Motivation … mine has been out the window the past couple of weeks since finding out I have a torn medial meniscus in my left knee. I’m so sick of all the damn injuries!! Accordingly, I’ve been on a major pity party, eating whatever the fuck I want, haven’t been drinking my water, and haven’t done any kind of exercise. I haven’t even ventured near the scale out of fear because I know it will be ugly just based on how my clothes are fitting and how bloated I feel from all the crap food.

For those of you who follow me on Facebook and/or Twitter, you already probably know that earlier this week the 18-month old son of one of my cousins back in Tennessee was killed in a very tragic accident. My cousin’s husband accidentally ran over their little boy killing him instantly.

He had taken their two young children (they also have a 5 year old little girl) out with him in the truck to feed the cattle on their farm. Unfortunately, he didn’t put the car seats in the truck for the kids. As he was driving, the passenger door came open and the little boy fell out of the truck. Even though he immediately slammed on the brakes when he realized what had happened, he wasn’t able to stop in time unfortunately.

Please, if you have children, grandchildren, any child in your care, always make sure to take the time to put them in the proper car restraints regardless of how quick/insignificant the trip may seem. The highway patrol said that if he had been in a car seat, this tragedy never would have happened. Instead, my cousin and her husband had to bury their toddler this morning. I can’t even imagine how on earth they are going to cope and deal with this situation. If you are so inclined and want to keep them in your thoughts, I know they could use it right now.

Now, back to how this all relates to motivation …. little Elam’s death was a reminder to me of just how fragile life really is for each of us. I have basically spent my entire adult life obese. Is this how I really want to spent the rest of my life? My “best” years (i.e. youth, strength, agility, etc.) are behind me. I’m now going into middle-age with my body reminding me of all the years I have abused it. All these nagging little injuries I keep having are all exacerbated by excess weight. At this point, I may have to give up my endurance athletic aspirations. I may never be able to do marathons or triathlons, but there is no reason why I can’t lose weight and be healthy. I just need to want it, because if I want it, I’ll do it.

“If you want to be different, do something different.”
~Shane, personal trainer, Made in L.A. Fitness

Speaking of Made in L.A. Fitness (a.k.a. MILA), I had an amazing time earlier this month at the boot camp weekend they hosted. I took my very first spin class and had an amazing time! My orthopedist gave me the go ahead to continue spinning even with the meniscus tear as long as I promised not to get out of the saddle or do any fast sprinting. So, in an effort to help rekindle some motivation, I’ll be heading over to MILA for a spin class Friday morning.

Happy Friday everyone!

I had really hoped to get out on my bike last night after work for a ride. As soon as I got home, I dashed in to change clothes and grab some water. Imagine my disappointment when I got down to the garage and saw my front tire was pretty low. No problem I think to myself. I’ll just pump it up a bit and then off I’ll go. Sadly, I couldn’t get the pump to work, so there was no bike riding for me last night. I’ll be heading over to REI tonight after work to look at getting a new pump. Thankfully I had gone out yesterday morning for a wog (walk/jog combo) and got in a couple of miles there, so I did get in some activity still.

Day 2 of my challenge went really well. I don’t know if it’s from officially rejoining WW, starting this challenge, or what, but I’m just feeling really good right now about my journey. Whatever it is, I’m running with it! It sure makes the journey that much easier when one’s motivation and MoJo are flowing!

In closing, here are my stats for yesterday:

Total Points: 26.5
Exercise: 2 miles wogging (3 AP)
Weekly Points balance: 35
Water: 64 oz
Consecutive Days OP: 2

Until next time …

M.

Thanks for all of your wonderful comments on my challenge post yesterday! I really appreciate all of the support and encouragement. It’s very motivating to know that you all are out there cheering me on as I make this journey.

I even got a phone call from one of my best friends today who said she was also inspired to head back to WW. She’s already signed up for the monthly pass and will be heading to her first meeting in a day or so. Woot!

TB – I completely agree with you about the perfectionism aspect. That’s one of the things I love about WW as well. It makes it very easy for me to fit in the occasional treat which helps make this a lifestyle and not just another fad diet.

For me, the purpose of this challenge isn’t so much as being perfect as much as it is to get a good chunk of “clean living” time under my belt again to help me get off on the right track. I guess it’s a bit of an OP detox to help me remember that while the occasional treat is OK, it should be just that … occasional. I need to plan for the treats and fit them into my points target and/or weekly points allowance.

Steve – I just wanted to give you some MAJOR kudos for giving up golf for a while so your wife can go to WW. What an awesome and supportive thing for you to do! Of course, I realize that this really shouldn’t be that amazing as one would like to think all couples would do something like this for each other, but we all know that just isn’t always the case. Anyway, way to go!

Day 1 went very well. The only thing where I went a bit overboard was spending 8 points on some ice cream last night. It was the last of the ice cream in the freezer. I knew I had enough points to cover it, so I went on and ate it rather than throwing it out. That was really the only “bad” food I still had in the house.

I really hesitated to use the word “bad” regarding the ice cream. I’m trying to focus more and more on that there are no good foods or bad foods. It’s more about the choices I make. When I start labeling things “bad” then I start feeling that sense of deprivation. As a former WW leader of mine once said, “Don’t think of this as a diet. You can have anything you want to eat on this program … except too much.” Words to live by!

So, in closing, here is my summary of how Day 1 went yesterday:

Total Points: 30.5
Exercise: Walking (1 AP)
Weekly Points balance: 35
Water: 64 oz
Consecutive Days OP: 1

Until next time …

I got out this morning for a nice wog. It’s AMAZING how much cooler it was today compared to last Sunday when I had the 5k race. Today it was overcast and in the low-60′s. It was perfect weather for wogging.

I FINALLY figured out how to get my Nike+ to work, so I used it for the first time today. The mileage was ever so slightly off. I have a loop around my apartment complex that is 0.26 of a mile and the Nike+ measured it at 0.27. I’m hoping to get it more accurately calibrated sometime this week. Anyway, here is the text version of my data from my wog today, excluding my warm-up and cool-down time/distance. If you want to see the graphical version, you can see it here on the Nike+ website.

Time of Day: 11:20am
Temperature: 62°F
Distance: 2.02 miles
Run Time: 32:24
Avg Pace: 16:02
Calories Burned: 395

I was pretty pleased with how my running segments went today, too. The segments in the first mile were pretty much my normal jogging type pace which, honestly, isn’t a whole lot faster than my walk pace it seems. Today however, I decided I really wanted to finish strong, so I pushed myself in the run segments during the last half mile. I had 3 running segments during that time and each were a sub 11 minute mile pace, with the fastest being a 10:23 pace. OK, so I realize it was only for 1 minute, but it felt really good to be running at a decent pace even if it didn’t last too long. Today’s excursion really gave me the confidence boost I needed to believe I’ll be able to meet my goal of actually running the whole portion of the tri later this year.

My 50-day no cheat challenge is also drawing to an end. Today is day 49 for me. I still haven’t decided if I’m going to give myself the day off on Tuesday or if I’ll just keep staying on my eating plan and continuing my streak. I have found myself craving fatty carbs — think french fries — the past couple of days, so I may splurge and have some on Tuesday. Even if I do, I could still theoretically fit those into my points budget and continue my streak. We’ll just have to see what Tuesday holds when it gets here and see how I’m feeling then.

Here are my WW stats for yesterday:

Total Points: 33.5 (used 3.5 WP)
Exercise: None
Weekly Points balance: 1.5
Water: 48 oz
Days OP: 48

In closing today, I’ll leave you with a quote I read earlier today that really struck a chord with me. My life has been a series of overcoming “circumstances” which is probably why this really hit home with me. Enjoy!

“People are always blaming their circumstances for what they are. I don’t believe in circumstances. The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want, and, if they can’t find them, make them.”

–George Bernard Shaw

Until next time …

English translation: Word of the Year

This afternoon, my friend Tracy told me about a blog that she stumbled across earlier today. The writer’s most recent blog entry described how each year she picks out her “word of the year” to help inspire and motivate herself throughout the year. I thought it was a wonderful idea and have decided to adopt it for myself. So, here goes …

My Word of the Year for 2008:

com·mit·ment (Pronunciation Key: kuh-mit-muhnt)

1. the act of committing.
2. the state of being committed.
3. the act of committing, pledging, or engaging oneself.
4. a pledge or promise; obligation:
5. engagement; involvement
6. confinement to a mental institution or hospital

Ok, so we’ll just move past and disregard definition #6. Definitions 1-5, especially definitions 3 and 4, are more what I’m talking about for my word of the year. The upcoming year is going to be ALL about commitment for me. This is the year I return in full earnestness to my journey to improve my health, lose the weight, and step up my exercise/training.

I’ve actually done pretty well overall the past couple of months, but there have been times that it’s gotten sketchy even then. It’s mostly been more of the same old yo-yo situation I’ve found myself in over the past 3 years or so. That will NOT be the case in 2008.

I’m not typically one who makes New Year’s Resolutions. I think, for the most part, people don’t take resolutions very seriously. However, I have made the decision to set some very distinct goals for 2008. The term “goal” has more of the distinction of being something one is actually working toward more than just a resolution, in my opinion. With my goals, I’ve tried to keep them realistic and attainable. I’ve also made sure each could be broken down into smaller short-term goals to help make it easier for me to measure my progress through out the year. And now, without further adieu …

My 2008 Goals:

1. Lose 60 pounds

a. Attend weekly Weight Watchers meetings
b. Lose an average of 5 pounds per month

2. Run a 5k race

a. Walk/run at least 3 times per week
b. Complete 16-week conservative Couch to 5k training plan

3. Complete a 25-mile bike ride (possibly the 2008 Solvang Prelude)

a. Learn to ride my new bike
b. Ride at least once per week either outside or using a trainer.

Well, that’s it. I’ve COMMITTED (nice work in of my Word of the Year, dontcha think? ;)) my goals here in my blog. I hope those of you who are my regular readers will help encourage me along the way and hold my feet to the fire to get each one of them completed before Jan. 1, 2009. Here’s to an awesome 2008 …

I had a GREAT time at the Angels game last night. I would’ve been nice if we had actually won, but it was still fun to get out to the ballpark among the fans to cheer on the team. Here are a few pics I took. The first pic was taken from the opposite side of the stadium from where I sat. My seat was in the area denoted by the white circle.

I definitely had 2 NSV’s at the game. I parked on the opposite side of the stadium all the way in the back of the parking lot so that I could get in a nice walk before and after the game. I also didn’t succumb to the evil stadium foods. I had dropped a Z-Bar into my purse before I left for the game and that’s the only thing I ate. I even washed it down with a 24 oz. bottle of water rather than having a soda or beer.

I was exchanging emails today with a couple of my weight loss buddies and made a very interesting discovery about myself. I’ve realized in my couple of recent shopping trips with Terri that I’ve been buying nicer clothes again and not just my usual casual wear of leggings, jeans, and t-shirts. It lets me know that I’m getting back to a good place mentally with my body and weight loss. Even though I have a long journey ahead of me still, I really believe again that I’ll actually make it and reach my goal. I’d definitely lost that belief over the past couple of years, and having it back again is definitely why I’m feeling better about myself. I realize I’m worth the effort to dress nicely even at my current weight. It’s really nice to feel that way again and it helps motivate me even more to stay on track.

Points Total: 25.5
Exercise: Walking – 2 AP – 1 mile untimed
Pedometer Steps: 6289
WPA balance: 35.0
Water: 64 oz