Friday, September 23, 2011

Journal 9/23/11

FOOD
I was not a very good eater today. I haven't worked for almost 2 weeks due to my daughter's illness and then my own so tonight is my first night back in a while. I had half a granola bar (home made vegan bars) for breakfast and then lunch was vegan chickn nuggets, smashed potatoes, steamed broccoli and sauteed mushrooms. Then I went to take my nap to prepare to be up all night and when I woke up I just had some chips and salsa. And a pop. :( I needed caffeine. Since I work nights my eating day won't end until after midnight so I'll include that meal as well since I brought it from home. I brought leftover vegan meatballs and red sauce with pasta and an apple. Then I brought another of the home made granola bars to eat if I get hungry in the morning before I go home. I guess it's not terrible but not as good as I would have liked to have eaten. I'll get better at figuring out how to do this with working!

EXERCISE
I didn't. :(  I did not sleep well last night so I was super tired this morning and then slept all afternoon. I plan to come home and do my run before I go to sleep in the morning though. Hold me to it! I want to get 4 in this week!!!

Weight Loss 9/23/11

Weight Loss Progress

This is my weight chart. The first weight is August 4, 2011. The most current is today 9/23/11. I'm trying to weigh in about every 10 days. As you can see I initially lost weight when we went vegan (August 4th) and then gained. That's because we went out of town and we gone for 9 days and ate like garbabge the whole time. But I started exercising 2 weeks ago and I've seen great progress since then.

Here are the weights so far:

8/4/11 - 262.2
8/15/11 -257.4  down 4.8
8/30/11 -260.7  up 3.3
9/14/11 -256.8  down 3.9
9/23/11 -254.2  down 2.6

I plan to also do measurements every month. The last measurements were done 9/5/11. Once we do them again (probably next weigh in on or around Oct 3rd) I will post those as well. I am noticing a difference in my clothes though so I am hopeful that I've also lost some inches!

Thursday, September 22, 2011

Journal 9/22/11

I did my C25K Week 2 Day 3 today. This is three days in a row that I've done my running!!! I was so sore last night I didn't know if I was going to be able to do it today but I just went out and did it. The secret for me is to put my exercise clothes next to the toilet in my bathroom so I have to look at them every time I go in there. And since I'm sitting there on the toilet half dressed anyhow it's enough motivation for me to just put the clothes on. Once I have the clothes on then I might as well go out and just start. I always give myself permission to stop if I need to but I never do. I don't feel worn out until about half way thru if I do get worn out and once I've started then I like to just finish it. I spent the $1.99 for the C25K app on my phone and I love it. I can listen to my music while I do it and that helps me get focused too. When it's time to run or walk a voice comes on and tells me and when I do a run it always says "good job!"  It seems corny but it really does help. There is one for the 10K training program as well and I've already purchased it. Once I complete this 9 week program I plan to just start that on the following week. No excuses.

Another thing I have done to keep me motivated to keep going is to plan to run in a 5k on Nov 20th. I haven't paid for it yet but I plan to. Once I've paid for it then I'm IN! I want all of us to do it together. That's why we're all doing the training together now. I think it would be awesome to be able to run 5Ks together as a family. Since my girls are older it's really nice and it gives them a good base to keep going into their adulthood. I was never into sports or any sort of activity. We just never did that stuff as a family. I think showing them that activity can be fun to do is a good thing that they'll take with them. Maybe that way they won't struggle with weight as they get older. I hope.

As far as food I'm doing pretty well. I had a half a grapefruit this morning along with a couple pieces of pumpkin bread that K made. It was nice. She also made up a recipe for granola bars that are nut free, yummy and packed with protein. Plus they're vegan. Of course. They turned out great!! Maybe that'll be a great breakfast for when we're on the go. Lunch is red beans and rice and salad with vinaigrette. Yum! Dinner was pasta with vegan meatballs and red sauce with some texas toast. Also yum. I don't count calories or anything. I just make sure I stay vegan and control my portion size. It seems to be working so far!!

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Journal 9/21/11

I did week 2 day 2 of the couch to 5k. It was not bad. I did it with the girls. It was fun! Several hours later, however, OUCH! Two runs in two days and my body is freaking out!!! My legs and back are killing me. I'm going to take Tylenol tonight and we'll see how I feel tomorrow. If I don't feel up to running tomorrow though I'll at least walk. I just need to keep moving!!!

The food is going good today too. Strictly vegan all day. :)

Overall a good day. We've been weighing in every 10 days and it's just 3 more days to weigh in day. I'll update all that then.

Goals

These are the goals I have set for myself for the next 12 months. I plan to update them as I complete them.


  1. Quit soda -by January 1
  2. Begin strength training program -by January 1
  3. Run 5K -by January 1
  4. Train at least 3 times a week -cont.
  5. Run 10K -by March 1
  6. Become strictly vegan -by March 1
  7. Cholesterol below 200 -by March 1
  8. Run half marathon -by June 1
  9. No more depression -by June 1
  10. Lose 100 lbs. -by Sept 1
On the first of every month I will update my progress on these goals and add more goals as I check them off!

Why this blog?

I am starting this blog because I want to record the process as I go from being a couch potato with 100 lbs to lose to a completely vegan person who runs races. It seems insurmountable right now as I sit at 257 lbs but I am determined to make this happen. Here I will document how I did it so that someone else out there who is sitting where I am now can see that it can be done. I plan on journaling every day or at least several times a week to document how I'm eating and the exercise I'm doing to keep myself accountable.

Food: This is my biggest issue I'm sure. At least 70%.  I love food. It's been a constant friend and comforter for me and I just need to find something else. I'm not sure yet what that's going to be but I need to find something else. As long as I can remember I've snuck food, I have stolen food, I've hoarded it and eaten secretly. Most people in my life don't know this. I have come to realize that I am an absolute food addict. The problem though is that I can't quit food. I just have to learn how to relate differently to it. I seriously think it would be easier to be a freaking alcoholic! This addiction is brutal. It's everywhere. There is no escaping it. EVER. So what I have chosen to do is cut certain foods out of my diet completely by becoming vegan. My cholesterol right now is 235 and so by cutting out animal products I will eventually reduce my cholesterol since that's where cholesterol is found. I'm going to have it rechecked in January. I hope I have a better number to report.

Exercise: Also a huge problem for me. I don't move unless I have to. First of all, it hurts to move a lot when you're heavy. But I have to remind myself that the more I do it the lesser I will weigh and the better it will feel. I have to keep that in my mind while I'm exercising otherwise all I think about is the pain. The program that I'm choosing to do is the Couch to 5K Running Training Program.  I have done it before years ago and it really does work. It works you up slowly from barely running to running for 30 minutes. It really makes it possible. That will take me 9 weeks. I'm currently on week 2.  But I don't plan on stopping there. After that there is a 10K training program too. There are more after that too all the way to becoming a marathon runner.   For some strange reason I have always had running as a goal for myself. I'm not exactly sure why since I have never been a very fit or athletic person. I guess I'll have to blame it on my late Aunt Sandy. She's my mom's sister and had always struggled with weight. Then she became a runner. It changed her whole life. She never struggled with it again. She has truly been my inspiration and I promised myself and her when she died 3 years ago that I would actually do it. And I will.

So there are my plans for how I am going to accomplish this. If you are someone who is struggling with weight please come and do it with me. I know we can do this. I know it is in me and I know it is in you.

Journal 9/20/11

I did Week 2 Day 1 of my couch to 5k program. It wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. I was worried because week 1 day 1 was really tough. I couldn't even complete it! I just kept trucking and I was exhausted and my heart was pounding out of my chest when I was done but I did it!!

I ate mostly vegan today until dinner and then K and I were feeling like Mexican and so we splurged and ate dairy. I had a cheese quesidilla and some chips and salsa. Not great I know. Oh well. Tomorrow is a better day!