document my body's changes regularly

In addition to December 25 of every year, Christmas comes to me once a month in the form of a Runner’s World magazine.

Receiving the June 2009 issue was no different. My eyes went wide as they do every month when the open door to my mailbox revealed the shiny gloss cover with mint pages that will be dog-eared in a matter of minutes. Just like always, I go inside of the house, toss the unimportant mail on the table (bills, ads, magazines, etc.), plop down on the nearest chair and zone out completely until I am done reading cover to cover.

It wasn’t until I reached the last page before the cover (page 116), however, that something different struck me. The article was a brief summary of a celebrity runner, Jennifer Beals of The L World, but it wasn’t the words that made me stop; it was her picture. My eyes analyzed the pretty lady in the orange top and black pants as my mind worked overtime to make sense of what about the image that made me stop. Then it hit me.

That is my body. (Not like my bod was photoshopped in there, but it was eerily similar to me)

Here I am with a slim waistline above big muscular thighs and arms that can’t make up its mind on whether they want to be lean and cut or puff out like little marshmallows. Recently I finally was able to accept my freak-a-zoid body, but it turns out, I have a runner’s body. Who knew!

Quickly, I flipped the pages back in an attempt to confirm my notion. Males and female models aside, it turns out, other female runners pictured in the issue also resembled the weird arms-slim waistline-big thighs body shape. Has my hypothesis been unscientifically deemed true?

On a recent interview with Hugh Jackman on Howard Stern, Jackman mentioned about training like who you want to look like. Well, it seems that I inadvertently trained to look like a runner, but that was never my intention. But then again, I never had a particular image I wanted to look like; I was more excited to see what my body would morph into. (Posting pictures of celebrities and models never made sense to me. You can’t look like someone else; you have a particular body shape… It’s about morphing into your own best body – now THAT is exciting stuff!!! Besides, photos are airbrushed and touched up so that exact result is unattainable. You might as well aim to look like Minnie Mouse for that matter.) Anyway, it’s an interesting feeling to know that this time I didn’t change my body to look like something; instead, my body altered itself to accommodate my passion: running.

How cool is THAT!

Soooo I gained about 6-7 pounds since hitting my lowest weight.

ARRRRRRRRGGGGGGGHHHHH!

I should not let the scale control me, after all, the scale does not account for the insane muscle I built since last December. I now have the ability to clench my quads; it’s pretty darn sexy (to me!) on how they kind of pop out on their own when I stand up. I even have that “slit” on the side of the leg… Me likey! And my biceps – holy moly. I feel strong. I look strong. My shoulders are fabulously sculpted. Even my back is starting to develop little by little. I can do full planks and rotate my planks like nobody’s business (side plank 1 min, regular plank 1 min, other side plank 1 min, regular plank 1 min, repeat – all done with no rest in between). My cardiovascular health is just fantastic: I can keep up with the hardest instructors at the gym without collapsing and I can run miles upon miles without my heart rate spiking. :)

But best of all, a gym instructor described my physique as “athletic”!!!!!!!

But I am annoyed that my once-defined 6-pack is now a puffy 4-pack-ish. A layer of fat developed on my arms, hiding my guns a little. Same to be said about my thighs.

How did this happen? Oh I so know how this happened. It’s called the holidays and marathon training.

I can’t believe I’m still battling holiday weight. It’s May for heaven’s sake!

But the marathon… Running longer distances makes me out to look like an Ethiopian at Hometown Buffet. Seriously, after an 11-miler last Monday, I ate a pretty good sized dinner (1.5 cups pasta, veggies, garlic bread, 6-9 oz jumbo shrimp), but an hour later, I was experiencing hunger pains. Not only am I eating more than HB, but I end up begging for scraps from his plate! I already upped my caloric intake to 1500-1800 with 6 meals a day, but I’m going to have to eat at least 2000 with 8 meals or so on weeks where I have a long run. That’s the downside when you start burning 1000+ calories in one session.

Thankfully, the appetite spike lasts for about 5-6 days or so. Last weekend I went a little nuts while we were in Palm Springs (yes it was a vacation, but I should still have been able to exercise some kind of restraint when it came to the chocolate fondue lol), but by Monday, my appetite lessened by a whole lot; to the point where 1300-1500 calories felt okay again (I am only 5’0)... just in time for this week’s huge reduction in mileage for rest week!

So what am I to do about the weight? Well I should do zip-zero-nothing about it, at least until I am done training for the marathon. After all, my body needs all the nutrients (and carbs carbs carbs!!!) it needs to carry to the 26.2 finish line. The real question is, “Choose one: great looking body OR finish a marathon”, after all, a it isn’t a great looking body that helps me run; it is a strong, practiced body that is fed with enough nutrients that helps me to cross this goal off my list. Plus, I certainly am desperate to become the 1% of the population who completed a marathon. Hoorah!

Riiiight. Easier said (or typed!) than done – especially when you have a pair of in laws boasting with brand new figures thanks to Weight Watchers coming into visit in two weeks. o_O (They’re actually very nice and gorgeous people. I’m happy for them and can’t wait to see how amazing they look (additional motivation!); this is just the insecure me talking/typing.)

Fortunately, I’m more of a “get it fixed” girl rather than “drown in my woes,” so here is my plan:

1. Remind myself of the commitment I made to the marathon.
2. Exercise every day. As in Monday through Sunday. I’m going back to what I know works, which is exercising every day (I did it for 120 days straight!). I already have Monday through Friday down, I just need to make Saturday and Sunday a habit. I already talked to HB about walking on the weekends and he is down for it. HB himself is currently not working out at all, so this will be a very good thing for him too.
3. Veggies veggies veggies. People say Chinese food is fattening, but I actually lost a lot of fat from eating it. lol Early in the week I order brown rice, fish steamed with ginger and onion, and three orders of different kind of veggie stir fry (eggplant dish, green beans stir fry, and gourmet vegetable). For lunch every day I would serve myself 1/2 cup brown rice, a 3 oz serving of fish and a cup of each veggie dish. That, followed by a small dinner works like a charm and – unless I’m running long distances! – keeps me from going hungry.
4. STOP PICKING MYSELF APART! Write a brag sheet on a post it and stick it next to my before picture.
5. Wear beautiful clothes It makes me feel my best and at the same time, draws my attention away from the parts I am so desperate to change.

Wish me luck as I’m certainly going to need it! Here goes…

Shhhh, confession time: I am TIRED. Actually I’ve been exhausted for a couple of weeks now. As I’m sure you can already guess, tiredness does NOT mix well when you have goals!!!

It may sound silly/ridiculous/nonsensical, but fatigue is one of a few select things about myself that I equivalate to defeat or weakness. I am proud that I finally reached a point where I can accept taking time off to injuries, although I am quick to learn from it and create a prevention plan. I can also say that I really enjoy my two complete rest days of the week; it’s a lot to me, but I love it and so does my body! My latest achievement is being able to cancel certain workouts here and there when I am fatigued, but canceling a string of workouts on my heavy load day because I’m TIRED?! This is a first, and it hurts!

I knew there was something wrong that had to be addressed while driving to the gym for my afternoon workout. There was a general, overwhelming feeling of tiredness, even though I already had an hour nap under my belt. Something felt … off… but I needed to verify it with someone who was more clearheaded than I was. Quickly, I dialed HB (I used the phone while driving-horrible, I know!), described to him what I was feeling and asked him if I really was tired or sounded like I wanted to get out of my workout. I was a bit surprised when he agreed that something was off and suggested that I go home, and so (siiiigh) here I am.

1. Overtraining? This was my first thought. The symptoms – fatigue, crankiness, impatience – seem to point towards overtraining, except for that these days I’m working out less and voluntarily resting a lot more than I ever have.
2. Baby? Omigosh PLEASE no! I am not ready!
3. Water? Good guess, but I drink a ton and do not drink any caffeinated drinks (except for green tea). If it were only this easy.
4. Nutrition? A possible bingo!

According to the book “Vegetarian Sports Nutrition” by D. Enette Larson-Meyer, low carbohydrate intake on a particular day can result in “feeling tired, fatigued, or dead-legged… poor running, lightheadedness, or excessive moodiness during a training session.” ALL ME!

Accounting for my lean body mass and level of activity, the book recommends that my carb intake be in the ranges of 302g-358; however, silly me was still eating according to SP’s recommendation that was much, MUCH lower… Furthermore, I never adjusted my fitness goals in SP to reflect my current activity level! (oops)

In addition, I can now recall that I started feeling tired when I started tracking my food. During my SP break, I was eating whatever I wanted, including dessert almost every night. (Actually it was dessert EVERY night… But who’s counting?) Back then, I was working out even more than I do right now, yet I felt completely energized; every workout was met with renewed vigor. Unfortunately, even working out at that level couldn’t burn all that bread pudding I ate, so when I grew out of my “skinny” jeans, I came back to SP and started tracking my food. I lost weight immediately, but in the process I also cut out vital calories and carbs that I needed to get me to the gym. Doh!

SIDENOTE: I am a self-professed carboholic, so this is a mixed blessing. It’s like telling an alcoholic that he/she needs two glasses of wine a day to be healthy!

So starting tomorrow, these will be my new nutritional goals that I will work towards. Hopefully the results will be immediate! ^{crossing fingers}

1. I am very petite, but I know I can’t live on 1200 calories a day. Maybe more like 1500 should be the bare minimum, or even 1800? I might try to increase it 100 calories at a time and see how I feel. I’m sad that it will take longer to reach my weight goal, but slow and steady wins the race, right? (Fake it til you make it, ha!)
2. UP THE CARBS! This is a tricky process. Too much = weight gain, not enough = misery. With my current fitness load, SP recommends carb levels 197g-284g, which is lower than the book. I’ll start by including 2-3 fruits a day to boost my current levels up and go from there.
3. EAT WHEN I’M HUNGRY! Or rather, eat snacks so that I won’t get hungry. So elementary, but I still don’t get it. Grrr.

Okay, that’s it for now on the home front. Will update on this!

My body is morphing into something interesting from my latest workout routine!

My thighs are thicker from new muscle, but my calves are shrinking and so is my stomach area. My butt’s poofed out a bit, my chest shrunk (arrrgh – NOOO!!!!) and my arms are a little softer but my shoulders are visibly muscular.

Freeeeak! is all I have to say.

At least my elbows look normal.

I’m not unhappy about gaining some weight back (yet I’m also not happy either), but emotionally, I’m a lot happier on allowing myself to eat more. In my case, I suffer more of “too much of a good thing” type of deal, unless of course, you count the bread pudding I’ve dipped into a few a times a week. I guess you can say that when it came to choosing whether to look ideal but eat little to look a little less than idea but eat more, I chose the latter.

One of the biggest benefits, I feel, about eating more is the amount of optimism gained. I am less stressed about food, knowing that I ate enough to be fuller longer, because in November/December, being forced to eat every 2-3 hours was driving me crazy and making a serious ding on the flexibility of my schedule. I’m still eating about 5 times a day, but I just make sure I give myself a bigger serving than before.

I’m working out more than ever and it makes me soooo much more emotionally and mentally healthy. In these couple of weeks, I am finally sleeping through the night! I’m also meeting lots of great women at the gym. ^{Strangely, women started getting friendlier to me when I started wearing my engagement ring to the gym. Before, they’d avoid me and make remarks about my age. Weird, right? Or am I just paranoid?} I can feel such a difference in my runs already with the amount of cross-training I put into my schedule. Consider this time spent at the gym an investment towards healthy knees and being able to carry running though to my 70s and 80s.

Another cross-training activity I’m getting interested in is yoga. HELLO! After some hard workouts, yoga is the perfect end to my workout routine that consistently takes the soreness away. I keep expecting to feel sore the next day from whatever workout, but yoga has not let me down. It also puts me on a new learning curve and learning something new always excites me.

My current pics, taken on March 2nd, right before Yoga. (Excuse the frizzy hair and the no make-up look, but for me, make up + workout = zit city. Always.)

I have to admit that I cringe a little when I see these pictures, but only because right before I look at my December pic. Grrrrrowl. Oh well. Trust the process, right?

P.S. You can’t see it from this angle, but in yoga, I noticed that my shoulders look sooo good when doing the downward dog! heehee

A month of being forced off your feet does wonders in revising your outlook to life.

Prior to the whole illness/tooth incident, I was driven by ego. I ignored the slight pains on my right foot, I felt like I had to run fast all the time because I could and I had this ideal image in my head of what I should look like.

I’ll admit it: during the one month off, I ate well but I also indulged in all sorts of goodies like CARBS and mmm bread pudding. I also drank champagne (not very much though, due to the medications) and did not work out except for those two days prior to getting the dental work done. The lack of exercise made me a little crazy (and eventually my moods started swinging again, along with tears that came with zero explanation) but there were parts of me that were the happiest it’s been in ages when I’d deliver a heavenly bite of cake into my mouth, or twirl long strands of pasta on my fork knowing that I was doing to eat it instead of the “sniff and then push it away” thing.

It also occurred to me while I was in a Super Sculpt class that this was the first time in a long time that I was able to do every exercise without any silent whines over sore body parts. I felt like a blank slate all over again… Or rather, the term should be: healthy.

In one of Jeff Galloway’s books, he mentions that injuries can be one of the most educational time for a runner. How true that is!

So from now on:

1. LOVE ME. At 5’0, I hover around 110-111 lbs, which seems to be my “natural” weight. I got down to 108 after the holidays, but the one month off shot me up quickly to 111 but stayed there even though I wasn’t eating the best. But you know what? I like how I look! It’s still a big improvement from where I started and it takes next to nil work to keep me at this weight, so I’m happy. If I lose more, then great, but that picture I had in my head of how I wanted to look is now gone.

2. NO MORE DIETING. I eat whatever I want, whenever I want, so long as I get my 5+ servings of veggies, protein and my carbs aren’t coming from white stuff. A vegetarian lifestyle makes it so that I don’t eat much (bad) fat to begin with, so I’m not worried about that, although it’s still one of the things I’m watching out for. So if I want pasta, I’m gonna eat it with a BIG smile on my face, although I’m still going to watch my portions. (I will say, however, if I gain back a ridiculous amount of weight, then I will cut back, but while I’m at my happy weight, this is how I’ll eat. This is also so long as I remain active, which allows me to eat like this.)

3. LOVE MY WORKOUTS. I love to run; in fact, I can’t live without it. I workout at the gym a lot because I LOVE it – the strength training classes supports the ST I need in running, plunking down in front of the tv while pedaling the bike or using the Treadclimber is more fun than watching tv from the couch (and both exercises offer great cardiovascular bennies in addition to fabulous cross training for running). So it turns out that I workout because I love it or it supports the activity I am passionate about. NO MORE working out to look like something that I can’t easily maintain! In addition, the heart rate workouts I’ve been doing lately are so much more fun than before when I used to push myself to crazy levels (the fat burning bennies in that is awesome as well!).

4. RUN NO MORE THAN 4 TIMES A WEEK. Actually, I’m going to try my best to keep it to 3 days a week so I can have 4 days to heal. Of the 4 days, 2 will be cross-training at the gym, 1 will hopefully include walks with HB and 1 will possibly be absolute complete rest. Getting hurt was HORRIFYING and if there’s one thing I learned, it’s to not overdo it!

So these are my philosophies… We’ll see how they work out.

I first have to admit that when things are going well, I am all about socializing and breaking out the champagne, but when things go awry, I run and hide!!!

SHORT VERSION: I was under the weather for about a weekish or so before landing a trip to the dentist which lead to an infected wisdom tooth extraction which earned me antibiotics… that I ended up being allergic to! A trip to my regular doctor told me that hives and eyes that were nearly swollen shut meant zero exercise until it was all gone. And double doses of Benedryl – I was high for practically a week.

Fortunately, I finally stopped itching for the most part yesterday. I still have minor itching here and there at times and there’s this weird unattractive scaly thing that’s on my body. HB called me a “sexy reptile” at one point. LOL Men!

An update after next to zero exercise for a month:

10k
In all this, I of course had to bow out of the 10k. Even though I was doped up in Vicodin and 4 Advils at a time, there was no way I could have run it. The Firecracker is an event that I planned on running two years in a row and it broke my heart this year – again – I had to cancel my plans. But looking on the bright side… There’s always next year! (I did get my goody bag though heehee)

Half Marathon
The HM is what caused the majority of my tears, heartache and the main reason why I hid away from everyone. How am I supposed to just jump back into to training after taking all that time off??? I remember laying in bed late at night realizing that I had to not give up, but postpone this goal. There was no way I could make the May 2 race. I had to bow out. For now. It was at that moment that I felt the weight of bricks leave my heart and stopped fighting these health problems, and instead, patiently waited for all these ailments to go away. Much more pleasant.

Weight
Pre-holiday weight: 106 lbs
Holiday weight: 111 lbs
Post holiday weight: 108 lbs
Current weight: 111 lbs
ARGH – I can’t believe I’m still talking about holiday weight!!! Looking at the bright side, I did pretty well considering I didn’t exercise nor track my food. I’m optimistic.

Fitness
According to a Jeff Galloway book, you lose 100% fitness after one month of inactivity. After going on an itsy bitsy 3 miler today, he’s not wrong!! Arrrrgh. My breathing was much labored and according to my heart rate, I of course exerted much more effort today than I did in January. I’m not too hung up on it though… Introducing regular runs should get me back into my regular mileage in about a month or two. I can also tell that I’ve gone “soft”, but I’m not too worried about that either.

Attitude/Motivation
After scratching the HM plans, I realized that I needed to give my attitude a serious make over. I am an extremely goal-oriented person, but when it comes to losing weight, focusing on it makes it only as a means to an end. What about maintenance and lifestyle? I finally stopped being so hard on myself for gaining back to my holiday weight… Anyway, what’s the big deal anyway? I’m still down about 15 pounds! From now on, I need to focus on lifestyle first, looks second (if it’s even on the list). I like to run, so as long as I’m running, I will trust the process to keep my weight down. To support my running, I will cross train at the gym, so if I get a hard body from that, I will treat that as a bonus, but I will appreciate the additional cardiovascular and strength building benefits (which leads to stronger/better running and injury prevention). I will stop the stupid psycho thoughts in my head that guilts me when I want to eat a treat. If I want it, I will have it! – but only in moderation. But again, I love running, so I will eat to support my running as well as meet nutritional goals. (The eating part I’m not as worried about – this month proves that eating well is just apart of me now) BOTTOM LINE: Stop trying to look like some supermodel and TRUST THE PROCESS.

I survived Thanksgiving!!!

I went into the holiday feeling great and super amazing, but spending the entire weekend in a fabulous hotel with even more fabulous eats… Well, it was a recipe for disaster.

Thursday
I really didn’t feel like working out, but I knew that it was the ONLY way I could minimize the damage. So, I had my own Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving Day before we left on the plane. That night we had Thanksgiving dinner at the Four Seasons – complete with empty calories like champagne – arrrgh!!! I managed to down a ton of veggies before I jumped into a higher calorie items but still managed to wolf down WAY too many desserts. (They had like 9 different dessert samplers – I took one of everything and went back for seconds on some, when others around me only had ONE)

Friday
In attempt to fight back the unhappiness I felt the next morning on my food choices, I waddled in the cold down to the fitness center – only to find it crowded and way too hot! I ended up doing a small run around town, which ended up to be a terrific way to explore the area. I felt better about myself.

I tried to make better choices that day, but we ended up going to one of our favorite restaurant chains – Mastros. OMG!!!!!!! Champagne again and diving headfirst into delicious food – ending the dinner with the decadent butter cake! Sigh. I knew better, but I could feel myself slipping into my old self. What self-control?

Saturday
The next morning, I woke up upset once again. I went out for another run, this time twice as long as the day before. I came back to the room refreshed and ready to make healthy choices – which did pan out until that night.

Mortons – SO much fun, but my sticky little paws were all over that champagne bottle again. Boozehound! I ate until my stomach hurt – but not before I stuffed some cake into me.

Sunday and days after
Ohhh the gluttony. We came home on this day, but my bad habits didn’t stop there. For days afterwards, I ate like my old self. And even though I forced myself to work out, I felt the laziness set in.

On Dec. 2 I knew I had to do something – it was to either get back on that horse or lose everything I’ve worked hard for. So the next day, I filled my refrigerator with colorful vegetables and fish and waited my enthusiasm for fitness to come back. Amazingly, just after ONE day of eating clean, I felt better and my head was clearer – by December 4th, I was itching to work out again!

I can’t tell you how much of this process is nutrition. What you eat is about 90% of it. After an entire week of nourishing my body with nutritious foods, by Dec. 11 my body was back into Pre-Thanksgiving condition and I’m ready for my cruise next week!

Getting back on the horse also reminded me that while we are on this journey, we WILL cheat and we WILL fail; however, that isn’t the important part. What is significant is when we get back ON the horse. We learn about ourselves when we fail, so let us cherish the times we get back on the road after we stray.

To celebrate this lesson, I put together a before/after comparison:

The before picture was taken in the Caribbean in Dec. 2007 – after dieting for a few months. (I gained 10+ pounds after the pic was taken) When I took the After picture yesterday, it occurred to me that not only is it almost to the day when the Before pic was taken, but I’m going back to the Caribbean next week with a new body. In fact, it reminded me of this woman I saw right after the Before pic was taken: she had the most amazing body I had ever seen in real life – complete with a six pack. She was also a mom to a toddler! I was embarrassed and ashamed of my body; you can see it as I tried to twist in the picture to make myself look thinner. Well no mas!!! This year, I will be the one dancing around proudly in a bikini. :):):)

Physically

I really plateaued this month. I point my French-manicured finger towards the injuries incurred back in the beginning of the month that sidelined me from running, but to be fair, there were other factors too that kept me from doing as much cardio as before – like boredom!!! With the exception of running, I am bored to tears of Curves and am considering asking HB for a REAL gym membership next year (pretty lights! sparkly machines! yoga! beautiful bodies to motivate me even more!). Until then, I’ll just tearfully make do with bike rides and walks here and there like a spoiled princess brat.

So back to the weight issue, it wasn’t until after I started running again and adjusted my nutritional intake that the scale started to move again, this time by one pound. It doesn’t upset me though – I’m pretty happy where I’m at and I’m more focused on other things at the moment. Besides, I think I look much more cut than last month, so part of the weight I didn’t lose could be a gain in muscle. I’ll take that any day!

Additional Note: I scaled my miles down this month by a lot, so this could be the reason why my weight didn’t go down by much either

Oh oh oh additional note: I’ve become super energetic – borderline hyper! – when I’m around people. Upsurge in confidence? Energy due to exercise? Who knows. But what I do know is that I startled myself when I went out to lunch with a BFF. I run, I jump, I laugh and my energy does not stop. The old laid back me is gone!

Mentally

Ok – I really tried to do the goodie-without-guilt thing but it is just not for me! When I do indulge, I just need to plan heavy workouts around it and make sure I ALWAYS share it with HB – and if HB says he doesn’t want it, then none for me too.

Meditate 10 minutes a day: Yeeeah this got old fast. To begin with, I already lead a very unstressful life and my runs are like my meditation periods anyway, so I really don’t need to do this. But at least I tried it, right?

Last month I wrote about how I am still chubby in my mind. This is still the case – I need to stop looking in the mirror so much! – but it’s much better now. I start to feel “fat” when my abs aren’t so defined, but it only takes one run to make them appear again. I know, I’m silly!

MILESTONE: I got my engagement ring resized! It wasn’t until a few scary incidents that I had to go in and have it adjusted or lose the most precious material I hold close to my heart. I worried about what I’d do if I gained the weight back, but then finally decided to spring forth and use this moment to commit to my new life of healthy living.

Emotionally

I got really depressed and crazy when I couldn’t run! My moods swung high and low; I’ll admit: I was a pain in the booty. Luckily I healed and I was back on cloud 9 again. Now I know-know how badly I need running in my life!

What’s been working

Publicly announcing ALL of my goals. I used to be pretty secretive about my goals; I wouldn’t announce any online until I’ve already started it. I took a risk by publishing my ultimate running goals and I’m pretty pleased by the pressure I put on myself to complete them! I’m an ambitious person, but it adds the pressure I thrive on to transform dreams to checked-off tasks. :):):)

Reducing my sodium intake. I stopped salting my foods a long time ago, but then eliminated processed food for the most part so that I can gain control of my sodium. I also started asking restaurants to make my food sans salt. It took a few weeks of getting used to taste-wise, but I’m enjoying being bloat-free!

Cinnamon raisin Ezekiel bread. The perfect snack to curb my sweet tooth!

Roasting veggies and baking fish. SO easy, SO tasty and SUPER nutritious!

What’s not been working

Cooked salmon. As nutritious as it is, there’s something about the meat that makes me feel, well, fat. Raw salmon is another story though. I tried other fish since then and now prefer lighter fish like tilapia.

Gourmet cheese. These days, the only place I can eat this stuff are samples from the grocery store. Otherwise, I can’t stop myself from pigging out and I get into massive trouble!

Snooze button. A bad decision made while I’m not quite coherant, but I need to remember that it’s even harder to get out of bed and functioning after pressing snooze.

Thanksgiving

I thought I’d give this splendid little holiday its own category. We went away for the weekend where I did workout and ate healthy, but it wasn’t until we came back that Sunday that I went berzerk over the champagne which led to making TERRIBLE choices in food. Awful. In anticipation of looking drop dead fabulous on our cruise in mid-December, I pledge to stay away from booze until I get my foot on that ship!

Current Weight: 106-108

Before Pics

I scrounged up some more before pics…

Sept 2006

Sept 2006

November 2006

December 2006

December 2007

November Pics

I just want to cry every time I compare my befores and afters!!!

Are those abs really mine???

Just after a hardcore session of push ups and arm work

I swear running helped me achieve this.

I’m developing leg muscles!

Though it’s not my current weight, it’s the lowest I hit this month.

A super quick entry:

Thin or chubby, I’ve always been soft. Marshmallow-y. Whipped margarine/buttery. Cotton-y. Pooh Bear-y. Whathaveyou.

So here I am today, furiously racing around the stuff with arms piled high of t-shirts, colorful underwear, fitness gear, attempting to pack 15 day’s clothes into a suitcase for our four-day trip, when my right hand touched my left VERY HARD upper arm.

I paused.

Hmm, I thought. How could my arm be hard? Am I flexing? Maybe it’s because I’m carrying stuff. I’d flex a teensy bit and BAM! Wow, I am stunned. I continue touching my arms for hours. (I know that sounds weird/creepy/silly but hey – this is new to me!!! :D)

Later while at the computer, I pretzel-ed my arm to scratch an itch in my upper back only to find that area quite firm too. :O The itch came and went, but I continued to touch it. I am shocked.

(scratching head)

I really only lost one pound this month, but could it be because I’ve gained muscle? November was also a month of “I feel fat” thoughts (I took care of that by taking a ton of pics to convince me otherwise). Maybe I need to look back at my pics to see if I am more defined.

Not a bad way to go into Thanksgiving!

Back to backing.