I Met a New Year's Resolution Today!!

So at the beginning of the year I set a few goals for myself for 2011. One of these was to finish a 5K at some point this year. I kept putting it off for whatever reason...I planned to do the St. Paddy's Day Dash on Greenville before the parade - it didn't happen. Then I was going to sign up for one in May. That didn't happen either, and then of course it was way too hot to do anything during the summer. October and November I was out of town for work or vacation, and suddenly I was facing the end of the year.

A few weeks ago while I was at home I looked up races before the end of the year and found the Frosty 5K and Fun Run in Frisco. I signed up for the 1 mile Fun Run since I hadn't trained at all for a 5K and figured at least I'd get used to a race-day atmosphere and how the whole thing works. 

This morning I woke up at 6:30AM...on a Saturday...when it was below 30 degrees outside. I got ready and drove out to Frisco. I went up to the registration booth and figured...I'm here, I might as well do the full 5K. So I paid the difference, got my tshirt and goodie bag, and went back to my car to take a nap for an hour (apparently when they say registration starts at 7, it's ok to get there at 7:55).

And...I finished!! They haven't posted official times yet, but I used my phone to unofficially track myself and I think I ended up around 48 minutes. I really wanted to finish in under 45, but I was close! I walked most of it, but I did run some, I was not last, and it was fun. Very, very cold. I did not bring gloves. Mistake. I will post my official time and pictures (?) that were taken during the race. The only picture I thought to take while I was there was this one, when I decided it was way too cold and way to early for me to process nonsense like this:

It was 30 degrees outside. As if these shorts would be ok otherwise.

I signed up for another one in Addison on January 14th - the Hotcake Hustle. I really didn't hesitate after I found out there will be free pancakes and hot chocolate at the finish line.

UPDATE: Official time was 49:16, woot! My goal for the January 5K will be to finish under 45 minutes!

Halfway to Birthday Goal!!!

So after the week of the teambuilding event where I lost my mind and ate everything in sight, it's been really hard to get back on track. I only went to the gym twice last week, and didn't do much else. But I stopped getting takeout for every meal and started eating my leftovers again, and while I wasn't excited about it at all, it totally worked.

So now, officially, I am over halfway to my birthday goal (-57 pounds by September 30th)!!! I have lost 29.2 pounds!! This has been great for my motivation this week because I really felt like I was slacking, falling behind schedule for the weight loss, and that I'd never make my goal now - but the official halfway point is not until May 18th, so I'm actually slightly ahead of schedule! (Yes, I counted the days out. Stop judging.)

Now the exciting part....I get a $250 reward for being halfway through. Originally I was going to get a Barnes and Noble Nook or a new purse, but now I'm not sure what I want to buy for myself. I desperately need some new shoes for work and for the gym...but the purpose of this reward was more of a just-for-fun purchase and something that I wouldn't normally buy. Anyway, I'm going to think about it, but since I also finally met my goal from last month, I got this new shirt to wear to the Ranger's game on Memorial Day weekend!

Still can't wait for Rivka and Ashley to be here!

Goal Met: New Charm AND Early Reward!

After a LONG month with very little progress, I finally hit my goal for this month this morning!! My total loss right now is at -21.4 pounds, so I've officially crossed over the 20 pound mark. It's very exciting! I can't wait for the -27.5 mark, which will mean I'm halfway to my birthday goal. I decided I get a large reward (like a new nice purse or something) when I hit the halfway point, so I'm trying to decide what that will be. 

Anyway, this month has been really long and I honestly wasn't sure if I was going to make it to goal or not because of vacation and building muscle while working out 5-6 days a week, but I'm so glad I made it. In the past, I might think that this month was a failure because I only set a goal of -4 pounds, but the whole point of this system is for that to be okay, as long as I stay on my long-term target. Six pounds a month will get me where I want to be in September, so there's no reason to be down on myself as long as I stay on track. Even though people always say you can lose 1-2 pounds a week, that doesn't mean you should set your goal to make that 2 pounds every week. I have faith that this will work if I just stick to the goals I set for myself and celebrate those. 

Now for the fun part...I'm going to order a charm for my bracelet and I also get a mani/pedi this month (which is really, really necessary). As part of the Memorial Day Challenge with Cathy, we also will get a new outfit to go out out in uptown, have a nice dinner, and go dancing next weekend. Can't wait!

PS I promise I have some recipes to post once I get a chance to sit and write them all down. They are coming!

Monthly Weigh-In: February 2011

February's Goals:
Weight: -7.2
Track budget


February Progress:
Weight: -9.2
Days in calorie range: 18/28
Days worked out: 8/28
Budget Tracked: 28/28

Total YTD Progress:
Weight: -17
Days in calorie range: 37/59
Days worked out: 24/59


March's Goals:
Weight: -4
Work out at least 15 days 


I've done really well the past month, but quite a bit of that can be attributed to the fact that I was sick for two weeks, so I didn't eat. I did do well tracking my budget and actually saved money this month even with buying a $300 plane ticket, so I say that is a success! I will continue to track that for the rest of the year. 


I didn't work out the whole time that I was sick, so that number was really low. I want to make up for it this month by working out at least 15 days. Especially now that I'm working out at the apartment gym; I think it will make a big difference this month. I will be going on vacation during March, so that will present an extra challenge as well. 


For my rewards I got a new pair of shoes, a pair of pants, and two floral shirts for spring. Since I kept the weight off after I met my goal early, I also get to pick an extra reward. I haven't decided what that will be yet. Maybe a new food processor since I seem to have misplaced the blade attachment for my old one. 


The goal seems small for March, but I've decided to stick to the monthly goals I set for myself at the beginning of the year. The main point is to stick to reaching my goal by my birthday. If I do it a month or two early, great! If I get a few more rewards up front, great! I set small goals at the beginning of the year for a reason - they are achievable. It would defeat the purpose to change them all just because I did well this month. (Remember last month? When I didn't meet the goal? Yep.)

Quick Update and February Goal Met! For Now...

This isn't me. I don't look this cute when I'm sick.

Just a quick update since I've been MIA for a few days. I've been really sick, finally went to the doctor today and got my antibiotics for a sinus infection. While I've been moping around the house in my pajamas the past three days, I've lost roughly six pounds. I'm sure at least half of that will come back on once I start feeling better, but I'm still counting it as reaching my February goal early! Total weight loss right now is at 16.8 pounds since January 1, which I think is pretty awesome.

Anyway, I haven't really been cooking and have been surviving off of leftovers made last week and takeout, so I'll just list a few of the things I've been doing the past few days:

1. Drinking a lot of V8 Fusion Strawberry Banana. I usually don't drink these since an 8 ounce serving has 120 calories and I prefer to eat, not drink, my calories, but I bought some cans a couple of months ago and they have been a real lifesaver this week. Got a bunch of good vitamins and fruit and veggie servings, and it's tasty too.

2. Watching Jersey Shore. Before this year I was one of the few proud people to be able to say that I'd never seen Jersey Shore. No longer, my friends. I have crumbled in my resolve and I love every minute of it. They've been running marathons on MTV and VH1, and I can't get enough. 

3. Ordering Asian takeout. I've been very good about cooking at home and not ordering food in or picking it up on the way back from work, but the past few days I just haven't been able to get myself psyched up for cooking, and there's always something comforting about some chinese or thai takeout. I called into my favorite thai place today for a pick up, and when the woman asked for my name, I said "ReDAY" with my stopped-up nose. She asked again, seemingly alarmed. I replied, "ReDAY! ReDAY! Sorry, I have a cold." She started laughing and said she'd see me soon. When I went to pick it up, I found that she included an egg roll and a cup of soup for free and told me to get better. (This is why I love Thai Spice. Seriously, check it out.)

4. Eating gummy vitamins. I love these, and the fact that they make them for adults now only proves how right I have been in taking the children's vitamins all along. The best I've found is the Slice of Life brand, but I've been known to take some Spiderman gummies from time to time. 

Hopefully next week I'll be back in full force. Stay well!

Goal Met: New Charm!

So after a couple weeks of ups and downs, I finally started dropping weight again and made it past my second charm bracelet goal for a total loss of 11 pounds!! I got so excited yesterday morning that I spent 20 minutes before work online shopping to pick out which charm I wanted. I chose this one:

It's a french macaroon charm, so I thought it would go nicely with the Eiffel tower charm I got last time. One of the women at work complimented me on my bracelet yesterday, and I told her about what I was doing and that each time I lost 5 pounds I bought myself a new charm. She was so excited for me, thought it was a great idea, and then commented on how much progress I was making. That made me feel really good. It's amazing what a little bit of validation from someone else can do!

Because I'm not the type of person to go in and complain about my diet (because there's really not that much I can't eat, I just have to eat smaller portions of it), people take longer to realize that I am working on losing weight. I think the thing that stops me from telling people I'm trying to lose weight is the unsolicited advice that comes with it. Every time they start in on that, I just want to tell them, "I've done this before! I know my method works! No need to tell me!" I don't know if it's because I'm overweight that they assume if I knew what to do I wouldn't be overweight anymore or what. So usually I just try to avoid the whole situation. But it is nice to get a little unsolicited encouragement along the way. 

I'm going to be making some Valentine's treats for the office this weekend, so not much actual cooking. I may post a few of them, but no promises that they will all be healthy recipes!

January Goal Met!

I'll still post a January update, but I met my January goal today!! Officially down 9.6 pounds since the beginning of the year. My reward was supposed to be a necklace from Nordstrom, but I went shopping for groceries at Target today and they had an amazing clothing sale, so I got a camisole, a cardigan, a short sleeve v-neck, and two long v-necks for $60. Just bought my spring wardrobe!

I still get to pick an extra reward since I met my goal early (by a week!), but I haven't decided yet. Debating between a Starbucks card and a new hairbrush. I still have $35 on my current card, so I'm thinking I can wait until next month. My flat hair, not so much.