back in the saddle again.

I've fallen slack on the south beach diet and exercise regiment since Thanksgiving. AND I'm SO ready to get back into things again. I really miss running, and I feel really sluggish. Thankfully all the Christmas treats are coming to an end. So that should help. But now it's time to get busy again!

Big News!

We are now the proud owners of a treadmill!!! It can go in our new "home gym", which is actually an uninsulated-unfinished- leaky roofed back room. But it's sure going to be nice not to have to run through 5 feet of snow next month! I'm excited!

Baby it's Cold Outside...

I am NOT looking forward to freezing cold, snowy street running. But I know it's inevitable. Stupid NY!

The Experiement

Okay I take that back! My husband is trying to kill me!!!! He suggested "training" me (a.k.a. lifting weights) and silly me agreed to it. O!U!C!H! Oh I can't wait to see how sore I am tomorrow. I better be stinkin' awesome next softball season!

It's Wednesday!

Which means it's running day! It bums me out that I can only find the time to run once a week lately. I need to do better!

Hmm.

I went running today and it totally zapped my energy. I'm seriously considering crawling into bed with my 2 year old right now (which is not like me at all). Must be the cooler weather.

On a totally unrelated subject.

I'm discouraged. And I keep second guessing myself. Hopefully my run tomorrow will work wonders for me. I need to clear my head.

Korleen...

...has a feeling there isn't a whole lot of nice outdoor running weeks left this year. Today I was able to run in a pair of shorts and a t-shirt. It was nice.

I think my workout soundtrack is about to get Fergalicious! Don't be hatin'!

P.S. Two hours of soccer= hello leg and stomach muscles! And a super fun workout!

It Worked!!!

I finally, finally broke through! I am now 3 lbs away from my 2nd goal and about 10 (maybe?) away from the "ultimate goal"! I'm going back to phase 2 but I think I'm going to try to be stricter with myself on it. Also, do to the lack of time and energy I haven't been running at all lately. I'm hoping now that SOME carbs are back some of my energy will return and I'll be able to pick up where I left off. Because I really do miss it.

Phase 1

I'm just about to come off of phase 1 again. I put myself back on the stricter plan because I haven't made any progress all summer and I could feel myself slipping. So I'm hoping I can get back my prospective and be able have a lot of self control through the holidays.

It's starting to get discouraging. I'm so close to my goal but I just can't seem to reach it.

Tomorrow's Plan:

2 miles.

I DID It!!!

I ran 4 miles in 49:30! I think that's pretty good considering I just started running again last week and hadn't ran at all for 3 weeks before that. I read that it takes 1 week to gain back ground for every week you take off. It kind of blows my mind that I can even go 4 miles, 1 mile used to seem like so much. I love the fact that I don't get winded or even feel tired when I'm running around the soccer/softball field. Plus I know that my heart is very strong (my Dr. confirmed it while I was having an asthma attack) and my peak flows are way higher then they're supposed to be for someone my age/height.

Hodge Podge

While camping last week I tried trail running and found it to be really super fun and different from my normal routine! I want to go again really soon.

I'm planning on running 4 miles tomorrow, which is more than I've ever done before. We'll see how much of it I have to walk through.

Once again I need some new music, what's a girl to do?

I have 4 more days of prednizone left and I can't wait to be done. It has given my the most nagging, annoying headache everyday since I've been on it.

While camping (and on steroids) I only managed to gain 2 lbs! Maybe the ¼ mile hike to the nearest bathroom was actually a good thing.

Asthma, Asthma, go away...

I haven't ran in what seems like forever. I tried to go the other day and couldn't because of an asthma attack, and I'm sick of it!!!! I'm dying to get out there and pound the pavement again. Maybe I'll try again tomorrow.

I think the sprinting has really helped with expanding my lung capacity. Because I can run a lot farther now without stopping. Which is kind of shocking considering I just came to grips with the fact that I thought I was just going to be a interval runner forever. Here's a couple tricks I use that seem to help me.

1. chewing gum while running helps the dry mouth

2. turning my music way up helps drown out my breathing, so I can push myself harder.

3. setting in my mind a specific spot I want to run to and running to it, rather than watching the stop watch for an allotted about of time.

I think that's it.

I shaved off another 20 seconds from my 2 mile run yesterday! I'm both shocked and amazed! So I think I run about a 12 minute 21 second mile now! I know in the "running world" it's not that amazing, but in mine it is!!

Progress!

I clobbered my previous best time for 2 miles today! I knocked off 1 minute and 49 seconds! Which doesn't sound like much but it really is.

I'm psyched!

Sprint Status:

Fun!!! Really and truly! Tomorrow it's back to distance though...I need some new running music.

Still Stuck

I've been doing absolutely horrible lately. But luckily the scale hasn't been reflecting it. I think I'm just bored...and lazy. I need to kick my own butt a little. Tomorrow's plan: sprints. I'll let you know how it goes.

I've been stuck at the same weight (varies by 3 lbs) for a long time now. I'm kind of discouraged and kind of not. I don't know. I haven't been as careful with the dieting and I haven't been running except once a week. We went camping a few weeks ago and that combined with school letting out has totally destroyed our schedule. I think if I can just get everyone back on track then I'll see results again.

I've started doing crunches and push-ups. The crunches because my Dr. told me that I'd see a big difference with the running by doing them. And the push-ups to tone my arms because....they're scary.

I just made up a new running mix for my ipod and I can't wait to see if I like it or not. I get bored with my running music really fast so I'm hoping this will help shake things up a bit.

New Course of Action

So I've finally settled on a weight loss goal. I'm about 25 lbs from it, so it might still take awhile to get there, but I think it's a weight I can be happy with. I've also decided to switch back to phase 1 for a couple weeks since I sort of feel like I'm going off track.  It's not going to be very dramatic this time since I dont' really eat very different from it anyway. But I'm hoping that I'll notice a difference on the scale.  

While shopping this week I was thinking about how far I've come. It hasn't really been that long that I've been on SB. So here's the dirt:

I've been on South Beach since December 27th, I've lost 26#, gone down 4 pants sizes and 2 shirt sizes. That's pretty remarkable if I do say so myself. 

"Shopping is fun again"

I'm finally replenishing my wardrobe! And I've had some shockers in the fitting room (in a good way!). I think I'm now pretty much ready for the warm weather! So bring it on!!!!!.....please?

A Nail Biter

So I was pleasantly surprised this morning when I actually checked my weight (I haven't in a couple weeks because i knew I'd gained back a few pounds and it was discouraging). ANYWAY...I'm down another pound from my lowest recorded weight! Whoohoo! I'm actually really amazed and super excited! 

I was trying to figure out what the average size of an American woman is and it's either an 8 or a 12, and I'm smack dab in the middle so i guess that makes me perfectly average (feet- 8, height 5'4", size- 10) which I'm perfectly happy with!

I have no idea where I am.  Oh! but I did have someone ask me if i was pregnant a couple weeks ago...now that was fun *sarcasm*. Sheesh!

So you had a bad day...

So this week's weigh in wasn't as encouraging as I was hoping. I've gained back 1.2 lbs. I don't think I've really messed up this week and I ran almost everyday last week. So you'd think the scale would reflect that but who knows. I'm really hoping I'm not hitting another plateau...those are so depressing.

It's been beautiful our the last 4 days (80+ degrees) and it's slightly worrying me because I have no summer clothes. I'm thinking of just buying like 2 pairs of shorts and a pair of capris because I'm afraid I'll have to go down again before summer is over. Well at least I'm hoping that's what's going to happen.

Man! I have got to go clothes shopping soon...I don't think I've ever had a wardrobe this small...it's kind of ridiculous. I did however finally get rid of all my old clothes yesterday! I can finally walk through my bedroom again! Hallelujah!

Revelations

Okay so maybe this entry won't be as life changing as the title suggests. But, i did figure out a few things while running today.

1. 50-60 degrees is the perfect running weather

2. I should never let my husband use my running iPod for his runs again,  now my music is all messed up. 

3. There's a very specific beat that i look for in running music and i don't really care how horrible the music is as long as the beat is there.

And

4. I'm all about adrenaline rushes lately (seriously. while running today i was thinking about how fun it would be to go sky-diving, now that would be a rush!!!!)

Slow week...

Only -.4 pounds lost. 

I'm still shocked by how far i've come...and honestly SB doesn't really seem very restricting at all anymore. 

Psyched!!!

I lost another 3.4lbs this week!!! I thought I did really horrible I haven't been running because of laziness and stinky weather. Plus I've had my nose stuck in a book (well a couple books actually) for 3 days. Hopefully it's not that I'm just losing muscle mass.

Running

I think the Twilight Soundtrack is going to be my new running album

That's all.

 I've reached my first goal! 

I am now the same weight I was before I got pregnant for Xavier! However, I wear a smaller size so must be I'm fitter this time. I still have a ways to go if I want to be within my BMI but I'm not sure if that's my final goal or not. My second "mini-goal' is only 10 lbs away so hopefully it won't take too long before I reach that.

Clothes shopping is so frustrating right now (in a good way I guess). Because I have no idea what size I am and I never have time to try on a bunch of clothes when I'm out. Plus I don't want to spend money on stuff when I'm only in it for like a month and than have to go smaller. I took my measurement last night to try to determine what size I am and I was pleasantly surprised to find out that I've lost 3 inches in my hips. It's got to be the running because every time I exercise a lot I lose my butt. I wish it was more the gut but that's shrinking as well so I can't really complain. I had to overhaul my closet again and there was a few things I was sad to see go (well not really go since I can't think of anyone to give my mounds of "fat" clothes to. but i keep stacking them in a box.). I think I'm going to have to bite the bullet and get a couple new things this week because I'm getting extremely bored with my wardrobe. I really want a new dress...we shall see.

Today's run did not go well at all. I still went my 2 miles but it took everything I had to get out there, and then i had to walk a lot of it. I've also come to the conclusion that wind blowing in my face mixed with asthma makes a rather large obstacle. Taking a week off from running didn't help much either. Oh well, at least now I know I can't let it happen again.

Monday, monday

Down one more pound! Which brings my grand total to (drum roll, please):
-45 lbs. (not all from SB)!!! I'm psyched!

However, I haven't decided what my ULTIMATE weight loss goal is yet...I'm kind of just waiting to see. I am getting very, very close to my first "mini goal".

All the exercise seems to be paying off too! I'm feeling really healthy and fit!

Today was a BEAUTIFUL day for running outside! So I took advantage of it! That's all.

Progress!

Yay! I finally broke through that stinkin' plateau! I'm down another 1.2 lbs!

Man, that was rough. It only took working out pretty much everyday of the week. But I am now 3 lbs away from my first goal AND I've dropped another pant size! Yipee! Hopefully I can keep it going.


P.S. 15 degrees is way to cold to go running in, I'm just sayin'.

The daily grind

I'm about to start my second week of running. So far i've really enjoyed it. I'm taking it much slower than i've ever done before, in hopes that I can keep it up. I saw this documentary on PBS called Nova: Marathon Challenge, and now I want to train for a marathon...we shall see. Right now my goal is to run 5K. If you want to join me in my efforts here's the program i'm starting with.

Survey Says:

Still stuck! 

However, i have been exercising this week so that's a step in the right direction! 

Stuck!

I've hit a plateau, my weight hasn't moved in 3 weeks. Well that's not entirely true. After getting back from my weekend with Marc I had gained probably 5 or 6 lbs. But they almost instantly dropped back off once I got back on track. So I'm back down to where I was when I left, which i guess it good.
I'm thinking I need to make an effort to exercise more. The snow banks have melted down some so maybe we can get outside soon.

Warning:

I'm venturing out with Marc for 3 days (no home cooking at all). The weigh-in this week is probably not going to go so well.

And the verdict is:

-3.2 more lbs.! Yay! Go me!

Judgement Day

I'm offically down 40 lbs. total(can I hear a wha! wha!)!
20 lbs. by myself, 20 lbs. on South Beach.

I'm still slightly scared of the outside world. It's much easier to follow the rules here at home.

Chapter 1

As of today I have been on the South Beach Diet for 6½ weeks. I am down 15 lbs and 2 pant sizes! At the rate I'm going I should be to my first goal by April 1st. Every time I make predictions my weight loss stalls out. This time I'm hopeful.