A Day Trip to the Country

Yesterday Tim, Lincoln and I made a day trip down to my parent’s house for a quick visit. Its about a two hour drive from home. We arrived just before lunch. My mom made Eggplant Parmesan, green beans, garlic toast and salad for us.

After we filled our bellies and let it settle for a while we decided to go on a walk/run together. My family has all been taking some steps to live a healthier and more active lifestyle.

I had been craving to get outside all day, the weather was absolutely perfect in the morning. Tim, I, Lincoln, my mom and my 6 year old niece headed out on a walk down to the creek. Unfortunately the weather wasn’t quite as perfect as earlier in the day, the sun was high, there was very little shade to be found, and it was nearing 90 degrees by the time we actually made it out for our walk.

I ran up and down this dirt road while my family and the kids poked along.

I was able to run 2 quick miles up and down the road before my family made it halfway down the road. When we all met back up there were some mini-meltdowns taking place. In the end Tim took Lincoln back to the house and myself, my mom and my niece drove the rest of the way to the creek, where we met my sister.

We had to either climb over or crawl under a fence to get to the creek. I tried going over a couple of times, but got scared. (I have an intense fear of heights). Ultimately I crawled under, which was apparently HILARIOUS!

I haven’t been to this spot since I was a small child, with my grandparents. It brought back alot of memories!

 

My family waded in the water a bit, and splashed my mom with the nasty cow poop infested water. They were under strict orders to not even think about getting me involved.

After splashing around we headed up to the bridge.

For some reason this bridge has terrified me for my entire life. I vaguely remember hearing a story when I was a child about a drunk man who drove off of the side of the bridge and died, and ever since I’ve been scared of the bridge. Its just one of those strange childhood things that sticks with you.

I still to this day can’t walk or drive across it.

I stepped onto the bridge far enough to get these photos and then chickened out and turned back around.

After getting a few more quick pictures (courtesy of my niece), we walked back home.

 

All in all, I walked/ran 3.54 miles in a little over 45 minutes. It was nice to get out in the sunshine and do something active with my family.

Catching Up!

Missed me? Today is a rest day so I actually have a little time to catch up the blog before I need to get ready for work. My posting is sometime very erratic because I work 12 hour night shifts 3 days a week. The 3 days I work differ from week to week. Confused yet?

My normal routine on my work days is: get up at 4pm, run until 5pm, get in the shower at 5:15 pm, out the door by 6:15, work 6:45 pm – 7:30 am, 8:00-9:00 pack lunches, spend time with the fam, 9:00-4:00 sleep. Doesn’t leave much time for anything! Thankfully its only 3 days a week 🙂

Back before my healthier days it seemed like I had soo much more time, even on workdays. Of course I didn’t have children back then, but I would rarely ever pack any food for work (we’d always order out) so I didn’t have to worry about that, plus I lived less than 5 minutes away from the hospital so I could sleep until 5:45 in the evening and still be at work in plenty of time. I never had to worry about fitting any exercise in, because I didn’t exercise .. and if I did feel froggy and decide to get on the treadmill it was for a leisurely 20 minute walk every now and then. I can’t believe I actually had a treadmill for about 4 years and never used it! What a waste! That baby is getting its usage now though.

I’ve had some pretty boring eats this week while I’ve been working, but I did make one superstar this morning. I was browsing my favorite recipe site and came across this creation:

A Grilled Swiss and Apple Sandwhich. Such a great combination! I wish I would have thought of it earlier. I used whole wheat bread and sprayed each side with PAM, added 1 slice of deli swiss cheese and slices of apple. Delish! Next time I might even use 2 pieces of cheese so it will be a little gooey-er. Mmm … or maybe a little dollop of goat cheese as well.

Of course there have been plenty of these in my recent past as well …

I’ve been experimenting with the Green Smoothies. That one pictured I think turned out pretty disgusting actually. It was tangerine, carrot and kale. Since then I have made one that I really like with kale, grapes and mixed frozen berries. Yum! I took one to work last night and of course everyone said “ewww, what is that?!” No one understands me! LOL

Yesterday I did a HARD treadmill run. My training schedule called for an easy 5 miler, but somehow I got really short on time and had to bang out those 5 miles as fast as I could. It made for a great workout, but I was definitely exhausted! Something about running inside, in one spot, in 70 degree temperature … just drains me. Its so much easier to run outside, but sometimes thats just not an option.

Monday was suppose to be an off day as well, but the weather was absolutely gorgeous! There was no way I could let that day pass without getting a good run in outside. I ran 4 miles through my neighborhood and it felt amazing! I actually don’t like running in my neighborhood at all because I have to cross a major road (twice), there are atleast 2 major hills (one at the very beginning and one at the very end) and there are alot of dogs in my neighborhood. I have actually used my pepper spray 3 times and twice it was in my neighborhood. Thats one of the major reasons my treadmill gets used soo much these days.

Well, time’s up. Time for me to start my afternoon pre-work routine. I’m planning on packing this yummy sammy for dinner than I ran across online.

School Lunch Bagel Sandwhich

 Tomorrow I should have a new ‘do! I’ve got a much needed cut & color scheduled. Lets hope some magic can be worked.

Birthday Party Fun and NEDA Week

Yesterday Tim, Lincoln and I drove to Birmingham to celebrate my best friend’s son’s 2nd birthday. On the way we decided that since we couldn’t decide between Greek or Indian for dinner, that we would have Greek for lunch and Indian for dinner. A perfect solution!

For lunch I had:

A falafel wrap with a greek side salad. Yummy!

Jackson’s birthday party was Spongebob themed.

I was afraid there wasn’t going to be much that I would be able to eat at the party, since I knew there was going to be alot of crab dip, shrimp, etc. I was wrong! There was food everywhere!

That evil white chocolate fountain almost sent me into a diabetic coma! Between the Bahama Mama’s, the chocolate fountain and the cake I was feeling pretty sick. We decided that perhaps Indian for dinner wasn’t happening afterall.

The kids had a great time jumping, running, and playing ball.

It was the perfect day for an outside party!

Once we left the party I was really feeling down on myself. I completely binged at the party although I knew I wasn’t hungry. Every so often I do that, and I feel completely depressed, bloated and sick afterwards. I also start thinking self-hating thoughts.

This morning I decided I needed a healthy, cleansing breakfast. I made a smoothie in my pretend VitaMix again. It contained:

• cherry tomatoes
• clementine
• spinach
• cantaloupe
• flax seed
• carrots
• V8
• water

It wasn’t bad, but it was chunkier than I would have liked. Atleast I know I got some good vitamins in. 🙂 I also had a small container of Blueberry Oikos Greek Yogurt for protein.

After breakfast I sat down at the computer to do my morning ritual (check emails, bank balance, read blogs, etc). I read Caitlin’s Blog at Healthy Tipping Point and realized that today starts National Eating Disorder Awareness Week. I found this while I was perusing the site:

BINGE EATING DISORDER (also known as COMPULSIVE OVEREATING) is characterized primarily by periods of uncontrolled, impulsive, or continuous eating beyond the point of feeling comfortably full. While there is no purging, there may be sporadic fasts or repetitive diets and often feelings of shame or self-hatred after a binge. People who overeat compulsively may struggle with anxiety, depression, and loneliness, which can contribute to their unhealthy episodes of binge eating. Body weight may vary from normal to mild, moderate, or severe obesity.

Sounds like someone I know. Now I just have to figure out what to do about it.

Caitlin challenged her readers to list 10 positive things about themselves that have nothing to do with appearance in the spirit of NEDA week. Here is my list:

1. I changed my life through diet and exercise and didn’t use drugs, surgeries, or other means.
2. I’m a good mother.
3. I respect all people and accept them regardless of their religion, race or sexuality.
4. I’m a good cook.
5. I’m a good nurse.
6. I like to try new things and it has really opened up my life to new experiences.
7. I make sure to take time for myself everyday.
8. I can honestly say that I can do anything I put my mind to. I have been sucessful in everything I have attempted in my life.
9. I quit smoking after smoking a pack a day for 8 years.
10. I’m funny. 🙂

Try this exercise. Post your 10 positive qualities in my comments section.

Tim and I are taking Lincoln to the zoo today. I’m going to pack us a healthy picnic 🙂 Later today I have a 9 mile run scheduled. I can’t wait!

 

A Look Back

Well, its that time of year again when you can reflect on the year you’ve had, the things you’ve accomplished, the things that have changed, or stayed the same, and when you can look forward to the year ahead. I spent some time today thinking about what 2009 brought me. I believe that I’ve accomplished more and made more positive changes in my life during 2009 than any other year ever.

These are some of my accomplishments in 2009:

Quit smoking – Believe it or not I used to smoke a pack a day, for 9 years actually. I quit when I was pregnant with my son but I started back a few months after he was born. I finally kicked the habit for good in March 2009.

Lost 88 pounds – I restarted my Weight Loss Journey in February with Weight Watchers and to date have lost 88 pounds in 2009. I also met my goal weight and am working to maintain it.

Completed Couch to 5K – I started the Couch to 5K program this summer with several of my friends from work and I completed the program and am now working on the Half Marathon Training Program. I’m so happy that I have re-discovered running, and this time I actually enjoy it! It brings so much to my life. The Couch to 5K program really sparked my love for running and I’m very grateful that I was introduced to it.

On that note: I completed six races this year, including four 5Ks, an 8K and a 12K.

I started my blog. It was originally called Inside Every Thin Girl … and it was primarily about my weight-loss journey. Once I started getting closer to my goal weight and my focus shifted from losing weight to a more holistic approach of healthy living I decided to rename it Eat to Live, Live to Run. Two of my passions in life are running and cooking/eating so this fit perfectly. I love being able to document where I am and where I’ve been, even if no one ever read it I get so much out of this blog it’s completely worth it. Just tonight I was reading some of my old blog entries when I was struggling to run 5 miles. I’ve come so far!

I took 2 family vacations – This probably doesn’t sound like a big deal, but to me it really is. When I was obese I never wanted to go on vacation because I didn’t want to  be seen in a swimsuit. I also wasn’t happy enough to actually do something for myself. This year my family and I went to Destin, FL in May (I wore a swimsuit!) and we went to Gatlinburg, TN in October.

Home Improvements – We re-did all of the flooring in our house. We put down hardwood floors, new carpet in the bedrooms and new vinyl in the kitchen and laundry room.

Created a Budget – This year I created a budget and financial plan for myself and my family. I assessed all of the areas in which we spend money and found numerous ways to save a large percent and put it towards paying down our debts. I also learned how to shop with coupons to save a ridiculous amount of money on our grocery bill.

Learned to Ride a Bike – I should say I re-learned how to ride a bike. I hadn’t ridden a bicycle since I was a small child until this year. I bought a bike and started mountain biking with Tim and my friend Nicole. I was very scared at first, but I really learned to enjoy it. Hopefully Tim will get his bike fixed soon so we can get back out there together.

Last but not least, I made charitable contributions in 2009. I did several races that benefitted various charities. I also donated my clothes that I shrunk out of to Faith Rescue Mission. On World Run Day, I ran 7 miles for charity and donated to the National Children’s Advocacy Center.

I don’t know if any year to come will see the profound changes that 2009 has brought, but I hope to better myself and my life each and every year. Some amazing things have happened this year and I’ve never been happier or healthier in my life.

Goals for The Week

First of all, there is something that has been on my mind that I want to discuss. For all you Biggest Loser fans, last night on the episode when they had to order all of their food out, did you notice that they said to make sure their fruit didn’t contain any: bananas, melons, or grapes? I keep thinking that maybe I misunderstood what they were saying. Surely they don’t have them on such a strict diet that they can’t eat certain fruits! Or do they?

My personal philosophy on fruits and vegetables is that, I didn’t get fat eating them and they aren’t going to make me fat now. Unless of course, you fry them or saute them in butter. I don’t normally count points for fruits and vegetables that I eat raw or cooked without additives.

Every week I like to set a couple goals for myself. My weeks start on Monday (as far as weigh-in goes), so I’m a little late blogging these but thats ok. My goals for this week are:

• To only weigh on weigh-in day.
• To track everything I eat on Weight Watchers and Spark People.

I signed up for Spark People several months ago, but I stopped using it because I felt like it was too time consuming and redundant to track my food on both Weight Watchers and Spark People. One thing I did like about Spark People though that Weight Watchers doesn’t have is that you can track all of your nutrients. You can actually see a breakdown of your calorie, carb, fat, and protein intake and measure it against the recommended daily amounts. You can track any other nutrients you are interested in as well.

Lately I’ve been really interested in not only losing weight, but also healthy living. By this I mean that I’m more interested in the nutritional value of what I’m eating than the Points value. So that is why I wanted to start using my Spark People account again. So far I’m doing really good at staying in the correct ranges for calories, carbs, fat and protein.

My other goal for this week is to only weigh on Monday. When I was younger I was completely scale obsessed; I would weigh when I first woke up, after I went to the bathroom, after I ate, after I exercised, anytime I went into the bathroom. You get the idea. I think this stems from growing up in a househould with someone that had eating disorders. My mother struggled with anorexia and bulemia when I was a child. For that reason its really important to me not to be scale obsessed anymore. I usually want to weigh myself every morning when I wake up, but I realize that there will be normal fluctuations from day to day and that weighing on a weekly basis is much more reliable.

My eats for today included:

Kashi GoLean Crunch with Vanilla Oikos Greek Yogurt

A Gala apple, my fave!

Leftover spaghetti squash with meat sauce, and a side salad.

1/2 of a Green Monster (Yep, thats yesterday’s pic again)

Steak with mushrooms, green beans, roasted cauliflower, and
a twice baked potato.

I also had a handful of Quaker Quakes Mini Rice cakes, a Crab Delight snack, and a piece of garlic toast. It really seemed like I ate alot today, but I came in at 1450 calories.

I ran 6 miles this afternoon, and it was extremely hard for me today. I don’t know if it was because I ran in the afternoon and I normally run in the morning, or if I was just having an off day. I literally felt like I couldn’t have taken one more step though, and I felt all weird and dizzy afterwards. I think my body needed the extra calories tonight because I felt much better after dinner.

Family Pictures

Every year we donate money to our local Volunteer Fire Department and in exchange they give us a free sitting for family portraits. They called today to tell us that the photos will be taken tomorrow afternoon.

I got to thinking about how different we will look in our photos this year than last year. Most years we didn’t even take photos because I never wanted to see a picture of myself.

This is our family photo from last October.

I honestly don’t hardly recognize those people. Its hard to believe that was only one year ago. Hopefully this year we will have some pictures that we can actually be proud of. Who knows … maybe we’ll make Christmas cards with photos this year.

Just Overweight!

Daily Activity: Ran 5 miles (6.5 APs)

I have always hated exercising. My entire life I can remember doing this diet, or that diet, counting fat grams, counting calories, counting carbs, etc. Of all the times in my life I’ve tried to lose weight the large majority of those times I focused strictly on controlling what I ate (or didn’t eat is more like it). I rarely exercised. There was one point when I was in high school that I ran a little bit, but I hated every second of it. I have always had the outlook that I would “rather starve myself than workout”.

When I started Weight Watchers (this time around) I originally started only paying attention to what I ate, as usual. I wasn’t working out, or even being active in any way other than the walking I do up and down the hallways at work. For some reason I got really interested in Wii Fit though. I thought maybe it would be a way that I could get in some exercise that might actually be fun. So my husband bought it for me and I “played” so much the first day that I was actually sore. I kept that up for about 2 months, and between that and Weight Watchers I started really losing some weight.

Once I realized that exercising can actually be fun, I decided I needed to step it up a notch. So we joined the YMCA and started doing the elliptical and eventually spinning and running on the treadmill. But the point is that I would have never made that step without the thing that originally sparked my interest in exercise. Which was the Wii Fit.

It seems silly now because I doubt anything I could do on Wii Fit would bring my heart rate above 100 these days. But I loved getting up and weighing in everyday and doing my 30 minutes of boxing, hula hoop, or the step aerobics (my personal fave). When you step on the scale it tells you your weight and BMI and then tells you if you are underweight, normal, overweight or obese. Mine of course always said “That’s OBESE!”

I stopped using the Wii Fit a long time ago, but occasionally I still like to get on and weigh and see how my weight and my BMI have changed over time. Today I got on just for the heck of it and I got a nice suprise, instead of obese it said “Thats Overweight!” As a matter of fact my BMI has dropped from 40 to 29.

I never thought I’d be happy to be overweight, but atleast its just overweight and not obese.

Vacation!

Daily Activity: Spinning (x2) 7.5 APs

Its official! Tim and I booked our fall vacation today. We are going to Gatlinburg, TN in October for 5 days and 4 nights. I’m very excited to be going on vacation for the second time this year. When I was a kid my family always went on two vacations a year: the beach in the summer for a week and the mountains in the fall or winter. I really want to start similar traditions for our son, Lincoln.

Tim and I have been married for 7 1/2 years and we haven’t been on any real vacations at all since our Puerto Rico honeymoon. One of the main reasons for this is because I never wanted to go anywhere because I was so embarassed about my weight and the way I looked. I definitely never wanted to go to the beach and be seen in a swimsuit. We went to Six Flags once and Tim at that time weighed about 350 pounds and couldn’t fit on most of the rides, so I rode everything by myself. He was embarassed and I was lonely. It wasn’t a good time for either of us.

Now that we have lost a significant amount of weight, I’m feeling alot more energy and desire to go out and live life to the fullest.

I normally don’t like to say “I want to lose x amount of weight in y amount of time” because I don’t like setting time limits on my weightloss, but I think I might make an exception for our mountain trip to help keep me motivated. I’d like to lose 1.5 pounds per week between now and when we leave for our vacation on October 29th. That would put me at 158 lbs by that date. That seems so small! That would also put me just over 100 pounds of weight lost. I’m going for it!

Just a little background.

I started this blog to share my weightloss story with anyone who wants to read it. I’ve been overweight my entire life. There isn’t a time when I remember being happy with my weight or the way I looked. Now that I look back I wish I would have been happier with where I was because I never realized how bad things could and would get.

When I graduated high school I weighed around 175 lbs. I wasn’t happy with the way I looked, but I was fairly healthy. I was exercising on a semi-regular basis at the time.

Once I started college and met Tim, my future husband, I got fat and happy so to speak. I gained a little bit at a time until I was 200 … 225 … 250 and eventually 260. I tried Weight Watchers just after Tim and I got married in January 2002. I lost about 15 pounds, but getting up early on Saturday mornings to go to meetings didn’t last long. I should have known I was setting myself up to fail when the thing I looked forward to the most was going to IHOP right after weigh-in. I gave up, and gained back the weight I had lost plus alot more.

I don’t think I ever really realized how big I had gotten. I knew my clothes were getting bigger and bigger, but when I looked in the mirror I still saw a fairly ok looking girl most of the time. I would see people out in public that I knew were way bigger than I was, so I felt ok about myself. But not great. I can remember asking my husband, “am I bigger than her?”. Of course he’d always say no, she was way bigger than I was. So I was ok.

In 2007 I started seriously thinking about having a baby. At this time I was hovering right around 260 lbs. I wanted to lose some weight before I got pregnant. I started Weight Watchers again and lost 15 lbs before I found out I was pregnant. Throughout my pregnancy I did gain weight, but not a shameful amount. I think the total ended up somewhere around 20 lbs. After my son was born I lost around 30 lbs in just a couple of weeks. I got down to about 235 or so without even trying. I was super excited. I weighed less than I did when I got pregnant! That is what sparked my desire to continue. I thought, “if I can lose 30 lbs without even trying, what could I do if I put some effort into it?”

So I logged back on to weightwatchers.com and renewed my account that I had cancelled, and so the story began.

Tim and I at my baby shower. (March 2008)