able to fit into my clothes, of feeling guilty for making the horses carry my fat ass around during class, of not being able to bend over and tie my shoes without undoing my pants, etc. etc. I was 275 pounds. TWO-HUNDRED AND SEVENTY-FIVE FREAKING POUNDS!!!! I was over 50% body fat, and my BMI (body mass index) was over 40.
How did I get so out of shape, so out of control? I told the gym owner that some of my goals were to be able to get my wedding rings back on my finger, as I've not been able to wear them in a long time (other than the plain fat-girl ring I bought a few years ago). Also, I wanted to be able to do one of my 5k events in less time than the usual 53 minutes it took me, perhaps getting it to under 45 minutes if possible and dare I say, be able to jog them instead of slowly walking? My goal weight is 180.
I signed up for a membership, figuring I had avoided the first-of-the-year rush that everyone else makes at New Years. Members have access to the gym 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, use at your own risk as it isn't staffed 24/7. Since then, I've been arriving at the gym at 3:30 every morning (5:30 on Sundays) and working out for at least an hour, sometimes a little longer.

I started a semi-weekly journal of my progress:
WEEK 1: By the end of the first week, I was happy to report that I was completely off of the sleep-aids I'd become somewhat dependant on for falling/staying asleep, and haven't taken one since then either.
That first song I posted as a hint "Goodbye Stranger", there were a few lines that felt appropriate to my situation "it was an early morning yesterday, I was up before the dawn..." I've been up early/before the dawn every freaking day of this journey ('cept 3 or 4 days I was too sick to go) "... and I will go on shining... my troubles will be few... Goodbye Stranger..." hopefully, I'll never have to return to this overweight life and my health will improve. I know I'm feeling better already, if only in my head. I want to shine with the success of getting into shape. Indeed, I'm saying goodbye to this stranger I've become these past few years, trapped in this blubbery shell of a body.

Week 2: It's amazing how easy and a part of my routine it has become to immediately get dressed and get ready to go to the gym when the alarm goes off at 2:30am. John and I leave the house together at 3:30. Even on the days he doesn't work, I find I still get up at 3am and make it to the gym by my usual time. Only exception is on Sundays when he goes in later. Back home, I lay back down for 90 minutes just to relax, sleep if I'm lucky, snuggle with Olivia and let my blood pressure and breathing return to normal.
I posted the song hint of "Easy". "... I've paid my dues to make it..." Every month I'm paying my gym dues! "... I'm not happy when I try to fake it..." Was I truly ever happy with myself when I was eating out of control and not doing right by my body? No. Sure, I enjoyed the food, it tasted good, but happy with myself? No.

Week 3: Up until now, I've been sticking with walking on the treadmill &/or riding the stationary bike. This week, I finally started mixing in some work with the weight machines. No heavy lifting, don't want to mess up the back. A couple of the machines make my shoulder crunch and crackle, even with very little weight, so I don't do them as often, but I do love the torso-rotation machine!
I had an appointment scheduled with the gym's personal trainer last week to get assessed as to my fitness level, she cancelled due to illness, now this week I've been sick as a dog with a gallbladder attack, but I went anyway. Holy crap! Considering the very low score I got, I wish I'd cancelled. Illness had nothing to do with it, I'm just out of shape and don't have very good flexibility.
Little victories: I was able to force my original wedding band back on my ring finger. Still too tight to wear comfortably, but at least I was able to get it on, I'm getting there! I also don't think my face looks nearly as puffy either. My neck doesn't seem quite as thick and I'm down to 2 chins now (as opposed to 3), and even that second chin isn't looking quite as full. Little victories, little victories!!
Musical hint #3, "Hurt So Good": It's rather ironic, before I started going to the gym, I was taking either Advil or Tylenol practically every day for my aches and pains. Since I started the gym, I've only taken Advil once, and that was during the g/b attack. Aside from the meds I took when my g/b flared up, I've not taken ANY meds for ANY reason since starting at Snap. How cool is that? Falling asleep and staying asleep isn't an issue either. Anyway, as for the song, well, the title says it all: Hurt so good. What little aches and pains I'm having from suing muscles I've let lay dormant for too long, I welcome. Yes indeed, make it hurt so good!!

Week #4: Still going strong. I love that I don't have to force myself to get up and go. The alarm clock goes fof in the morning and I bounce right out of bed and get dressed for the gym before I even take care of the dogs. Yes, for once, I'm putting ME first.
Hint #4, "Golden Ring": I finally got my engagement ring back on my finger, fitting comfortably where it belongs after years of not being able to wear it. The wedding band is still a smidge tight. Yes, I know, sounds odd, you'd think they were the same size, but they aren't.

Still week #4: I spent 10 minutes on the elliptical machine today. Geesh but that thing kicks my ass. 10 minutes on it and I'm sweating harder, breathing harder, and my pulse is higher than if I'd spent 30 minutes on the treadmill. Bad thing about it though, is that it makes my feet and knees hurt worse. Go figure! You'd think it would be gentler on me, but it's not. Think I'll stick to the treadmill/bike for my cardio.
As I was watching Biggest Loser this week, I saw where the red team was doing some training in an MMA gym. How cool is that? Watching them do the work-out looked like too much fun! When I get in to shape, I think I'd love to try my hand at learning Muay-Thai. I've no interesting in learning to box, kick box or karate, and I don't care as I'd never be flexible enough to learn Jiu-Jitsu or judo, but Muay-Thai I could see myself doing. Not to compete, but to have fun, work-out and get rid of pent-up frustrations. But I figure that's several months off as I've got a long way to go before hitting my goal weight.
Musical hint "Working My Way Back To You": Indeed! "I'm working my way back to..." a healthier, leaner and meaner me. "Working my way back to the happiness that died" when I packed all this weight on, "... been paying every day" I've been paying in the form of aches and pains galore, sleepless nights and a closet full of clothes that don't fit. "Thought I could have my cake and eat it too, but how I cried over losing you..." yeah, cake, cookies, donuts, potato chips, I ate it all. And yes, I've cried over losing the willpower I once had to work-out and eat healthy(okay, healthier), but I'm working my way back to it. "I just miss you so, girl, but you're too proud and you won't give in, but when I think about all I could win." Yes, I do miss the girl I once was, but I won't give in to my lazy ways again, especially when I think about the good health and happiness I'll win when I get back in shape.

Week #5: The gym is having an 8 week lose weight challenge. It started on March 1st and ends on April 23rd (actually 7 1/2 weeks). We can either form our own teams of 4, or be placed on teams. As I don't know anybody else that goes there, I was stuck with 3 other women I don't know. We're supposed to weigh in each week and chart our progress. It's done on the honor system. The initial weigh-in at the start has to be done in front of an employee so they can record our starting weight, but all other weigh-ins are on our own until the final weigh-in.
I started out at 257 lbs. Yes, in just over a month, I've already lost 18 pounds. Woo-Hoo!!So that explains the musical hint I posted "Just the Two of Us", which I told everyone to imagine the song being "just the 4 of us".

Okay, here is where I start getting a bit briefer. I had the next 8 weeks all typed out, even hit save several times, and still blogger crashed and lost a large portion of this blog. I spent 3 hours typing it all out, and I'm sure as hell not going to spend that long again. GRRRR! So I'll try to make the rest of this as short and sweet as possible.

On 04/23, the 8-week challenge came to an end. I lost 30 lbs. during that time, for a total lost of 48 since going Snap. Only 47 more to go. I won the challenge at our gym, but haven't heard how I faired on the national level. For my efforts I won 3 months free membership to the gym. Woo-hoo!!

For a while there, I had managed to get off all meds and it was great being "drug free". But with all the jogging and yes, even some actual running mixed in, I've messed my left knee up. I was starting to take Advil or Aleve daily, but neither was helping, so a trip to the doctor was in order. Ice packs weren't helping, nor was bio-freeze rubs nor laying off the treadmill. The only thing that gave even slight relief was a heating pad, but one can't walk around with a heating pad strapped to their bod. X-rays didn't show anything being broke/torn, so the doctor has me on strong anti-inflammatories and I'll most likely be starting physical therapy next week. Being drug-free was good while it lasted. ;)
Hopefully, I won't be on these for long.
When I started the gym, I wrote myself a letter, sealed it in an envelope to be opened today. In the letter, I listed a lot of short-term and long-range goals for myself.
Short-term:
*Go to the gym a minimum of 4 times per week: ACCOMPLISHED
*Stop using a sleep-aid to fall asleep & stay asleep at night. Good ol' fashioned exercise should exhaust me. ACCOMPLISHED
*Reduce low back pain and hopefully other areas as well: Had it not been for the knee giving me fits, I'd have said this one was accomplished. I've only been to the chiropractor once in the past couple of months, so for the most part, I'm happy with this goal.
*I've got a closet full of clothes I haven't been able to fit in to and have been wanting to go on a free shopping spree: ACCOMPLISHED! I've been able to get back in to several things that I had outgrown.
*I wanted to get my wedding rings back on my finger: Two-Thirds accomplished. My original wedding band and engagement ring are now back in their rightful spot. Now I only need to get the ring back on that I got when John & I renewed our vows at our 20th anniversary.
*Lose 50 lbs. by May 2nd: I missed this one by 2 lbs. I haven't lost any since last week, but considering all the Honey baked ham and turkey and green beans John & I were stuck with after our Easter plans were rained-out, it's a wonder I didn't put on 10 lbs. And too, we went to BW's to watch the fights Saturday nights, so... I know, excuses excuses, but it is what it is. If I'm still stuck at this weight next week, having hit a plateau I knew I'd hit eventually, then it will be time to buckle down and start counting calories and keeping a calorie-journal. So far, I've lost my weight simply by working out and eliminating chips, pastries, ice cream, candy, fast food, and by portion control. Next week may see me buckling down a bit more.

Long-range goals:
*Get down to 180 lbs.: Half way there
*Get down to a size 14 (anything beyond that is just icing on the cake): I've gone from a size 22 to 18, so I'm not quite 1/2 way there.
*Complete a 5k in under 45 minutes (dare I someday hope for 30 minutes?): Well, with my knee being messed up, for now that goal will have to remain long-range, way in the future.
*My 25 year class reunion is in less than 8 weeks, and I'd like to go there not feeling embarrassed or ashamed of how I look. Well, I'm already looking/feeling better than I did the last time I had lunch with my girls from school, so that goal is being met every day.


I've signed up to start taking Tai-Chi classes next week. It's not quite the Muay-Thai I'd like to take in the future, but it's a start.
I'd like to mention a couple of other songs I had posted as hints. "I'm coming out", is absolutely one of my favorite songs to get me in the mood to step up my pace on the treadmill. I just love running to that song. A lot of the lyrics are/were appropriate as well in relation to what's going on in this journey to the new me.
And also, the song "Run this town". I simply have to listen to this one whether I'm walking or running on the treadmill. Back in the fall, when Spike tv was advertising the upcoming title-fight between GSP & Koscheck, that song was part of the commercial and it soon became stuck in my head. And of course I couldn't hear it without thinking of my favorite fighter, Kos. The man seriously has the best abs and obliques in the business in my opinion. Anyway, after watching months and months of fighters that were way bigger than me, yet weighed less than me, I was getting really disgusted with myself. There were heavy-weight men, 6'4" or taller that weighed-in at 265 (and I was 275!!). GSP is 5'11", same as me, and yet he is over 100 lbs. less. How depressing!! I think this is truly what finally motivated me enough to get up and do something about it. So thank you UFC/mma fighters everywhere for inspiring me to make a change.
Also, back to the song... I can't hear the song without thinking of my favorite fighter-dude, so when I'm on the treadmill, I just fixate on something in front of me, imagine Kos standing there with his perfect abs, and start running, while listening to that song.
I should be ashamed of myself, but I'm not. Whatever it takes to keep me moving, eh?

So as I mentioned, my class reunion is on June 25th. I'll report back in on 6/27 and let everyone know my progress at that time.
Thanks to everyone that emailed their guesses to me and made me smile at the silliness of some of them.