I Ain't Afraid - Halloween 5K & 10K

How is it the last day of August already?  Time has just been flying by unless it's those eight hours I'm at work because those almost always seem to drag by.  I have plans to update you later this week on where I've been this past month and what I've been up to.  But today I have something exciting to share with you.

Lately I've been thinking about signing up for a 5K race in order to give myself something to focus on training for.  I was searching the Internet for one that would fit into my life and just could not find one that gave me enough time to train or wasn't months away.  Shannon from Tatlock's Truth came to my rescue and tweeted at me about doing a virtual race which we could both do and be accountable to each other.  They even mail you a medal!

Because we couldn't wait to get going we chose the I Ain't Afraid - Halloween 5K & 10K.  This race is going to celebrate Halloween AND bring awareness to Breast Cancer as October is also Breast Cancer Awareness month.  The great thing about virtual races is you can run it when it works with your schedule during the month of October and where ever you are (you choose the course)!  The registration cost is $18 which includes your medal and shipping.  Plus, at least $4 of every registration will go to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation.

Shannon and I didn't want to have all of the fun ourselves so we wanted to invite all of you to join us!  A closed group page has been created on Facebook so we can support one another, share training schedules, struggles, and a picture of ourselves at the completion of our run.  No matter your skill level we hope you join us!

I signed up to run the 5K and plan to follow the Couch to 5K program via the free app by Zenlabs.  This is an eight week program that I am beginning this week and will complete the last week of October.  I also plan to run my 5K during the last week of October, maybe even on Halloween.

Don't miss out on the fun, get signed up and join the Facebook page so we can get to training!

Weigh In Wednesday: July 29

SW: 224.4

July 17: 216.6 (-1.0)

July 24: 214.6

Change: -2.0

Total Loss: -9.8

So the scale has been moving in the right direction and I'm less than half a pound away from that ten pound loss mark again! I won't lie, it was a bit frustrating to have to lose the same old pounds that I lost once before. Now that I have them all lost again I hope to never find them ever again.

I've got a short list of things I want to share with you on this fine Wednesday night.

Failure to plan is planning to fail! I don't know how many times I see this while browsing Pinterest or how many times I've talked about this already on the blog but until I'm actually planning I will keep reminding myself about it.  It is a such a true statement.  Without a plan for what I will be eating for the week I tend to not even buy groceries which leads to poor choices like not eating much or choosing unhealthy foods.  To fix this issue I think I'm going to have to move my departure time up from my parents' house.  I've been staying there until 9pm on Sunday nights and I'm not in the mood to hit up the grocery store before returning to my apartment let alone cooking at 10pm or later. Even though grocery shopping and meal prepping on Monday nights works it leaves Monday morning and the midday to chance which isn't starting my week off on the right foot.

Weekends are tough.  I'm haven't been tracking on weekends and am much more relaxed with my food and drink choices.  Even though I've been seeing results on the scale I know that I cannot continue to only change my habits during the week if I want to continue to see results and be able to maintain a new lifestyle for the long term.  I am also very lazy on the weekends.  My step count suffers terribly Saturday and Sunday every week.  I need and want to work on being more active on the weekends.  Bo would love it if I took him for a walk or two or three/four so there is absolutely no excuse for my couch potato ways.

I've been bitten by the running bug.  I've been having the itch to run but haven't given in yet and scratched the itch.  I've even thought about signing up for a 5K in order to give myself something to train for. But how do I find a 5K race to sign up for?  Runners, I need you help!  What are your tips for finding races?

I'm loving Body Pump! I killed it at Body Pump tonight and I loved that feeling.  I'm looking forward to continuing on this Body Pump journey to see where it takes me and increasing the number of reps I complete and increasing my weights as well.

I will finally try RPM tomorrow. I am strangely excited to try this new form of torture called RPM (cycling).  Pray for me.

I joined a DietBet.  I joined Erin and signed up for a DietBet Sunday night.  I submitted my weight Sunday night and now have until August 23 to lose 4% of my weight.  For me, 4% comes out to be 8.8 pounds which would put me at 210 pounds.  You might be doing the math based on the weigh in I shared above and be thinking that I should have a goal weight less than that.  And you would be right, except I weighed in on Sunday night.  Strategy my friends, strategy.  It may not be the correct way to go about it buuut I'm running with it.  When I am ready to submit my final weight I will weigh in in the morning, much like I do for my Friday weigh ins.

How was your weigh in Wednesday?

It's Mine to Move

SW: 224.4

July 3: 217.8

July 10: 217.6

Change: -0.2

Total Loss: -6.8

I've been having an off week. Not sure what else to really say about it. Thank you Aunt Flo for visiting last week but why do you have to mess with the week after too?

Looking at my goals for the month I'm not doing great with them but not horrible either. It's time to buckle down to turn the rest of the month around. This is me recommitting to my goals and to making this lifestyle change happen.

And because I need to remind myself of this daily I'm sharing this again.

How was your weigh in Wednesday? (Yes, I know it's Thursday :) )

Tracking Equals Weight Loss

SW: 224.4

June 5: 217.0 (+1.0)

June 12: 216.5 (-0.5)

June 19: No Weigh In

June 26: 218.4 (+1.9)

July 3: 217.8 (-0.6)

Total Loss: -6.6

Over two months ago I was so excited to share that I had lost 10 pounds since joining Weight Watchers. But since that day all I have done is gradually gain some of those lost pounds back. I'm disappointed that it happened but I know it didn't just happen. I did something to cause those gains. Or rather I wasn't doing something.

This loss, although small, was huge for me today. I have now lost 10 pounds since joining #WeightWatchers! I have never lost 10 pounds before at any point in my previous weight loss attempts so this is a first for me. Even though I have been off my game the scale has still been moving down almost every week so I must be doing something right. #fitfam #weightloss #fit4fifteen

A photo posted by Amy (@lnlbyamy) on May 22, 2015 at 4:59am PDT

Last night I took the time to log into my Weight Watchers account on my computer and take a peek at some of the progress reports that they provide. It was when I looked at the monthly report that I noticed that tracking equals weight loss and not tracking equals weight gain. The amount of activity points earned one week versus the next didn't make a difference. For instance, 6/19-6/25 I earned 14 activity points but tracked 1/7 days and I gained 1.9 pounds. Then the week of 6/26-7/2 I earned 14 activity points and tracked 4/7 days and I lost 0.6 pounds. The same amount of activity points were earned but the number of days I tracked my food was obviously greater one week to the next.

I also feel like I should note that the entire time I have been following the Weight Watchers program I have never changed up my eating a whole lot. I have continued to eat a lot of the same foods I have always eaten but either in smaller portions or by making smarter choices at other meals to balance out a poor choice. This is one of the reasons that I love Weight Watchers and believe that I can make a lifestyle change with the program. I can eat whatever I want! I just have to be smart about it.

I will leave you today with this.

How I am approaching this journey going forward.

How was your weigh-in Wednesday?

Hello July!

The last time I posted my goals for the month was April. That means I missed two whole months of goal setting and during those two months I realized that I missed it. Taking the time to write down my goals helps me have a more productive month and as a result I feel better. So even though I'm a little late to the game I figure it's better late than never. Am I right?

Life

1. Wake up by 6am Monday - Friday. I think this goal needs a permanent spot on my goal list because it seems that once I think I have it under control I'm back to staying in bed until 6:30am every morning and am rushing to get out the door in time for work. Just this past Friday I was up on time and it was awesome to have time to pack my bag for the weekend, take out the garbage, and be ready for work with enough time to stop at Dunkin Donuts. I definitely need to remember that feeling when I'm fighting the urge to hit the snooze button.

2. Balance my checkbook. I feel less in control of my money when I'm not on top of balancing my checkbook and it's been too long. Usually it seems that I take the time to do it when it's slow at work but I should really be taking the time to do it at home.

3. Clean my apartment. I half way cleaned my place in June but it needs a full deep cleaning. It would be nice to have people over spur of the moment without worrying about what my place looks like. Maybe I shouldn't be admitting that I have that worry to the world? Oh well I guess, it's my blog and I share my real life here which means the good, the bad, and the ugly.

4. Blog! This new design has helped to spark the urge to blog inside me and I cannot wait to reconnect with the blogging world. I was telling Erin during the design process that I realized I have been blogging in some way since 2008! No matter how many breaks I have taken I always seem to come back to it.

Fitness

1. Body Pump 2 times a week. Last month I finally went to Body Pump twice in one week but I haven't done that again since. I used the fact that my Pump partner for Monday night had other obligations that prevented her from attending be my reason for not going. I'm not doing myself any favors by skipping just because someone else can't go. I was even signed up for a Monday night class and I cancelled that reservation before I was even done with work. I'm disappointed in myself and know that I can do better!

2. Rib Mountain 1 time a week. A co-worker and I have started walking Rib Mountain (not really a mountain) and I want to keep it going this month. Right now we're starting out gently and only going once a week probably more because of me than her but my poor legs won't be able to handle Pump twice a week and walking the mountain more than once a week (right now). Have you seen the amount of squats and lunges in the latest Pump release?! (It's a lot, trust me.)

3. Run 1-2 times a week. (Finish the C25K program!) Its been at least a hot minute since my last run. With it finally being summer I really should be out enjoying the sun and hitting the pavement again. The C25K program has been great to me whenever I have started to follow it so I finally want to complete all eight weeks of it. (Structure is my friend so I'm not just out there winging it.)

4. Try RPM! I mentioned trying a RPM class last month but never pulled the trigger as Carolyn says. It will happen in July! The perk to RPM classes for me is that they are only 45 minutes long which means I would be able to squeeze a class in before work and still have time to shower and get ready before work. Body Pump runs a full hour so getting done at 6:30am doesn't really leave me enough time but getting done at 6:15am definitely should.

Nutrition

1. 64oz of water a day. I went off track with my water drinking for a while but I'm getting myself back on track. After dropping my tumbler in the parking lot last week I bought myself a new water bottle at Target and since then I've had renewed motivation to drink all that water (while at work). This new water bottle is 32oz so I only need to fill it twice to meet my goal. Is it just me or does having to fill something two times versus 4-5 times make it easier? Crazy mental games we play with ourselves.

2. Track everything. I've been off track with Weight Watchers and tracking and it's been showing up on the scale on Fridays. It has been proven that WW works for me when I work the program so it's time to get back to that. I won't lose weight if I'm cheating myself on being accountable with my tracking.

3. On Mondays I grocery shop and meal prep. Last week I went to the store (without a plan) and threw some things into my cart and managed to pull out a pretty decent haul. And once I was home I took the time to make some meals up for the week. It was great! Repeat performance to happen every week now even if that means back tracking to the grocery store after Body Pump and not getting around to cooking until a little later. (Last week I was at the store and cooking when I should have been at Pump.)

Whew! Lots of goals this month but totally doable and totally necessary to help me refocus and get back on track. I am looking forward to feeling in control of my life again and like I actually got something done.

What are some of your goals for July?

New Design!

Hi friends!!

Just stopping by to tell you to check out my new design. Isn't it awesome?!

Now I can't take credit for this gorgeous face lift that my blog received. Erin from Love, Fun & Football is the wonderful genius behind the beautiful design.  I hope you check out her blog and show her some love. And while you're exploring her blog I really hope you click over to her design site! Erin does more than just blog designs so keep her in mind for invites too!

Now I've got to get back to The Bachelorette. I'll see you soon! :)

Weigh In Wednesday: June 10

Height: 5'7.5''

SW: 224.4

May 29: 216.0 (+1.6)

June 5: 217.0 (+1.0)

Total Loss: 7.4

Woof! Since joining Weight Watchers this is my first time with two gains in a row. This is definitely not the direction I would like to be moving in.

I'll just be honest with you guys, I've still be slacking on tracking my food and really trying to meal plan for the week ahead. The Weight Watchers app reminds me to track but when I'm eating crap and a lot of it it's much easier to avoid tracking it. Tracking my food does it's job, it makes me think about what I'm eating and evaluate my choices. But when I'm off the program it's not fun to track that to have proof that I've messed up. But I know on days when I don't track or only track a meal or two that I went off the program and quit caring. I've been tracking the last few days even if my food choices haven't been the best, so we'll see where that gets me. Next week will be better once I actually have some good food to eat in my fridge.

Today I attended my second Body Pump class of the week. I've been going to Body Pump once a week for a while and have thought about adding a second class but never pulled the trigger on it. Without someone to go with it was always easier to not go to a second class because no one was expecting me. It's an excuse for sure, I'll admit it. And I'll even admit that the only reason I went twice this week is because I had people to go with me each time. The plan is for it to continue to be that way so I'm going to keep on this twice a week Pump regimen. And even if one of my Pump buddies can't I'm going to do my best to go it alone. No reason not to, right?

Group fitness classes seem to be my jam because since trying Pump for the first time I've been the most consistent than I've ever been with workouts. So even though I've slipped up on the monthly goals again this month one thing I want to do before the end of the month is try a RPM class. And I'm going to have to overcome my fear of trying new things alone because neither of my Pump buddies are interested in a cycling class. Wish me luck and that I survive the first one!

Until next time friends!