Just missed it!

So I searched and searched for an appropriate picture and found nothing. Nada! So this blog is plain Jane today. Anyhoo, so weigh in was today, and I missed my October weight loss goal by 1/2 pound! But Im not letting it get me to down, because I did pretty good for the month of October. 8 1/2 pounds lighter than I was in September. Thats quite a pickup from my previous months. And I reached my goal of fitting in a size 10 during this month. Not to shabby :) I'm a little nervous what November will bring. I was going to lessen my goal due to the holidays, but than realized that's a cop out! Im running a 5k on Thanksgiving and that is going to jump start my successful holiday!

Im doing better than I was on my last post. I'll admit I didnt blog because of my emotional status. I tend to be pretty raw sometimes, and not sure if I scare people away. So I steered away this time. But I had a few rough emotional days, and I gave in to a few temptations. Maybe if I would have blogged (practice what I preach eh?) than I may not have gave into as many temptations. When I think back on it...I didnt do to bad, and I balanced it with my workouts. I also didnt let one temptation derail to a whole weekend of them. My emotional eating has definitely improved tremendously. My temptations consisted of some candy, fries (my major weakness), a few martinis, and than we went to PFChangs again this past weekend for Grants birthday. I took a look at the nutrition value online. Holy crap. Yeah. 1800 calories for one meal. Insane. Should I be surprised? Probably not. I ate half my meal and got my butt back to the track!

Speaking of track - Im in week 4 of the couch to 5k program. Ive had some issues this week but am back on track. My first attempt to the track was quite the experience. I headed to the track on Monday and it was filled with kids. I think they were having some field day or something, they had a table on the track full of medals for them. I didnt bring my watch so couldnt opt out to run someplace else. I needed the track for distance measurement. So I decided that I would still do my jog, I was going to see how far I could go without stopping. Well than the parents showed up to, and the kids, parents, and coaches were all gathering on the track and field. At one point a parent was walking towards me, in the lane I was jogging, when I got close to her..she wouldnt move! She starred me down until I went around her. What is wrong with people? The kids kept weaving in and out of me so I did a mile in 15 minutes and called it quits.

But I was back at it the next day, and now Im currently up to this:
1/4 mile jog
1/8 mile walk
1/2 mile jog
1/8 walk
Repeat
That takes me roughly 30 minutes and its around 2 miles. I dont know if Im going to be able to jog the entire 5k in 3 weeks. And that is unacceptable to me since Im a perfectionist. But I have to come to terms that walking some of it is not a bad thing. More positive talking to myself and Ill get through it. Maybe Ill surprise myself and pull through the whole 3 miles. Ill have to see how the next 3 weeks go...I may feel more confident about it by Thanksgiving.

I think Ive done enough chatting for now. Happy Halloween everyone :) I survived the candy and sweet war at work. That is always a nice feeling :) I hope it was a successful day for all of you ;)

Not such a great night

I will not let my emotions get the best of me. I will not turn to food. I will not use alcohol to numb my feelings. I will not. I. CAN. NOT.

Its been a rough night. Just some personal stuff going on that I'm not really going to go into, but it really turned my night upside down. I came home from work and caught another great episode of Oprah. Seal (the singer) and his wife Heidi Klum were on there. Seal is such a sweet guy! And a great husband :) After that, I decided to get another jog/walk in since its suppose to be raining tomorrow evening. So off I went to the track. I tried 3 minutes of jogging and 2 minutes of walking and it worked out much better than yesterday. I think the 3 minutes of walking was to much time in between the jogs. The jogs were easier on me in a way that my chest didnt feel like it was going to explode , but still a little rough as in I felt whooped after each 3 minutes. It felt like I was working hard, and I liked that. Will this jogging gig get easier? I hope one day the breathing comes second nature. I cant wait for that moment I get that "runners high". I have a feeling that will be many, many months from now :p

I stopped by Meijers on the way home and picked up something for dinner since I knew there wasn't anything healthy at home to cook. But I never got around to cooking dinner due to some "stuff" that went down. I cant believe how in a matter of a few hours you can be in such this great mood, and life is feeling great, to BAM! life isn't so great. We have to take the good with the bad I suppose. I still haven't ate dinner, but think Ill eat a bowl of cereal and than I'm heading to bed. I had to come post this blog or I was tempted to stuff my face or down a few beers. I think I'm past that moment now. Geez addiction sure is ugly, aint it?

Tomorrow's a new day, and I look forward to it.

Lets All Be A Tigger (Another great eposide by Oprah)

So I love Oprah. I know lots of people disagree with my love for Oprah, but some of her episodes have really helped me have my "ah-ha!" moments. So I tivo Oprah everyday, but I dont get to watch her show everyday since as you all know life happens. As I was chatting with a friend yesterday, she was telling me about Mondays episode. She has been really blue this week, and after watching this episode it really helped her put things back in perspective. The show was about "confronting death". She said I had to watch it. So yesterday when I got home from work I did just that. Am I glad she recommended this episode. As I watched this episode it definitely added to the focus Ive had lately, and made my perspective even more clear on how I want to live my life. I want to be a Tigger rather than an Eeyore (although I have much love for the cuteness of Eeyore ;) ) I just had to share this with all of you. :)

On the show it had people dying with cancer, and how amazing heroic they are facing death. There was this man, Randy Pausch, and he has pancreatic cancer. He was diagnosed last year and has gone through surgery, chemo, radiation, but the cancer has now spread and he has maybe up to 6 months to live. He is a married father of three children - all under the age of 5, and a professor at Carnegie Mellon University. This past September he gave his students a final lecture. There is a university tradition called, the Last Lecture. Hypothetically, if you knew you were going to die and you had one last lecture, what would you say to your students?" This was a reality for Randy. His lecture was on "childhood dreams". The lecture has been downloaded over a million times off the Internet. And he gave that lecture one last time on Oprah. Here is the link to the lecture:

http://www2.oprah.com/health/oz/oz_20071022_350_106.jhtml?promocode=HP23

Its about 10 minutes long, and make sure you grab a tissue ;-)

Have a great day FAT!

1 Week - Can I Do It?

Sure I can :) Today's weigh in came right on target. I lost 3lbs last week, and have 3lbs left to reach my monthly goal. So this week is all about staying focused. No time for derailing. I lost 3lbs week 1 and week 3. Week 2 I stayed steady due to overindulging for my anniversary, so week 4 it is...I can do 3lbs.

Normally today I would give myself a "free day" which is more like an overindulge day. Nope, I cant allow myself to do that anymore. That is the mind thinking that caused me my weight gain in the first place. So this morning I was very satisfied with my oatmeal vs the bagel Id get on normal weigh in day. And a salad at lunch will be fine, I don't need those fries. (That's what I did last week.) The weekend may be a little tricky depending on what we do. We are still debating if we are going to go to the bar on Saturday to hear Adam Beyer or not. If we do, theres always the temptation of alcohol. I think I could successful finish the night off with water, maybe allow myself a red bull. On Sunday its Grants actual birthday, so we are going to his Aunts house. She just bought this new house, mansion apparently from what I hear, and they are celebrating Grant, his Aunt, and cousins birthday. So not sure what the food selection will be like...but I think it will be manageable.

Im in week 3 of the Couch to 5K. Ive changed it around a bit and am doing 3 minutes jog, 3 minutes walk instead of the 90 seconds jog, walk, 3 minutes jog, walk. I went to the track on Monday. Its getting dark even earlier now so I knew the track lights would come on so decided to do my jog there. I was there for 10 minutes and that mens football team showed up. I kept doing my thing, but thats when I decided to switch it up and did the 3 minutes jog, 3 minutes walk. So I was doing a little bit further than the 90 seconds. Yeah... a little insecurity creeped out there. lol But I was proud of myself, they started their game and were a bit rowdy but I kept doing my thing. Hey its a public area, Im getting my workout on. :)

On Monday morning I put on some of my usual work pants, which are a size 12. And they were way to big. Lately they have been a little big, but still wearable. But now they are almost falling off me! This past weekend I did fit into a size 10 jeans so thought I might be close to smaller size in my work pants soon. But oddly my work pants that I currently have from years ago that are a size 10 are still to tight in the butt/thigh area. So I headed to the store to pick up a few new pair of pants for work. I hate looking sloppy, especially at work. I Tried on some 10's and 12's, and I fit a size 10, like a glove! I did a happy dance in the fitting room. And than said, damn girl your looking good. :p Amazing how much a pair of pants that fit boosts your confidence! This sure beats the size 16's I was wearing this time last year!

Weekend Warrior

What a weekend :-) I definitely earned the title of a weekend warrior. And guess what? It feels pretty freaking awesome.

Friday night was perfect. The guys had no idea we were there! We all gathered together and the athletic director and one of the coaches came over and gave us the agenda. And they got all chocked up while talking to us. They were overwhelmed by all the letters and cards they received from people on the 3 day. And said the event changed those boys lives. They were so excited we were there. So we lined up on the field out to the track, and formed a tunnel for the guys to run through. About 12 of us held up the banner for them to run through. A crew member brought a tent from camp, and we popped that up. (since the boys popped all those up for us!) And we had noise makers, our victory shirts on, some were dressed up in pink wigs and had pink pom poms to. When the boys came out they huddled on the track before running through us and they all took a double take. The announcer spoke about the 3 day, and how the boys came to help us and gave us a big welcome. And than the boys ran through with huge smiles, and some of them chanted, we love you! we love you! And as the coaches came by they had tears in their eyes.

And the boys won! 39-14, and are going to the playoffs. At the end of the game they came over to the area we were sitting in and saluted us with their helmets and sang the school song. The football players, their parents, and the coaches thanked us again after that. :) Im so happy they won and that we got to show our love back to them! I got a few pictures but they are all pretty blurry...but here they are:

http://s25.photobucket.com/albums/c56/Cajaya/Romeo%20Football%20Game/

After the football game we went to a local bar to hear some friends dj. We didn't stay to long, but I danced a bit and burned some more calories. No beer, just a redbull which probably wasn't the best choice but I was falling asleep! hehe

On Saturday we were going rock climbing for Grants birthday. I got up early enough that I could still fit in my last jog/walk for the week. I wasn't sure how I would feel on Sunday so wanted to make sure I got it in. This was the last day for week 2. I felt pretty strong through the entire thing, and at the end I did one full lap jogging around the track and didn't feel like I was going to keel over. And that was 3.5 minutes. I was pretty pleased with that :) We went rock climbing shortly after that. I didnt realize you had to learn so much with that! When we were in the training class, I was like am I going to remember all this? But I had no fear because my partner was apparently the teachers pet. Yes our Kristen was her example since she was doing everything perfectly. lol And Kristen tore those walls up! It was a great workout and I realized how weak my upper body is. But I made it to the top twice and was geeked about that. The first time I only got halfway up the wall and looked down and said, no Im coming down. But I overcame that and made it up to the very top. You really got an adrenaline rush getting to the top, like you conquered something huge. It was a blast. We ended up having 7 of us there, which was nice because people kept cancelling out on me. And two of our friends drove up from Indiana for the day, which I thought was really cool. We went and grabbed a bit to eat afterwards. Kristen recommend a yummie place, and I am pretty proud of my decisions there. Grant and I split a 5 beer 5 ounce each sampler, and than I got the Chicken Cherry Salad. I passed up the bread when it came, and fought off the urge to get the baked mac n cheese. Im a sucker for mac n cheese.

Heres the photo album of us rock climbing...we mostly got climbing pictures.

http://s25.photobucket.com/albums/c56/Cajaya/Grants%20Birthday%202008/

Today when I woke up I was pretty sore. Mostly my arms and abs. I decided to take the day off from a workout, and hung out with my sister all day. They just opened up this new outdoor mall near us, so we went and checked that out, window shopping. So I got a couple hours of walking in. We ended up grabbing dinner at Mongolian BBQ, where I stuck with chicken, veggies, and pineapples, and skipped the rice.

Im really happy with my weekend choices. I didnt think it would feel as good as it did! This morning I saw a drop on the scale. I need to lose 3lbs this week and 3 next to make my October goal. Im 1.5lbs away from this weeks goal. Hopefully I can meet this goal, so I am staying focused :)

P.S. I signed up for the 5K Turkey Trot today. In my couch to 5k Program Ill be at week 7 where I should be able to jog 2.5 miles. So even if I can do that and walk the last .6, Ill be happy with that. Im excited about it. And what better way to start off the holiday weekend :)

Sometimes People Come In Your Life

"Sometimes people come into your life and you know right away that they were meant to be there, to serve some sort of purpose, teach you a lesson, or to help you figure out who you are or who you want to become. "

Greg is one of those people. I met Greg through the 3 day community. This past year I joined other 3 dayers in a fundraiser contract to work the Detroit Tiger games, and that is where I met Greg. He is a pit stop crew captain on the walk, and his team is named after his mom, Betty's Boobs. So their team picked up many many of the Tigers games to work. I ended up helping him out with some of his games, and he helped me out with some of my games. Our first communication was through email, and with that first initial contact I could feel the warmth, dedication, and love this man had. I knew he was someone meant to come into my life :)

Betty's Boobs ended up raising over $20,000 this year! They not only raised enough for their team of 8, but were able to help 15 other walkers meet their minimum so they could walk to. Betty is a 21 year survivor , and also a 4 year survivor. Its been 19 years since her first mastectomy, and 3 years since the second. Unfortunately, the cancer is back- this time metastasized in her lungs. She was able to come out this year to the walk and cheer on her family. But that was her last outing. She had a extremely fast decline in her health and is now in hospice.

Last night Greg and his team had a get together for all the people the helped out with his fundraising. It was at Snookers, a pool hall/bar. I couldnt wait to catch up with him and his family. I couldnt think of a better way to spend my night than with some of my 3 day family. Nothing like sharing stories, and getting to know each other on a more personal (outside of the 3 day level) over some food and drinks. (I did good with a small piece of sub and 2 beers) This mans heart is so big, as is the rest of his family. I truly admire all of them, and their amazing strength during this very difficult time.

Greg as well as many of the people Ive met through the 3 day have really helped me refocus on who I want to be, who Im becoming. From time to time, I lose track and go back to the way Melissa use to be. Ill admit the cattiness, drama, and the negativity sometimes can get the best of me. Its so easy to resort back to the way you use to be and get wrapped up in what I try so hard not to go back to. And I believe that is when people come into your life for a reason. Just when I start to notice..hey melis you dont want to go there...take a step back and look at whats going on...and one of my angels steps right in. And than I refocus. I remember what is important to me, and who I want to be. I feel so comfortable, inspired, alive...simply at home when Im around these people. It sometimes is hard to explain... but the love, the bond, the connection, the hope, the drive, the positivity. I consider myself lucky that these people have come into my life, and am so happy to call these people my friends. :)

Okay, I'll stop. As you can tell by now, the 3 day really has changed my life. And I couldnt be more thankful for it. Sorry Im always going on and on about it :p

Now one last story that Im super excited about. Tonight we get to pay it forward. On the 3 day, a local High School Football team came out and volunteered at camp. They put up our tents, carried our bags to our tents, walked around filling water, cheering us into camp, carrying our dinner plates to the dining tent, etc. Well another amazing woman I met on the 3 day, Jen, contacted the boys coach, and found out when their last game of the season is. Which is tonight. The athletic director worked with her and we are going to surprise the football team. We are going to arrive right when they go back into the locker room before the game so they cant see us, and than line up behind the banner that the boys will run through. They have no idea, so when they come running through the banner we will be lined up on both sides cheering them in like they cheered us in. We all our wearing our victory shirts, and bringing noise makers and just making it a big cheering section :) I cant wait!

Life is good. :)

From The Outside Looking In

Don't you ever feel like that? I have been lately. I really have been stressing myself out with to do lists. I have so much stuff that Im trying to do at night that I get way to overwhelmed and dont finish any of the tasks. I end up watching tivo or getting on the Internet and than once again...another night wasted. I always have good intentions but they never follow through. I sometimes even visualize how great Ill feel getting things done, but nope. (yes I know Im strange) I wish I was that motivated person who finishes her to do list. No wonder I always worked two jobs...when I have to much time on my hands Im not good at making my time efficient!

I know lately Ive had a lot of personal things on my mind, so that definitely ads to the stress levels I have. Im trying to get people together for Grants birthday this weekend, and it looks like its completely going to bomb. And I had the worse appointment ever with my endocrinologist last week, and she is not helping me one bit. Im finding out all the endocrinologist in the area are just like her, medicating per labs and not caring one bit how I actually feel on the meds. Than of course this whole financial issue, and how I cant find a second job if my life dependent on it. And work is a bit stressful....I was given new accounts and no one can help me with them so I feel like Im incompetent at work....and the list goes on and on. lol So yeah I guess you can say Im a little overwhelmed with my thoughts right now.

Anyhoo...this mornings weigh in was ok. I gained 3lbs from the weekend splurges, and I got back to where I started today. So no gain or loss for weigh in day. Which is fine. But Im 6 pounds away from my October goal. Can I make it? Im hoping so. I really need to focus for these last two weeks, and make that 6 pound goal. I lost 3lbs the first week so I know its attainable. Everyone has been doing great with their October goal, I want to be a successful October goal meeter as well!

Now with that being said, what the hell was I thinking today? I ate pretty bad. And each time I put something in my mouth I had that whole looking from the outside in thing again. I could see myself come out of my body, shake my finger at me, and say..yeah thats going help you lose those pounds. First for breakfast I had my oatmeal but when I went to make it I noticed a whole in the bag. So I threw it away. So what do I do? Go down to the cafeteria and get me a bagel with cream cheese. At lunch I go downstairs and think, salad bar, salad bar. But than walk into the grill line and get a turkey burger. I say no bun or cheese and get fries. Not just fries but dipped my fries in mayo. Yeah like the no bun and cheese justified it. Around 3pm I could barely keep my eyes open...I wonder why. I was definitely thinking nap time when I got home.

But as soon as I got home I said get your booty to the track! So I did complete my walk/jog for the day. And boy was it tough. While I think my breathing is getting better, I was pooped halfway through. I know its from the bad fuel I gave my body. Im wondering how Im going to conquer the 3 minutes of jogging next week but Ill worry about that when it gets here. The sunny weather was refreshing though. I think the jog helped clear my head a bit. That was until a few hours later. :(

So to try and focus better I started a to do list and broke tasks down for each night, instead of one long to do list for the week. Since that obviously is just stressing me out. I had only two more things to complete tonight. I thought maybe Ill finish this night off successful. Well tonight was laundry night. Normally Grant and I rotate. We are waiting on his dad to get his truck back so we can go get the washer and dryer he has at his house for us. Our washer broke way back in July! Looks like maybe next week will work for us to get it, I got my fingers crossed. Anyways, there was 8 loads of laundry! So I offered to go with Grant. I figured that would be some good downtime to get some thank you cards finished. (since Ive been working on those for a few weeks now and they are on my to do list) So after we put the wash in, Grants like are you hungry. Of course I am and I previously planned on just having oatmeal for dinner since I racked up the calories throughout the day. Well right next to the laundry mat is Little Ceasers. So we end up getting a hot and ready pizza. Not only did I eat 2 pieces, but 2 pieces of crazy bread to. oy! Again who is this girl, and can I have the motivated, eye on the prize Melissa back? Every week I do this right after weigh in. Its like oh I can do this just today. I have a whole week ahead of me. Its something I need to break. I need to plan out that day better, its the only way to make it successful. And as some of you probably feel this way to, but when you make those decisions you get so down on yourself. Your like damn I can be such an idiot sometimes. Im sure the day could of gone worse...and tomorrow will be better. And today is a good day compared to what I was eating a few months ago. So whats done is done. Time to take control and stop looking from the outside in. Its not rocket science at this point right?

P.S. Thank you everyone for your comments yesterday. It was really nice. Lately Ive been feeling great about my body, and even wore shorts out in public today (something I NEVER do). I can only imagine what the next 20 will feel like. Thank you for your endless support FAT, I couldnt do it without you!

Milestones

My weekend wasn't top notch in regards to eating but I enjoyed myself for the special occasion. And the the scale sure did remind me that I may have enjoyed myself a little to much! It was Grant and my anniversary on Sunday, so we made a whole weekend out of it . While I thought I was doing good on my portion sizes, I may have overindulge a little to much. On Friday night we had Olive Garden. I did the chicken parm, but filled up on salad before hand. So only ate 3/4 of one of two chicken, and got wheat pasta. We had dinner at PFChangs on Saturday night. I absolutely LOVE that restaurant. I swear the food there is orgasmic. We did the chicken lettuce wraps, and I got Mongolian beef and Grant got the NY Steak. And we got chicken fried rice instead of when I should have gotten brown rice. I wont even guess how many calories the Key Lime Martinis had. Yum! And we had quite a few :) Than on Sunday we hit up the cider mill. I had 2 plain and one sugar along with two of their small cups of cider. I thought to myself....your really going to derail your progress, but its the cider mill....and its once a year so I enjoyed the donuts. I wonder if I was using the excuse, " our anniversary" a little to much. So whats its our anniversary...why should that mean I eat differently than any other time. Maybe enjoy a desert, but this also would of been a good time to practice more self control. That whole transitioning thing I was talking about in my last entry. Geez do I jinx myself or what? I still did better than what I would have a year ago. I did get out and walk on Saturday, and jog on Sunday, so was happy I stuck to that. But in the end whats done is done. This is a new week. And I'm not going to let a few splurges throw me off track. I have a October goal to make!

On personal note about our anniversary....this was probably the best one we have had yet. Well last year was hard to top since we were at the game where the Tigers beat the A's and won the ALCS. But with my history of my drinking abuse problem, I have made some very very messy anniversaries. Ruined tons of plans that Grant spent god only knows how long planning. I'm so thankful that he has stuck it out with me through some very very ugly times. Grant recently told me how proud he was of me this last year, for taking on so many things to improve my life and our life together. He said hes happy to finally see me taking care of my body in a healthy way. No more eating or drinking to feed my emotions. That meant a lot to me. I see many more happy anniversaries ahead for us :)

So I hit up the track today for week 2 of the couch to 5K program. 90 seconds jog, 2 minutes walk, and rotated for 30 minutes. Phew! You wouldn't think just adding 30 more seconds of jogging would feel like that much but it did. But halfway through I started to feel the pain ease up. And the people were once again out on the soccer fields, but I didn't care this time. I guess its gets easier to not be embarrassed the more I get out there eh?

I was looking for a before picture of me. Which has been very hard. I always ducked out of pictures, or had a coat on to hid myself, or hid behind people. Or I was really drunk in a lot of them and didn't want to post one of those pictures. On Saturday I felt like I was looking pretty good after my workout and took some halfway there pictures. I really enjoyed the butt picture I told Grant to take...is that inappropriate to post? Im thinking it is. lol

My goal was to lose 40 pounds, and I'm just past 20. It feels great. Although when I look at these pictures I dont look that much different to me (maybe I cant get that fat girl out of my head)....but here they are:



And heres one from the side, although I did step my leg out (I know Im cheating) hehe

Marcol has helped me out and referred some online references to me to implement more body weight circuits. So Ive been checking that out and excited to start that this week to. Time to ditch the dvd's and its time to push myself in strength training. Im ready to be buff :)

Transition, am I really doing that finally?

I started off my morning with a 8 mile walk with my walking partner, Jennifer (from the 3 day). This is the first time we've seen each other since the 3 day so we had tons to chat about, including our plans for the 3 day in 2008. Looks like we are walking Michigan for sure, and Boston is looking like the second candidate. We both really really want to walk in D.C., but that would mean no walking in Michigan. And I simply will be so sad if I don't walk in Michigan. And fundraising talk of course. Good times. Good Times. It was sooo chilly out, 38 degrees when we started. But it warmed up, I ended up ditching a layer ;)

Tomorrow I will finish off my week with another walk/run. I did that on Tuesday night and it was quite the challenge again. I think I need to just get over myself. Here's what happened. Day 2 completed, and it was a challenging day so I'm proud I stuck it out!

My thyroid has really been exhausting me lately. So I came home and took a nap. I asked Grant to wake me up when he got home around 6, and planned on going to jog. I know the sun sets around 7 now, so I had to make sure I wasn't putzing around or going back to sleep. Sure enough it took a few times to get me out of the bed, (damn thyroid), but I said you have to go workout lady! You will feel better.

So I layered up and headed out to the track. When I got there which was later than Tuesday, the track is flooded with those hot football guys again. Oh no. They are sprinting up and down the track to. I was like oh no. I am not going on there! Luckily the track is by our community center and they have a 1.25 mile bike path around it. So I figure what the heck, Ill just go around that. As I'm finding a parking spot Im noticing some of the soccer fields are filled up, with just people messing around. Not games or anything. I said Melissa they do not care about you. lol Get over yourself!

So I park the car, even though I almost drove it out of the parking lot and called it a day. I get out of the car and its freezing out. I said to myself, you better get going so you can warm up! So off I went.

5 minute warm up walk
60 seconds jog
90 seconds walk
Repeat for 30 minutes
5 minute cool down

That equaled 2 times around the path - 2.5 miles

At one point though, I passed the roller hockey rink (i know this place has everything eh?) and the guys were getting ready to leave so they were all lined up by the bike path, and staring at me. Or so I thought. (I'm sure its all in my head.) So I pushed a 2.5 minute jog, but followed a 3 minute walk after it. lol As soon as I got around the corner where they couldn't see me I walked and was like PHEW!

I'm silly ain't I?

It turns out that those football players is a mens team that plays flag football. When I got around the path once, I saw all the lights around the track light up for their game. I'm glad I didn't decided to go jog on there, talk about being on the spotlight! teee hee

Another small victory, Grant wanted Arbys and before I left I thought...hmmm that sounds good I haven't had that in awhile. I know, I know. I bow my head at that thought to! But once I got driving there I was like no way. If I want to make my October weight loss goal I can not eat Arbys. And I had an awesome workout, why waste it? So I stopped at Boston Market and got some turkey and beans, and still got grant his arbys. Go Me!

Its feel great to be making such positive moves. Daily I see myself making decisions I never thought Id make. Its like my head is starting to clear from the cloudiness and Im seeing the transition of what I need to do day to day, that transition to a healthy lifestyle. Im definitely having more good days than bad, and that feels great :) I know Ill have my bad days, but than I just have to reflect on the good ones, and blog of course ;)

Peekaboo

Here I am. I know Ive been such a bad F.A.T. member lately! Please forgive me? Pretty please? Ill do 50 push-ups...does that make us even? :)

I don't have any excuses for not blogging either. No binging, not perfection to eating, but no binging. A little friend drama has been happening, but I think Ive finally been able to put that behind me. I did spend quite a bit of time blogging my 3 day experience. Phew was that long. But well worth the read. So if you are curious you can check it out, I broke posts down per day. :) Enjoy!

http://www.cajaya.com/category/breast-cancer-3-day-2007/

Anyhoo, so I hope you guys are doing good. Im going to catch up on your blogs tonight. Work is insane. I recently received more accounts at work, and they have provided me quite a challenge. So Ive been so busy lately. Makes the time go faster so thats always nice :)

Since my last post was exactly a week ago let me see what Ive been up to. I have kept my workouts going, not as many as I probably should be doing but some. I also have been keeping up with the strength training. And I started my walk/jog program this week. Tonight I shall accomplish day 2. Let me share with you about day 1. I head up to the track and am all pumped. I have that positive thinking going on, YAY Im going to be a runner one day, well maybe a jogger but runner in my eyes. Anyhoo so I start off and there is one other guy on the track. Hes doing laps, walking, and stopping to do chin ups every so often. My routine is going good, I thought 60 seconds would be super easy but it was a little hard. I was like phew, this is going to be a challenge. I even got pains on my side which I assumed were from some breathing technique I lacked. So these guys start to walk over to the track. Very fit cute guys. Yeah, it was a football team. They were having some sort of scrimmage on the field in the middle of the track. Lovely. I continued on looking straight ahead. 60 jog, 90 walk, 60 jog, 90 walk. Than this man shows up with his two daughters, they were probably 10 and 11 years old. They said, "How far today Daddy?". He says, only 2.5 miles. So they start off, passing me several times. I giggle inside and think...well Melis, we all have to start somewhere right? I will admit I was very happy when I was done though! lol

This is the couch to 5K program - and its 9 weeks long. So that takes me right to the beginning of December. I thought maybe Ill want to sign up for a 5K, but not sure. I wonder if Im going to wuss out (running outside) when the temps drop low. I hope not. A turkey trot would probably be to soon, but Im sure theres some jingle 5k's I can find for December. Ill have to think about that one.

I did have a nice weigh in yesterday - 3lbs down. :) I was very pleased with that. Im 3 pounds away from 25 pounds lost. I started my weight loss journey this time last year. Crazy it took me a year to get 25lbs off. Sadly, March - August I gained and lost the same 10-15 pounds more than Id like to count. See where yo-yo-ing can get you? lol I dont plan on ever letting those pounds come back. When I hit 25, I think Ill take some progress pictures and post them :)

Step It Up

Yes it is time to Step It Up! Seriously. This week Ive been in some sort of limbo stage. Trying to figure out what Im doing, where Im going, what I want. I mentioned before about the 3 day blues. I definitely have that. Its like I built up so much to it and BAM! its over. Not to mention the emotional attachment I have to it.

So while dealing with that, Ive been half-assing it this week. For sure. Monday I took the day off considering I did walk 60 miles over the weekend. When I saw the scale dropped I got way to excited and sort of gave myself leeway, which resulted to my eating on Tuesday was not the greatest. I finished off this lovely day by being a couch potato and sat around the house watching tivo all night. Nice. That will really get me trim and fit eh?

I knew I had to stop. So on Wednesday I ate a little better, and when I got home pumped up the tires on my bike and decided to take it for a ride. Remember my bike tire fiasco a little while back? Well I got my dads air compressor and the tires blew up in no time. I rode the route I use to walk for my 6 mile walks. I managed about 40 minutes. Wow my butt hurt so bad when I was done. I enjoyed the bike ride so may invest in some better shorts or pants so I dont feel like I need to sit on a donut afterwards. lol

On Thursday I was suppose to head over to my sisters at 7 for a Lia Sophia party. So I made sure I didnt putz around after work. Came home and did my normal strength training routine. Its been probably 10 days or so since my last one, and oh boy am I feeling it today. I was not feeling the workout at all. And wanted to quit halfway through. Especially when I got to the ab work. I thought I am really wimping out here and FAT would be so disappointed. So I finished and felt good about it afterwards.

As I read other blogs (and sorry I havent commented on a lot, Im still trying to catch up!), I came across Brians and it struck a cord with me. He is doing great! And I thought damn I really need to step my game up. I joined FAT 68 days ago, and have only lost 7 pounds. Are you freaking kidding me? Melissa get real. (I sound like Dr. Phil there. lol ) The only person Im kidding is myself! I need to re-evaluate my commitment, because I can do better than 7 pounds. I know I have a smaller goal than some on here, but seriously 2 pounds a week is still 8 pounds a month. I should be down at least 15 pounds by now!

With that being said, I am finding it quite hard to "push" myself to that level I want to be able to see results. Without a gym membership I feel constricted in a way. I know thats all in my head and I can find the same results with a gym that I can without. So next week Im venturing into the walk/jog program. There I said. Now I have to do it. I know that when I tried this before I was happy with the results. Its just getting over the whole walk/jog outside and people looking at me like what the heck is she doing? A wannabe runner. I know its all in my head. Marcol gave me a good tip, to get a watch that I can set every minute, or 2 minutes, so I know when to switch from walk to run. That sounds much better than music alternate just because its safer in my hood to not listen to music.

And while that steps up my cardio soon I will need to step up my strength training. If anyone wants to suggest some strength training routines - that works without a gym Im all ears for that to. Ive just been doing some videos that combine cardio with 5lb weights. And it has the abs, legs, arms, etc.

And as far as stepping it up long term - I have decided 2008 will be the year I walk two Breast Cancer 3 Days. I wanted to do D.C. as well as Michigan but they are right next to each other in regards to dates. Jim and Rob, they just released the dates and registration! Rob make sure you get the code to get $35 off before November 15th :) So after the dates were released and I thought about financially doing two events....I thought I was getting ahead of myself. But no, two walks. I can do it. And I want to do it. I already am planning fundraisers in order, and feel like this is my next step in the 3 day community. So Chicago, Boston, or maybe Philly are in the running. There I said that to. Hold me to it ;)

So you heard it first. Melissa is stepping it up. Watch out come Christmas - Melissa is going to be fab.

5.9 Million - Mission Accomplished

Michigan raised 5.9 million dollars! The walk was amazing. Ill give you the short summary - Im going to post a long weekend report in my personal blog and Ill link it if anyone is interested in hearing my stories :)

Friday Morning was a little chilly, but it warmed up nicely within a few hours. It was a little hectic getting into opening ceremonies due to the small entrance. But their was police directing traffic, and considering the volume it was handled pretty good. My parents drove me and stayed for opening ceremonies. It was a beautiful ceremony. This year they had these flags that said: Belief, Healing, Commitment, Hope, Optimism, Love, Patience and Courage. These flags were passed along to walkers through the whole weekend and walked 60 miles as well :) This day was very very hilly, well compared to where I live. So 8 hours of hills didnt agree with my knees to much. 3/4 of the way through I put some biofreeze on them and made it to camp. Popped some Motrin, and in the morning they felt better. This day was 18.8 miles. But with all the walking at camp, it ended up being 22 miles. (my friend wore her gps watch all weekend) .

Camping wasnt to bad - I had a hard time sleeping the first night but didnt expect to sleep like a baby anyways.

On Day 2 I woke up feeling pretty good. This day we were walking 20.1 miles. There were less hills and I was thankful! It warmed up quickly and turned out to be a beautiful day. We had tons of cheerers out today, especially through the city, Plymouth. They were awesome. I also got to see my friend Dawn at the cheering station, she is one of the woman I walk for. Shes battling her third time with breast cancer. When we got to camp I felt like we took a stroll. No pain anywhere. I did feel a little lightheaded due to lack of salt, so drank up some Gatorade and ate dinner and felt better. I slept much better this night. I was on the lookout for Jim on this day to. My walking partner, Jen, and I asked everyone guy if they were Jim. lol Still no sign of him.

On Day 3 as we were packing up our tents, wouldn't you know a guy walks by and it looks like Jim. And it was! YAY! I found him. We chatted for a bit and thought we might catch up at the end. Rob was going to come down to the cheering station, but Jim's pace was ahead of mine so I thought I might miss Rob. And I did :( Boohoo! This day was a breeze. We did take longer breaks at each pit stop so we didnt get done to early. And finished right around 3:30. As we came in, there was Jim! Jen snapped a pic of us (see above). You know you like my bunny ears :) So we had just enough time for some more pics, pee, and hydrate and we were off to closing ceremonies. What an emotional closing ceremonies! We lined up in rows of 8, Jim found me so we got to walk in together, which I was hoping we could do :) And we also walked in with a Cleveland walker we met along the route. Clevelands 3 day was about a month ago and their closing ceremonies got rained out, so they were invited to join us :) We walked a silent mile to closing ceremonies to honor all those that we have lost to breast cancer. As we got close to the crowd and we passed the crew and medical they were down on one knee. The crew, medical, and safety really amaze me. They are really awesome. I could feel the tears coming. And than I saw Grant blowing kisses at me, and my parents waving and I lost it. Tears poured down my face. I grabbed jenn and just put my arm around her. WE MADE IT! We piled into an outer circle. Than Crew, Medical, and Safety came in and were part of the inner circle. And last the survivors came in in front of them. We all got down on one knee and took off one shoe to honor the survivors and those that we've lost. After another emotional speech...the 3 day was over. :( One of thee best closing ceremonies Ive been a part of ever. 5.9 million. Awesome.

Some highlights of the weekend:

• This awesome Cleveland cheerer that made a big sign that said: WOOHOO! And he yelled it all day emphasizing the word woohooo!
• The Superior Paramedics! These guys had a trailer attached to the ambulance and had huge speakers and drove along the route while dancing and sang the whole weekend!
• The Romeo High School Football Team: These guys put up our tents, carried our dinner plates to the table, took pictures for us, carried our bags to our tents, and were not physically there but emotionally connect to us. These boys were amazing!
• The camp entertainment - some of the best karaoke Ive ever heard! And quite a dance party. Those paramedics were on top of the tables throwing their shirts off! lol
• The people cheering us along the route! All of them meant so much!
• The 19 year old boy that self delayed his donations by $1400 to do the walk for his friends mother who is a survivor. He shaved his head for donations at camp. A true inspiration.

Okay Im getting long...Ill put an end for now :) I signed up for 08 - Michigan here I come again! Hopefully with Jim and Rob :) Jim...it was great to finally meet you. Im glad we got to share this awesome experience together. You rock!

Here is my pictures if you want to check them out. They are broke down by days, but arent in order. Sorry!

http://s25.photobucket.com/albums/c56/Cajaya/Breast%20Cancer%203%20Day%202007/

P.S. I met my September goal today - 2 days late but hey I didnt gain any weight on the 3 day. As a matter of fact I lost a pound while on it. go me!