Monday mix tape

Hi y'all. I had a hugely busy weekend and it went by WAY too fast.

I can't thank you enough for all the encouraging comments on Friday's miraculous weigh in. I feel fabulous and am wearing some clothes I haven't been able to wear in a while.

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Saturday I went to my core class with my trainer then to the headstand workshop. This is an EXPERT level workshop and during the warmup I was afraid I wasn't going to be able to do it but after lots of instruction on how to do it the right way, I was ready to go. And I did it. A few times. Some of them we did against the wall and some we did with a partner. For the partner one (I had my sister thank GOD) She pulled me up from a forward fold and let go. I probably balanced on my head for about 15 seconds without support. Shoulder stand we did on our own in the middle of the room which was REALLY hard.

I did them all without fear and had the time of my life.

I bring this up not to brag but to encourage my readers to keep doing stuff you're afraid of - just try and you might surprise yourself. If you don't try, you'll never know what you can do.

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We had a lot of social obligations which always makes it difficult eat well but I did my best!

Friday night was a date night so I chose a place with a divine salmon salad. Having someone else cook my fish is a luxury! :)

We had dinner out on Saturday before a play and also chose a seafood place where I had shrimp, scallops a spinach salad and asparagus. Oh and 3 beers and a Patron. Yikes. It was damn fun though!

Sunday I had to go to a kids birthday party and watched a whole lotta people eat a whole lotta burgers and hotdogs. I would have normally had one of each plus all the stuff on the side but I'm determined! It also didn't hurt that one of the little hellions had touched all the plates after touching the floor and dog and God knows what else!

I didn't gain any weight this weekend but I probably would have lost if it weren't for the alcohol but I'll always be happy to maintain over a weekend - especially when I had a great time and didn't feel deprived.

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I'm starting my second week of the 17 day diet armed with tons of recipes and a fridge full of healthy food. Mostly salads but I've been making really satisfying huge salads full of protein and other goodies. I also found a 13 calorie, fat free, local greek yogurt ranch dressing at Whole Foods which has pretty much changed my life. Thanks sample lady!

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Have a great week everyone!!

Friday weigh in - Breakthrough!

I have so much to say today I barely know where to begin so I'll start with the best news.

I lost 10 pounds!

It's freaking miraculous. I almost forgot what it felt like to make huge progress - boy did I miss it.

I'm obviously on to something with the 17 day diet. (don't let the name fool you - it's not only for 17 days it goes in 17 day cycles) I hate diets and have been avoiding them for years but I was getting desperate. I feel like this particular plan is well rounded and while it's strict in the beginning, it gradually becomes something that's doable for life. If things get out of control along the way, you just go back and do the first 17 days.

Basically I've eaten nothing but super lean protein - only chicken, turkey, eggs (egg beaters for me) cottage cheese (the pro-biotic kind) and greek yogurt. 2 servings of fruit a day and unlimited veggies. It aint easy but it works. I have completely stuck to it aside from one miniature Reese's cup, one Fiber 1 bar, and one beer. I think it will get easier in the next phase of adding in some good carbs every other day. I miss beans!

The breakthrough hasn't just been about the 10 pounds. I've been doing more soul searching than ever - thanks to a more regular yoga practice. Tuesday night was one of the hardest classes I've ever had - I could tell I hadn't eaten quite enough and my favorite instructor was pushing us with no breaks at all between poses. For every pose of the 90 minutes, I tried to envision what it would be like if there was less fat in the way. For example:

I can almost do this - got about an inch to go before my forehead is actually on my knee


I can almost do this - maybe half an inch until my forehead is on the floor

This one, still can only get one foot though if my instructor hands me my other foot, I can hold the pose.


This one still eludes me. My belly will not allow my foot to cross over my other leg. I just twist instead.
This is what I'm doing tomorrow. If someone were to have told me 2 years ago I would be signing up for a headstand workshop I would have said you were CRAZY.

I feel somehow different about weight loss when I look at it from this point of view (upside down! HA! ) - it feels like I'm being good to myself by making it more about the ability to intensify my practice vs. punishing myself by taking away all the food I love. (can you tell I've been reading Women, Food and God again???)

I'm not expecting this rapid weight loss to continue but I REALLY needed this.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Monday mix tape - Tuesday edition

You'll all be happy to know I've quit whining (and crying) about my 7 pound post-race gain and managed to shave of 5 of those pounds in the past week. I felt like I needed to put myself on a strict plan so I'm following the 17 day diet for the next 17 days. I can do anything for 17 days. It's simply a tool, like any other, to detox from sugar and carbs. My mortal enemy. Today is only the second day and while I feel like have to choke down most protein, I'm doing it and hopefully it will get easier. After that it's an every other day lower/higher calorie rotation which I've responded to well in the past. God I just get so tired of thinking about it all the time. There's not a lot of choices with this plan so it seems to make it a little easier.
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I'm STILL trying to decide how I'm ever going to fit spin into the routine without paying a lot more and switching gyms. Currently I spend $385 a month on my fitness pursuits which seems a little excessive but then again, it's probably cheaper than a quadruple bypass. If only insurance could contribute a little bit to that!
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Today is one of those days where I don't see myself getting home until almost dark so I had to dress and pack for work, a hair appointment and yoga. If I were thinner (and richer) I would have a Lululemon wardrobe so I could look good enough for work AND be ready for yoga without having to wear a dumpy t-shirt and faded yoga pants. It's totally vain to have that as a weight loss goal but whatever works right? I do have the fancy Lululemon gym bag so at least there's that!
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On Saturday I'm attending an inversion workshop with my yoga instructor which involves several types of handstands and headstands. There are no inversions in my usual Bikram class but I've enjoyed them before in other classes so I thought why not! It's always funny to me that I can do them but some of the skinniest girls in class can't. It makes me feel like a kid again though I'm extra cautious to wear a top that stays put when I'm upside down :)
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There's a rare lack of excitement in my life right now but I think that's okay for a while. We have no trips planned (because we need a new roof! FUN!) and no big plans for anything really. It just makes for some boring old blog posts!

How to lose your mind in 5 days

It's easy! All you have to do is:
run a 10k
eat whatever you want for the few days that follow
gain 7 pounds

That's what the scale said this morning. I honestly can't even believe it. All of my efforts for the month of June gone in a few short days. I'm totally devastated.

I feel like I'm running out of options. I've discussed this with my doctor and she's as perplexed as I am.

For now, I'm just going to keep doing what I'm doing and stay off the scale a while. Oh and quit thinking about it because it makes me cry!

now what?

A friend of mine said in reference to my 10k, "it's so not fair that you did all that and don't lose 30 pounds" That's kind of how I feel today! It's a regular old Monday after a weird week with a holiday and a huge race in the middle of it. I ate and drank like a crazy person for the last 5 days and I feel like crap! I'm still fat, nothing looks good on me and I'm still tired of carrying around 100 extra 93 extra pounds.

In my efforts to quit whining and get back on track, I just had my spinach smoothie and I plan on having vegetable juice and water all day until dinner. I have a workout with my trainer this afternoon that I'm really looking forward to -it always makes me feel so positive.

I still plan on running some but I need to focus on walking to get for the 3-Day coming up in October. That means long days and lots of miles and is sounding rather boring to me at this point. I'm also going to try to fit a spin class in there somewhere - maybe even twice a week. I think I could get a lot out of it. My gym doesn't have it so either I have to switch gyms again or go to a drop-in class. All I know is that it's time to mix it up again a little.

Have a great, healthy week everyone!

6.2...

is in the books! Frankly, I'm a little relieved I don't have to stress about it anymore. I managed to do it in well under 2 hours which was my goal! The winner? 27 minutes if you can imagine!

I slept pretty well the night before which is rare. I had my clothes laid out 3 days ahead of time so I felt prepared but I was still so nervous! My husband came with me on the train which was an experience - it was packed like a New York subway at rush hour but the people were fantastic and the atmosphere was electric.

Excited but trying not to have an anxiety attack to due to being 5 feet tall on a packed train. It was a sea of men's armpits above me holding on to the rails. blech!

It took so long to get out of the station and I had to pee! The porta-potty line was out of control and this is where being a local has it's advantages - I just cut around the block and went into Publix. The manager was even welcoming people in to use the facilities which were clean, air-conditioned and had no wait at all. Thanks fine people at Publix.

By this time it was start time. I just couldn't imagine what 60,000 people looked like on one of the most familiar roads in my city. It was a sight to behold!

I did not take this picture but I'm down there somewhere!

I had practiced this route a few times but I was so much faster being able to run down the middle of the road and not worry about the sidewalks and curbs. My goal was to run all the way to cardiac hill, which was a 4 mile stretch. About half way, I was getting really hot. I hadn't practiced this late in the morning and the sun being overhead was difficult. I stopped at all the water stops which were mostly warm water stops at this point and I went through all the misters and fire hydrants.

The streets are lined with spectators the whole way. People have elaborate parties, all the bars are open and it really helps with motivation to keep going. I passed a guy who had a shirt on that said "I'm 91. Eat my Dust" I had to give him a high-five.

The ONLY thing that pissed me off is when I started to see the elite runners RUNNING back UP the course after finishing. I'm sorry if 6.2 miles on a 90 degree day isn't enough for you but do you have to show off that much??? Seriously?

After cardiac hill, I was struggling to get back to running again but I managed to get my legs going and knew I only had two miles left. The crowds got even bigger toward the finish and I just kept going.

The finish was a blessing. I was struggling by then but I did it.

Seriously hot in that sun but proud!

I met my husband then walked the LOOOONG walk to our ride. All the streets are closed and the closest our friends could get was another mile up-hill. By this point I thought I was going to pass out but finally got in the car and was given a fresh, hot Krispy Kreme. That jolt of sugar was exactly what I needed and I didn't feel dizzy or sick anymore.

When I got home, My front door was decorated by my amazing neighbors. What a surprise!

I'm so lucky to have all this support!

They also had brunch ready and after my shower, I ate an entire bagel and then basically ate and drank whatever I wanted the rest of the day!

Me, my neighbor and my delicious (and patriotic) strawberry, lemonade vodka cocktail in a mason jar.
He finished in 57 minutes which is amazing!

So now what??? I guess it's some hard-core training for the 3-day coming up in October. Beyond that, maybe half-marathon in March? Stay tuned....

Thank you all SO much for all your support. This was a lofty goal and I couldn't have done it without all of you cheering me on.

Ready or not!

I've totally got the jitters for my race tomorrow - even though I practiced again on Saturday and did the whole thing in the blistering heat. I start at 9 tomorrow and should finish by 10:45 ish. Thanks for the huge amounts of support y'all. Happy Fourth!