The results are in

I had my fitness re-assessment at the old gym this morning.

From January 2006 to today, I have...

- Lost 37 lbs

- Reduced by Body Fat Percentage by 7%

- Decreased my Body Mass Index from 31.2 to 25.7

- Lost 10" around my waist, 4" around my hips, 2" from each thigh and 0.75" from each arm


Yay!

say what?!

After my victory of reaching the 160's on Saturday, I went shopping. Turns out I'm a SIZE 12!!! I couldn't believe it at first ~ kept thinking there must be some mistake! The last pants I bought were a size 16! But lo and behold, the size 12's fit, and I bought 4 pairs!!!

Unfortunately I couldn't drag my lazy butt to the gym yesterday. If I don't go first thing in the morning, forget about it. My goal for the week is to run at least five times between today and Sunday. I'm going for 8K tonight.

Everything is good on the food front. I have a few confessions for the weekend, namely Popeye's chicken (ew) and Kraft Dinner, but I've realized that I can eat SOME crap and still lose weight, as long as I keep on running!

169 LBS!!!!!!!!!!!!

WOOOOHOOOO!!! As of this morning, I weigh 169 lbs. I have not been below 170 since, like, grade 11. I feel freaking awesome.

So Thursday night I played hockey with the boys for the better part of an hour. Holy crap, was that ever a workout. I am still sore ~ and not just from the bruises. I swear, I used muscles I didn't know I had. I did have one good wipe-out on the elbow and here is the result:



Owww!

But anyway, it was a lot of fun and an amazing workout, and we are totally doing that again some time.

Last night I skipped the gym because we got home late, but I had a good 4 mile (6.5 KM) run this morning. I was going for 8 KM but I quickly discovered that I really need to eat before attempting that. At the end of my run this morning, my breathing was still controlled and my legs had some more juice in them, but I was feeling pretty light-headed and dizzy. Note to self: don't run before breakfast!! (Duh.) So tomorrow I will have a hearty breakfast, digest, and then hit the treadmill to attempt 8 KM.

Today I am going shopping to replace all of my way-too-big pants. FINALLY!!!

getting back on track...

I've been MIA for a few days!

We had an amazing time at the cottage - lots of good fun, good friends, good food. Most of the food was diet-friendly and my beverages of choice were diet pop, Mike's Light and wine, so I don't think I did too much damage. Plus, we spent hours on the ice! My back, legs and shoulders were all killing me until this morning. Feels like I have finally recovered just in time for our hockey game tomorrow night! We've rented a rink at the new Aurora Leisure Centre with some friends from 10-11. I'm armed with my freshly-sharpened hot pink-laced hockey skates, hockey stick complete with pink tape and personalized Leafs jersey with pink lacing. Time to bust some moves tomorrow night!

Anyway, I haven't weighed in, but I feel okay. I don't think I blew it.

I dragged my butt back to the gym last night for a 3 mile run. We are having a decadent dinner with friends tonight, so no gym for me. And of course, hockey tomorrow. Friday evening I will get get back on track with the running. I should be at 8K (5 miles) now. My legs hurt just thinking about it.

Happy Valentine's Day and remember, chocolate is calorie-free today! At least, that's what I told myself when I dug into the Lindor hearts my husband gave me!

Let's hear it for FRIDAY!!!

Just two more hours of work til our extended weekend away at Sharbot Lake, and that is really all that matters!

I'm going to the gym for a run tonight before taking a few days off. I considered going tomorrow morning ... for about 3 seconds! Yeah, I scrapped that idea. I'll take my extra hour of sleep instead. (I'm not quite as dedicated as some people. I'm looking at YOU, Sarah!) Although, I am going to make a brief stop at the gym in the morning just to weigh myself. I'm silly, I know.

Anyway, I'll try not to eat my weight in food this weekend and I know I'll be getting lots of exercise skating, snow-shoeing and even cross-country skiing!

TGIF!!

Not much new...

Just checking in. It's been a good week and I am confident that the scale will be down. I'm trying not to weigh myself til Saturday because I want to use the scale at the gym and Saturday will be my first opportunity to use it in the morning. Hopefully I will have some good news before we head up to Sharbot Lake for the weekend.

Someone at work today told me I am "too skinny" now. That's categorically untrue, but I'll take it as a compliment! :)

I have been to the gym 11 days out of the past 12, including the past 5 days straight. My legs are telling me (screaming at me!) that I need to take a break today, so I am.

I ran 6.5K last night as planned and my next two runs (Friday and Saturday) are scheduled to be 6.5 as well. Then next week I get to tackle 5 miles for the first time, which is a whopping 8K. I'm tired just thinking about it.

10K, here I come........

Journey to Long-Term Health and Fitness

I changed the title of my blog today. As you've probably noticed, this is no longer a South Beach Diet blog. I am following many of the guidelines laid out in the SBD (and always will), but I am paying more attention to meeting my calorie, carb, fat and protein goals on www.sparkpeople.com. All I want is to be as healthy as possible and I think this new adaptation of the SB lifestyle works better for me right now, especially because I am learning to run.

Anyway!

My legs are so sore this morning!!! I couldn't make the 6.5K that I was aiming for yesterday. Well, I probably could have, but I really had to go to the washroom so I cut it short at 5.6K.

I had a strange combination of chocolate milk, turkey pepperette and english muffin for dinner. But don't worry, tonight I will be having a more balanced dinner because we are eating with friends BEFORE the gym. For some reason, I just can't stomach a decent meal after a run.

Nothing much else to report. I haven't weighed myself again - I'm trying to wait until Saturday.

Monday - can't think of a better subject

Well it's Monday already... yet again. And it is freaking freezing cold! It has taken every ounce of my strength to stay out of the hot chocolate in the kitchen today. What I could really go for is some stew. With bread. And something hot like apple crisp for dessert. Mmmmmmmm.

Last week I ran 6 days out of 7 for a total of 19 miles or 31K. Woohoo! Yesterday I was only scheduled to run 5K, but I had a little more juice in me so I pushed it to 6.5 and it wasn't nearly as hard as the first time I ran 6.5K. Tonight I am scheduled for 6.5 so we'll see if I can do it two days in a row.

Food-wise, I didn't cheat Friday or Saturday, but yesterday was the SuperBowl party. 'Nuff said. In general, we eat way too much at every function/event/gathering/you-name-it. If there are people around and ESPECIALLY if there is something (anything) to celebrate, we are eating. Yesterday we made a valiant attempt to keep it healthy and stay in control and all things considered, most of us did okay! Sarah whipped up some fabulous Weight Watchers jalapeno poppers, nacho topping, potato skins, chili and cornbread, so we were able to indulge without totally blowing the diet. But then somebody showed up with strawberries and chocolate sauce. And then somebody else showed up with these delicious cream-cheese filled tortialla roll-ups then were warmed up in the oven. Who could resist?! In the end, though, I still don't think I did too bad. For one thing, I stuck to water and diet pop and that can make a world of difference.

But I still refuse to setp on the scale today. :)

Speaking of the scale, my friendly gym scale told me I weighed only 172 on Saturday morning!

Feelin' fab on Friday!

As it turns out, I weigh less than I thought! I had a feeling that our scale was off (the fact that we have to kick it to make it work should have been a pretty clear sign!). So I weighed myself on the scale at the gym yesterday and I was two pounds lighter than I was on our scale in the morning - and that is fully clothed at the end of the day! So my 'new' weight is 173. Su-weeeeeet!

Yesterday marked the first time that I have run 4 days in a row and my legs didn't like it too much! I managed to run 3 miles as planned, but I had to take it down a notch. Eating 1200 calories a day and burning 600+ on the treadmill is certainly taking a toll on my energy level as well. I'll rest today so I am running at full capacity again tomorrow and Sunday.

All of my size 14 and 15 pants are officially WAY too big. They are literally falling down. Looks like I will be shopping for some 12's or 13's this weekend! I have not fit into pants smaller than a size 14 in years. This is awesome.

Ran 4 miles, joined a new gym!

So, I decided to join GoodLife afterall! I got a family discount by going on Mom's account ($46/month instead of $60) and they waived first and last. It was too good to turn down. Plus, how can I not go to the same gym as my Mom and my best friend?! I'll also get to see my brother's girlfriend Lindsey there all the time once she goes back to work (she is currently being treated for a scary blood clot) because she works there. We booked with Lindsey's boss Liz and she was fantastic - not the least bit pushy! It's a completely different world from Fitness Clubs. It's definitely nice that it is a women-only club and I feel much less outnumbered by the skinny girls at this gym!

And now for the BEST news: I ran 4 miles (that's 6.5K) last night! It took about 41 minutes. I was really starting to doubt that I would be able to do it, but it wasn't quite as hard as I expected. Mind you, I have never been as exhausted as I was when I finished and I ended up going to bed at 9 o'clock.

I get a break for my next three runs - 3, 2 and 3 miles. And then it gets really tough! Check out the remaining runs on my mission to run 10K (6 miles).

3 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 3 - 4 - 4 - 4 - 5 - 5 - 4 - 5 - 6

So I should be running 10K in another 12 runs, which should be no more than 3 weeks. WOOHOO! I can do it!

I'm doing fine this week on the food front - following South Beach Phase 2, keeping track and using the guidelines on SparkPeople. I've been staying within my calorie, fat, carb and protein recommendations, si I must be doing okay!