Fifth Time's the Fastest... Week Three 11/2

[mrsxsparrow]

Contents in post #3

Hi! My name is Nicole and I'm new to the WISH boards. I'll admit to be a lurker though... I've found inspiration lurking around these boards before. I figured now is the time to start my own WISH journal.

A Little Bit About Me
I'm 23 years old and in my last year of college in Southern California. I've had some personal issues the past few years, which is why college has taken me longer than it should have. I also moved back home a few years ago and currently live with my mom, stepdad, and brother. We have a nice family though and I'm pretty happy here. But this year is the year I get my life back on track.

I've had a weight problem for as long as I can remember. The summer before sixth grade I started Weight Watchers with my mom. I lost 50 pounds that year, which, for someone who was about 5 feet tall, was a LOT. I went from wearing boy's husky jeans to wearing a girl's size 0.

I slowly gained weight throughout high school, but nothing major. When I graduated, I was overweight, but not by a lot. I felt normal.

Then college hit, as did the personal problems I alluded to earlier. Now I'm 110 pounds heavier than I'd like to be. But if all goes as planned (or rather, WHEN ) I won't stay that way for long.

What's with the title?
Fifth time's the fastest. In the past three years I've walked several 5k's and four half marathons (all of the Disney -- three Disneyland halves and one WDW half). Each half took me a little longer than the last one did. This is NOT the pattern that I should be following! I just started training for the Tinkerbell half in January, and I plan to make this the first time I finish in the official time limit (3 and 1/2 hours).

Why now?
Why not now? I'm tired of spending my 20's so overweight. I want to feel good and feel like I look good. I want to be healthy and finish the next half successfully. And... we just booked a Disney cruise to the Bahamas next July and I plan on living in a bathing suit

So here's a picture of my from this year's Flower and Garden Festival as a starting point:

(Hint: I'm not the super skinny one in shorts )

Current stats:
Weight: 244
Body Fat: I forget. I'll post this in the morning

This week's goals:
Eat breakfast
Follow my half marathon training schedule
Make it to my WW meeting
Hit the gym & sign up for personal training

I'll be back tomorrow! Feel free to leave a comment, I love them

 

[dragitoff]

I'm a newbie too, but let me be the first to welcome you! That first step is always the hardest. Now, you've got that behind you, it's off to the races! You've got a lot of support here. That's for sure!

 

[mrsxsparrow]

Week One: Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday through Tuesday, Wednesday, Week One Goal Check + Goals for Week Two
Week Two: Thursday
Week Three

 

[mrsxsparrow]

I'm a newbie too, but let me be the first to welcome you! That first step is always the hardest. Now, you've got that behind you, it's off to the races! You've got a lot of support here. That's for sure!

Thanks! I'm looking forward to reading about other people's journeys and getting more involved in the community here. I've read a couple stories already and love seeing the WISH people at the Disney races, and I'm looking forward to being one of them

 

[mrsxsparrow]

So, today is Day One of my current weight loss journey.

It wasn't that great of a day, to be honest.

Last night as I was getting ready for bed, I felt an urge to clean. I'm a big night person, and also a messy person, so as weird as it may sound, every once in a while I get the urge to clean late at night. Last night was one of those nights, and I ended up cleaning until about 2:30AM. Which meant I was dead tired and overslept this morning.

So right away, I didn't hit my first goal, since I skipped breakfast. I did, however, make it to my WW meeting. I went for the first time (again) three weeks ago, then skipped two weeks. But I made it back today. Didn't do very well -- gained almost five pounds since my last weigh-in. Awesome. Except not.

I also didn't exercise/go to the gym today. I can make the excuse that I had no time -- woke up late, went to work, attended my meeting, then came home and worked some more. But if I really wanted to I could have easily fit in some sweat time.

I'm feeling pretty discouraged. I usually start out so well. I'm also a perfectionist, and I hate when I have trouble with something. I almost broke down and cried in my WW meeting. I've been battling my weight for so long -- I'm just tired of it and want to be done.

All I can say is that tomorrow is a new day, and hopefully goes better than today did. I went out and bought some meal replacement shakes today, even though I've always been against the idea of them. But I really want to get into the habit of eating breakfast, and figure this way it should be super easy and leave me with no excuse not to eat.

Even though I'm bummed about how today went, I did have one victory -- attending my meeting. That's at least one goal met for the week.

Here's to hoping tomorrow will be better

 

[dragitoff]

keep up the positive attitude! As with any weight loss or fitness regimen, you're going to have ups and downs. I have to remind myself it's a journey, not a sprint. You have to build on the positives and slowly replace the negatives.

I heard my pastor say one time, changing something doesn't always happen overnight. It's taken you years to develop and perfect those bad habits. Give it time to develop new and better ones, but don't give up!

 

[mrsxsparrow]

I'm feeling a little bit better about today.

It wasn't perfect by any means, and there's a lot I can improve upon. But I think its a start.

It was freezing here this morning. Well, it was probably only in the 60s, but I thought it was freezing. So I microwaved a frozen diet dinner thing for breakfast. Not the best choice, but hey, I ate breakfast! Whoo!

Lunch was bad, but still better than I've been eating. I count it as a small (tiny) victory.

Dinner, on the other hand, was AWESOME. I was so proud I even took a picture:

That's a cup of brown rice, 1 baked tortilla-crusted tilapia filet, and some grilled asparagus. It was delicious and only totaled about 380 calories.

After dinner I felt incredibly motivated and went out and did the first day of the Couch to 5k program. I've started and stopped this program so many times, but hopefully this time I'll actually finish.

So to recap: ate breakfast and worked out, which was on my training schedule for the day. So hit most of my goals for the day.

Since today ended well, I'm hoping tomorrow will start on the same successful foot!

On a side note, I just watched James Franco cut off his arm in 127 Hours. That is GROSS and looks unbelievably painful! I should not have picked this movie for right before bedtime

 

[mrsxsparrow]

I feel so much better today! I'm starting to get really excited about my journey and where I hope I'll be in the end.

I ate breakfast again, even though it was just a handful of low-fat Wheat Thins and a low-fat string cheese. Not awesome, but not terrible. It was once again too cold for a shake in the morning!

Lunch was a veggie tostada from Baja Fresh, no sour cream. I ate about a third of the shell it came in, but I figured it into my points for the day and it all came out okay.

Dinner was Subway. I've always done well here -- turkey, wheat bread, loads of veggies. I love vinegar, especially balsamic, so I get a little of the oil blend (on the Weight Watchers plan you're supposed to get two teaspoons of healthy oil in a day) and LOTS of vinegar. No fatty mayo or other dressings for me!

I also completed Week One, Day 2 of couch to 5k today. I was a little faster than yesterday. I feel pretty sore, but I've always loved being sore. To me its a sign of a good workout

No workouts planned for tomorrow. I'm walking to Long Beach 5k Sunday and I don't want to feel to sore for it.

I'm feeling much more motivated and hoping that will last. Tomorrow I'm heading down to Disneyland for the Haunted Mansion pin release. I'm there all the time though, so I'm not too worried about avoiding things I shouldn't eat. Plus I don't think we'll be there past lunch time.

Today I came up with new long term goals:
1) 40 pounds by the Tinkerbell Half Marathon (Jan. 29th). That works out to a little over 2.5 pounds a week, but I'm hoping to drop more this week since its my first week, so it should even out to a little less than that.

2) 100 pounds by the cruise (July 22). That's a little less than 2.5 pounds a week. I feel like that's a lot, but I'm all about aiming high.

So we'll see. Monday I'm signing up for a large personal training package, and that should keep the weight loss going until cruise time. I need to look awesome on Castaway Cay

 

[lurkernj]

Sounds like you're on a roll!! Hope things are continuing to go well for you.

In regards to eating the entree for bfast, I actually think that's supposed to be good. Protein to start your day. and your body burns carbs better in the morning (so I'm told). So keep up the good work and take it one day at a time.

 

[dragitoff]

Sounds like you're on a roll!! Hope things are continuing to go well for you.

In regards to eating the entree for bfast, I actually think that's supposed to be good. Protein to start your day. and your body burns carbs better in the morning (so I'm told). So keep up the good work and take it one day at a time.

I tend to agree with that. I'm not a chiseled specimen of perfect health by any means, but I've drastically altered how I perceive carbs and protein. It's increased even more since I stopped drinking caffiene. I need my energy from somewhere!

I drink the Gatorade pre-workout drink prior to running, Gatorade post-workout drink after running and usually have a MetRX protein bar for breakfast since most of the healthy breakfast foods I'm not crazy about.

As for your goals mrsxsparrow, that's what you have to do. Make goals and push with everything you have for them. Otherwise, what's your motivation and barometer of your progress?

In January, when I said I wanted to lose 50 pounds, I thought it was unrealistic. I was 255 then and hadn't weight less than 215 since my college years. I've always been a bigger guy and couldn't imagine how I'd look.

Now, I know again and have kept it off for 5 months now.

 

[mrsxsparrow]

Sounds like you're on a roll!! Hope things are continuing to go well for you.

In regards to eating the entree for bfast, I actually think that's supposed to be good. Protein to start your day. and your body burns carbs better in the morning (so I'm told). So keep up the good work and take it one day at a time.

Thanks! Like I said, I do count it as a victory. I too have heard that lunch/dinner entrees are good for breakfast. The bad part is that it was pasta -- simple carbs, not much protein. But it definitely could've been worse.

I tend to agree with that. I'm not a chiseled specimen of perfect health by any means, but I've drastically altered how I perceive carbs and protein. It's increased even more since I stopped drinking caffiene. I need my energy from somewhere!

I drink the Gatorade pre-workout drink prior to running, Gatorade post-workout drink after running and usually have a MetRX protein bar for breakfast since most of the healthy breakfast foods I'm not crazy about.

As for your goals mrsxsparrow, that's what you have to do. Make goals and push with everything you have for them. Otherwise, what's your motivation and barometer of your progress?

In January, when I said I wanted to lose 50 pounds, I thought it was unrealistic. I was 255 then and hadn't weight less than 215 since my college years. I've always been a bigger guy and couldn't imagine how I'd look.

Now, I know again and have kept it off for 5 months now.

No caffeine?? I'm a complete (diet) soda addict. I've tried quitting more than once, and logically I know that I feel better when I up my water intake and drink less soda. That's one of my upcoming goals, but I'm definitely not ready to start that right away

And you're right about the goals. I'd rather set high ones and not quite reach them than set lower ones and feel content to stop there when I hit them.

 

[mrsxsparrow]

I had a super busy weekend!

Woke up early on Saturday... like 5:30AM. Considering anything before noon is considered "early" for me, this was pretty amazing.

But after all, we were going here:

Disneyland! If you've only ever been to Disney World, then yes, our castle really is that small!

There was a special Haunted Mansion pin release. Since my dad collects, my brother and I went to pick them up. It was actually pretty cool -- we got to go through a secret underground tunnel! Okay, so it was only cool if you're a complete Disney nerd, but since that's exactly what I am, I was so excited!

First we walked through a cast members only door next to one shop. Then we went down some stairs...

Through a hallway...

Up some more stairs...

And then we were in a different store! Amazing!

We also rode Space Mountain Ghost Galaxy...

And my brother checked out the Sailing Ship Columbia.

All in all it was a good day. I had a shake for breakfast as we ran out the door. At Disney I did have some popcorn (I collect the cool holiday buckets, and the new one this year was a Jack Skellington coffin! So cool!) but I split it with three other people. Lunch was half a chicken caesar salad, and dinner was pasta with vegetables tossed in just a little olive oil -- light on the pasta, heavy on the veggies. I definitely count Saturday as a good day!

Okay, I'll come back in a little bit to update the rest of my weekend.

Continued in next post...

 

[mrsxsparrow]

Sunday my mom and brother ran the Long Beach half marathon, while my dad and I walked the Run Forrest Run 5K.

We woke up even earlier than yesterday... 4:30AM. Way too early! I chose not to do the half this time. I've only ever done Disney halves and they've spoiled me with their bling! The long beach bling was way too small for me to suffer through 13.1 miles. Plus there wasn't enough time to train, and last night I just pulled off my second toenail that I lost as a result of the Disneyland half last month.

But the 5K was pretty fun. It was sponsored by Bubba Gump's, so thus the Forrest Gump reference. At the start we were cheered on by Forrest himself! You can kind of see him on the podium in this picture:

And here's my dad at mile 2:

We had to wait about an hour in between the start time for the half and the 5k. But we got to watch the sun rise over the Long Beach harbor which was so pretty!

Afterwards, we all went to In 'n Out. If you don't live on the west coast and have never been, seriously, you are missing out on the best fast food burger EVER. Soooo delicious.

I don't even really remember Monday, I was so tired from the weekend. I know I didn't do terribly but probably not the best. Today was similar. I think I'm doing fine, but not nearly well enough to hit my goals. I really need to step it up. Tomorrow is the last day of my "diet" week, so I'll weigh in and such. I'm also planning on going to the gym and finally signing up for personal training. I definitely need to start doing more.

 

[dragitoff]

No caffeine?? I'm a complete (diet) soda addict. I've tried quitting more than once, and logically I know that I feel better when I up my water intake and drink less soda. That's one of my upcoming goals, but I'm definitely not ready to start that right away

And you're right about the goals. I'd rather set high ones and not quite reach them than set lower ones and feel content to stop there when I hit them.

I knew I wanted to kick caffeine for a while. Every time I had tried I had these horrible headaches. I used to battle with alcohol and drug problems so I know any time your body depends and has side effects from not getting something, it's not a good thing. I got a really bad bacterial infection in May (right before my last Disney trip) and couldn't eat or drink anything for 3 days other than water, gatorade and IV fluids. Since I was so "doped" up, I didn't notice the caffeine withdrawal headaches. I decided after that I wasn't going back on the stuff! lol. I will still have a glass of sweet tea (I'm from GA remember? ), but I'm not dependent on the caffeine any longer.

I was also reading your recap of the weekend and it sounds like you were really busy! That's great! One of the things I tell my youth at church is if you keep yourself occupied doing things that keep you on the right track, you'll have less opportunity to slip up and get into trouble. Idle hands and all. I think the same is true when you're trying to diet, exercise, and lose weight.

 

[mrsxsparrow]

Hi, my name is Nicole and I'm a food addict.


Food addiction is something that not all those in the medical community agree actually exists. But I strongly feel that it does, and I'm a prime example.

There are scans that show that in certain people, food triggers the a release of chemicals in an area of the brain incredibly similar to what scans show when you give drugs to a drug addict. But its more than that.

Being a psychology major, I know the behaviors of addicts and I meet almost all of them. I eat in secret. I hide food. I'm constantly thinking about what I'm going to eat next. I stay up late, sometimes until 3AM, even if I'm exhausted, just so I can eat while everyone else sleeps. I eat almost constantly, even when I'm not hungry. On a normal day, I grab fast food, ordering two meals so the people I deal with don't think I'm eating alone. Then, of course, I eat both meals. And I deny that I have a problem.

I'm just so tired of living this way. I've been working with a psychiatrist for a while now. For the past few years I've also struggled with a pretty major form of depression, and I think I've gotten that pretty much under control. I had hoped that the food would get better as I got the depression under control, but apparently food is a separate issue.

I got a new prescription today that should up my energy and decrease my appetite. I'm usually anti-meds, especially since I know things like energy get better with healthy eating and more activity. But to be honest, I'm feeling so defeated right now, I'll take whatever I can that might help.

I gained half a pound this week. I also signed up for personal training at my gym.

Since I weigh in on Wednesday nights, I'm starting my weeks on Thursdays. I'll do a goal check in my next post.

Goal Check

 

[mrsxsparrow]

My goals for this week were to eat breakfast, follow my training schedule, make it to my Weight Watchers meeting, go to the gym, and to sign up for personal training. I didn't eat breakfast every morning, but I did manage to complete the rest of my goals. 4 out of 5 isn't bad.

Weight:
Last week's weight: 244
This week's weight: 244.4
Total weight change: +0.4

Next Week's Goals:
Eat breakfast
Follow training schedule
Drink at least 64 ounces of water a day

 

[lurkernj]

Just wanted to tell you to keep it up!!!! I love your weekly goal check, it just sums it all up.

I used to go to WW too and I hated that .something, I mean seriously, .4 up is really nothing, could just be a beverage, or an underwire bra, or a monthly hormonal thing. I was so obsessed when I went that if I thought I'd be near the 0 mark, I'd go braless (barely noticeable on me), and wear really light clothing, just so it wouldn't be up .something. Don't sweat it. You kept 4 out of 5 goals. And participated in the race! Great job!

 

[dragitoff]

Hope you're hanging in there and doing well! Haven't seen any updates in a few days!

 

[mrsxsparrow]

Okay so... its been awhile. Whoops. I've been completely off the wagon the past two weeks or so. It hasn't been pretty. I just felt so overwhelmed and discouraged I stopped trying. It wasn't as if I gained and didn't know why -- I knew exactly what was happening and I was just disappointed in myself and complete lack of self-control.

BUT. I'm back now. And feeling motivated. So I'm just going to pretended the last two weeks didn't happen.

I am now up to 245 however. It isn't a pretty number, but at least its a full number. Also, I've always loved multiples of 5, so there's that.

Yesterday I had my first personal training session. Um... wow. I love feeling sore, but today I've waddled more than walked and it takes me like 20 minutes to sit down or stand back up! I also walk down stairs sideways. My legs are killing me! But its an awesome, gratifying feeling -- I know I worked hard yesterday and this is my reward.

I'm pretty much in love with my personal trainer. She's going to completely kick my butt, I know it. I think she's as excited as I am. Having danced pretty seriously for 16 years (as in, 4-5 hours of practice 6 days a week), she knows I'm capable of pushing myself and working like an athlete. Its just a matter of getting back there.

She's also already going above and beyond for me. I can only afford to train with her once a week, even though its "strongly suggested" I train twice or three times a week. I figured it might be a slight disadvantage, but that she could write up a schedule for me to follow the days I'm not training with her.

Instead, she told me that while she can't technically train me when I'm not paying for it, we'll arrange two extra days each week where I'll come in, she'll show me exactly what to do that day, then stick around until I'm finished so she can make sure I'm doing it correctly and I can go see her if I have any questions. Like I said... I think I'm in love

Even though I've gotten off track, I feel WAY more motivated now than when I started. I'm getting pretty excited about the journey and how I'll look and feel in the end

 

[dragitoff]

Okay so... its been awhile. Whoops. I've been completely off the wagon the past two weeks or so. It hasn't been pretty. I just felt so overwhelmed and discouraged I stopped trying. It wasn't as if I gained and didn't know why -- I knew exactly what was happening and I was just disappointed in myself and complete lack of self-control.

BUT. I'm back now. And feeling motivated. So I'm just going to pretended the last two weeks didn't happen.

I am now up to 245 however. It isn't a pretty number, but at least its a full number. Also, I've always loved multiples of 5, so there's that.

Yesterday I had my first personal training session. Um... wow. I love feeling sore, but today I've waddled more than walked and it takes me like 20 minutes to sit down or stand back up! I also walk down stairs sideways. My legs are killing me! But its an awesome, gratifying feeling -- I know I worked hard yesterday and this is my reward.

I'm pretty much in love with my personal trainer. She's going to completely kick my butt, I know it. I think she's as excited as I am. Having danced pretty seriously for 16 years (as in, 4-5 hours of practice 6 days a week), she knows I'm capable of pushing myself and working like an athlete. Its just a matter of getting back there.

She's also already going above and beyond for me. I can only afford to train with her once a week, even though its "strongly suggested" I train twice or three times a week. I figured it might be a slight disadvantage, but that she could write up a schedule for me to follow the days I'm not training with her.

Instead, she told me that while she can't technically train me when I'm not paying for it, we'll arrange two extra days each week where I'll come in, she'll show me exactly what to do that day, then stick around until I'm finished so she can make sure I'm doing it correctly and I can go see her if I have any questions. Like I said... I think I'm in love

Even though I've gotten off track, I feel WAY more motivated now than when I started. I'm getting pretty excited about the journey and how I'll look and feel in the end

Glad you're back on the wagon. Don't let a bad week throw you off your game. Stay strong and you'll see the rewards. Remember, healthy living is a marathon, not a 40 yard dash! Stay strong for the long run and you'll be great! We're all here rooting you on!